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1 - Rational Choice Theory and Methodological Individualism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2020

By
Karl-Dieter Opp
Edited by
Peter Kivisto
Peter Kivisto
Affiliation:
Augustana College, Illinois
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Summary

A wide version of rational choice theory (RCT) is presented in this article, for which all of the common objections to the narrow – or economic – version do not apply. The wide version explains the decisions of real actors, taking into account the situations in which action takes place.It further indicates how this theory can be applied to explain macro phenomena, an approach predicated on methodological individualism.

Agent-based modeling, game theory, methodological individualism, micro–macro modeling, rational choice theory, value expectancy theory

Karl-Dieter Opp is Professor Emeritus at the University of Leipzig and Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle.His areas of interest include collective action, political participation, rational choice theory, the philosophy of the social sciences, social norms and institutions, and deviant behavior.

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Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Social Theory , pp. 1 - 23
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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