A model of reasoned choice

The preference orderings of the respondents measured in chapter 4 reflect considerable diversity in the mix of motivations, beliefs, and social norms to which Arrow's shorthand term of ‘individual values’ refers. This diversity needs to be captured in manageable form, in order to explain the variety of preferences in environmental dilemmas.

In this chapter, we represent the individual values of the respondents in the survey by their responses on two general dimensions of motivation. The first dimension measures the evaluation of environmental collective action in the cases of Chemical Waste, Energy Saving, and Holiday Destination. We ask whether the respondent thinks that collective action for reducing environmental pollution is desirable. The responses on this dimension are regarded as motives of ‘Valuation’. The second dimension measures the respondent's own willingness to take part in collective action. Here we ask whether the respondent is prepared to cooperate in the case at hand, at some cost to himself. Responses on this dimension are regarded as motives of ‘Willingness’. Thus the individual values of respondents are described as a point in a two-dimensional space of motives. Each of the twenty-four possible preference orderings can be characterized as the consistent counterpart of a point in the motive space.

The next two sections explain the details of this procedure. But first we clarify the model of practical reasoning which links together the information on motives, preferences, and choice intentions.