scholarly journals Natural selection can favour ‘irrational’ behaviour

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 20130935 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. McNamara ◽  
P. C. Trimmer ◽  
A. I. Houston
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Irrational Behaviour ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Behavioural Sciences ◽  
A Current

Understanding decisions is the fundamental aim of the behavioural sciences. The theory of rational choice is based on axiomatic principles such as transitivity and independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA). Empirical studies have demonstrated that the behaviour of humans and other animals often seems irrational; there can be a lack of transitivity in choice and seemingly irrelevant alternatives can alter decisions. These violations of transitivity and IIA undermine rational choice theory. However, we show that an individual that is maximizing its rate of food gain can exhibit failure of transitivity and IIA. We show that such violations can be caused because a current option may disappear in the near future or a better option may reappear soon. Current food options can be indicative of food availability in the near future, and this key feature can result in apparently irrational behaviour.

Motivating grandparental investment

2010 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-25
Author(s):  
Debra Friedman ◽  
Michael Hechter
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Grandparental Investment

AbstractWhat makes the question of grandparental investment so very interesting is trying to tease out the underlying motivations. Grandparental investment is variable and grandparental altruism, if it exists at all, is also variable. Neither evolutionary theory nor rational choice theory has an easy time explaining this variation, and insight is further impeded by the absence of any compelling empirical studies designed for the purpose of testing alternative explanations of variations in grandparental investment.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Tourism Destination: A Case Study in Ha Tien City, Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 70-80
Author(s):  
Da Van Huynh ◽  
Hang Thi Thuy Tran ◽  
Trieu Quang Pham ◽  
Xuan Thanh Duong ◽  
Dong Trung Pham
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Landscape Factors ◽  
Tourism Services

On the basis of theories of tourism, services, rational choice theory and previous empirical studies, the study proposes a research framework including 6 factors affecting tourists’ decisions when choosing Ha Tien as a destination to visit. The research sample was carried out by surveying by questionnaire with 100 tourists who visited Ha Tien City. Evaluation of the reliability of the scales shows that the destination information factor has not yet ensured the reliability of the scale. Regression analysis shows that there are 3 out of 6 independent factors that most influence tourists’ decision to choose when choosing Ha Tien as a tourist destination. In which, environmental and landscape factors have the most influence on tourists’ decision to choose Ha Tien as a destination. As a result, the article proposes some solutions to contribute to attracting more and more tourists to Ha Tien City.

scholarly journals Self-poisoning of the mind

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1538) ◽  
pp. 221-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Elster
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
The Self ◽  
Wishful Thinking ◽  
Preference Formation ◽  
Irrational Behaviour ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Adaptive Preference

Rational-choice theory tries to explain behaviour on the assumption that individuals optimize. Some forms of irrational behaviour can be explained by assuming that the individual is subject to hedonic, pleasure-seeking mechanisms, such as wishful thinking or adaptive preference formation. In this paper, I draw attention to psychic mechanisms, originating in the individual, which make her worse off. I first consider the ideas of counterwishful thinking and of counteradaptive preference formation and then, drawing heavily on Proust, the self-poisoning of the mind that occurs through the operation of amour-propre.

Feminism and rational choice theory

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Driscoll ◽  
Mona Lena Krook
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Combined Approach ◽  
Choice Analysis ◽  
A Current

Feminism and rational choice theory have both been hailed as approaches with the potential to revolutionize political science. Apart from a few exceptions, however, work utilizing these two perspectives rarely overlaps. This article reviews their main contributions and explores the potential for a combined approach. It argues that a synthesis of feminism and rational choice theory would involve attending to questions of gender, strategy, institutions, power, and change. The contours and benefits of this approach are illustrated with reference to one particular area of research: the adoption of electoral gender quotas. Despite a current lack of engagement across approaches, this example illustrates that the tools of feminist and rational choice analysis may be brought together in productive ways to ask and answer theoretically and substantively important questions in political science.

Rational Choice Theory and the 1990 Party Merger in South Korea

OUGHTOPIA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-282
Author(s):  
In-Kyun Kim ◽  
Myeong-Geon Koh
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory

POLITICS-LAW CONVERGENCE OR DIVERGENCE? 'SMALL' POLITICAL PARTIES, REALPOLITIKAND SOUTH AFRICA'S 20 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kealeboga J Maphunye
Keyword(s):  
Game Theory ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Democratic Consolidation ◽  
Secondary Research ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
African Charter

This article examines South Africa's 20-year democracy by contextualising the roles of the 'small' political parties that contested South Africa's 2014 elections. Through the  prism  of South  Africa's  Constitution,  electoral legislation  and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, it examines these parties' roles in South Africa's democratisation; their influence,  if any, in parliament, and whether they play any role in South Africa's continental or international engagements. Based on a review of the extant literature, official documents,  legislation, media, secondary research, reports and the results of South Africa's elections, the article relies on game theory, rational choice theory and theories of democracy and democratic consolidation to examine 'small' political parties' roles in the country's political and legal systems. It concludes that the roles of 'small' parties in governance and democracy deserve greater recognition than is currently the case, but acknowledges the extreme difficulty experienced by the 'small'  parties in playing a significant role in democratic consolidation, given their formidable opponent in a one-party dominant system.

Rational Choice Contractualism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Moehler
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Correct Choice ◽  
Original Position ◽  
Decision Situation ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
Traditional Understanding

This chapter discusses contractualist theories of justice that, although they rely explicitly on moral assumptions in the traditional understanding of morality, employ rational choice theory for the justification of principles of justice. In particular, the chapter focuses on the dispute between Rawls and Harsanyi about the correct choice of principles of justice in the original position. The chapter shows that there is no winner in the Rawls–Harsanyi dispute and, ultimately, formal methods alone cannot justify moral principles. This finding is significant for the development of the rational decision situation that serves for the derivation of the weak principle of universalization for the domain of pure instrumental morality.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document