Rational Choice Theory: do we make decisions logically?

The Rational Choice Theory (TER) is a proposal that arises in the social sciences applied especially to the economy, but which has been transferred to the analysis of human behavior. SRT pays attention to how an individual performs the action of 'choosing'. That is, it asks about the cognitive and social patterns through which an individual directs his actions.

In this article we will see what Rational Choice Theory is, how it arises and where it has been applied, and finally we present some criticisms that have been made recently.

• Related article: "Are we rational or emotional beings?"

What is Rational Choice Theory (TER)?

Rational Choice Theory (TER) is a school of thought based on the proposition that individual choices are made according to individual personal preferences.

For this reason, the RET is also a model for explaining the way in which we make decisions (especially in the economic context). and political, but it also applies to others where it is important to know how we decide on actions and how this affects a large scale). What is "rational" generally refers to the fact that the choices we make

are consistent with our personal preferences, derived from them logically.

• You may be interested in: "Herbert Simon's theory of bounded rationality"

What is a rational choice according to SRT?

A choice is the action of selecting one among several available alternatives and conducting our conduct in accordance with this selection. Sometimes Choices Are ImplicitOther times they are explicit. That is, sometimes we take them automatically, especially if they correspond to basic needs or to maintain our integrity or survival.

On the other hand, explicit choices are those that we make consciously (rationally) in accordance with what we consider to be the most appropriate option for our interests.

The SRT proposal, in very broad terms, is that human beings choose in a fundamentally rational way. That is, based on the ability to think and imagine the possible side effects of the alternatives that we have before a decision and From there, select the alternatives that are the most appropriate for our benefit at that moment (under a logic cost-benefit).

The latter would also imply that human beings are sufficiently independent, and have sufficient capacity to generate emotional self-control, so that there are no other variables other than one's own reason, when taking decisions.

Where does it come from?

Rational Choice Theory is often associated with an economic paradigm (precisely because it helped generate the model of cost-benefit calculations). However, it is a theory through which many other elements that shape human behavior and societies can be understood.

In the context of the social sciences, Rational Choice Theory represented an important theoretical and methodological transformation. It arises mainly in the American intellectual context during the second half of the 20th century and in reaction to models of welfare economics.

In the area of ​​political science, TER criticized a large part of the current paradigms within the academic context. American, which later moved towards the analysis of the disciplines of psychology and sociology. In the latter, SRT questions the implications of self-interest, self-experience and intentionality in human action and research. That is to say, is interested in methodological individualism.

In very broad terms, it is a “Critique of the excess of mathematical narcissism versus the demands of realism that social science must have”. Thus, Rational Choice Theory has been an attempt to orient social disciplines towards rigorous practices and knowledge.

Do we make decisions “rationally”? Some criticisms of the TER

Some problems that have been generated is the use, sometimes intuitive, of the word "rational". Vidal de la Rosa (2008) states that for SRT, human behaviors are merely instrumental and in so much so that the cultural context is what determines the alternatives on which we can decide, so behaviors would also be predetermined by culture.

Likewise, the polysemy of the word "rationality" makes it difficult for it to be used as support for social theory, since it is difficult to homogenize and this makes it difficult for researchers to establish communication with each other, and then put the knowledge into practice in the face of society.

In the same sense, "rationality" can easily be confused with "intentionality", and the SRT also does not usually address the difference and relationships between implicit choices and explicit. For a few years this last has been investigated in laboratory experiments. Some of these investigations analyze the different cognitive and environmental variables that can affect a supposedly rational decision.

Finally, methodological individualism has been criticized, that is, it has been questioned if interest is the reason for the conduct, and therefore wonders if this interest is valid as a way of making scientific knowledge.

Bibliographic references:

• Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Rational Choice Theory. Retrieved June 1, 2018. Available in https://www.britannica.com/topic/rational-choice-theory.
• Vidal de la Rosa, G. (2008). The Theory of Rational Choice in the social sciences. Sociology (Mexico). 23(67): 221-236.
• Staddon, J.E.R. (nineteen ninety five). Schedule Combinations and Choice: Experiment and Theory. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 21: 163-274.