Introduction to Rational Choice Theory

H. Stobbs, MFA
Political Science 200:
Liberal Democracy in America

Copyright Notice
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The Problem of Political Science

Problem: Whereas economics has the
science of choice and sociology has
been called the science of no choice at
all, political science has no characteristic
scientific approach to call its own.
Solution: Borrow from other scientific
fields.

Origins
In the 1940s and 50s many scholars
began seeking a genuinely scientific basis
for political science they looked
admiringly upon the fields of sociology and
psychology and began to adopt behavioral
methods that focused on questions about
political psychology and political sociology

Origins
In the 1970s many scholars grew
dissatisfied with these non-rational
approaches. They began to look to more
concrete disciplines like operations
research and economics theory (Such as
Hotellings Law on Minimal Differentiation
and its opposing Product Differentiation
Model) and for models to restore
rationality to the field of political science.

Origins
This caused a backlash on the part of the
behavioralists as well as historically- and
philosophically-focused scholars who
complained, as Morris P. Fiorina writes,
about the reduction of political man and
woman to atomistic calculators, and the
capture of the research agenda by applied
mathematicians and economic
imperialists.

Origins
In the early aughts scholars concerned
that a biological approach had been
overlooked began to push the field toward
biopolitics, which examines how genetic
and physiological tendencies are related
to political behavior.

Mayhews Approach
David Mayhew is one of many
political scientists who have
adopted Rational Choice theory
and its variants economic theory
and public choice theory. The most
important commonality of these
three variants is that they focus on
behavior. Mayhew aligns himself
more closely with economics than
with sociology.

Variants within Variants

Decision theory centers on cost-benefit
calculations that individuals make without
reference to anyone elses plans
Game theory analyzes how people make
choices based on what they expect other
individuals to do.

General Assumption
Individuals choose the best option
according to their preferences and the
constraints they face

Most Models Based in

Methodological Individualism
Assumes that social situations or
collective behaviors are the result of
individual actions

The Basic Idea

Patterns of behavior in society reflect
choices made by individuals as they
try to maximize benefits and minimize
costs
By rationality, we mean wanting
more rather than less of a good

Say, Olly, How many social

scientists does it take to
screw in a light bulb?

Why, none, Stan! Social scientists dont

change light bulbs they search for the
root cause of why the bulb burned out in
the first place!

Two Assumptions about Individual

Preferences
Completeness: All actions can be ranked
in an order of preference; indifference
between two or more alternatives is
possible
Transitivity: If action a1 is preferred to
action a2 and action a2 is preferred to a3,
then a1 is preferred to a3.

Forms That Preference may Take

Strict Preference: When an individual
prefers a1 to a2, but not a2 to a1
Weak Preference: When an individual
has a preference for at least a 1 (similar to
the operator)
Indifference: When an individual does not
prefer a1 to a2 or a2 to a1

Other Assumptions
An individual has full or perfect
information about what will happen under
any choice made (in more advanced
models, a probability value is assigned)
An individual has cognitive ability and
time to weigh every choice against every
other choice (More advanced models rely
on bounded rationality)

Utility Maximization
Payoff Function (u): u (a;) > u (a;)
u (Sara) > u (Roger) > u (abstain)

Say, Frick, How many

political scientists
does it take to
change a light bulb?
Just one, Frack but
it's not the light bulb
that needs changing it's the system!

Mayhew and Rational Choice

Mayhew follows on work by economists
Anthony Down and Mancur Olson, as well
as political scientist Richard Fenno
Fennos findings: House committee
members pursued three principal goals
reelection, influence within the House, and
good public policy.

Rational Choice Theory:

It Has Its Critics
Green & Shapiro: Pathology of Rational Choice
Theory (1994); Schram & Caterino (2006)
some basic criticisms include:
Weak methods
Limited contributions to political science
Methodological pluralism versus strict
adherence to natural science methods
Too reliant on social science
Not reliant enough on historical analysis
Doesnt account sufficiently for culture

My Own Two Cents

Everybodys right, and nobodys wrong.
Dont get hung up on turf.
Use the best and lose the rest.

Bibliography
Fiorina, Morris P. Fiorina. When Stakes Are High, Rationality Kicks In. Article on-line. Accessed 12
January 2008 from http://phoenix.liu.edu/~uroy/eco54/histlist/pol-sci-rational.htm.

Jacobson, Gary. The politics of Congressional elections, 6th ed. New York: Pearson, 2004. Accessed
20 Aug 2012 from http://wikisum.com/w/Jacobson:_The_politics_of_Congressional_elections.
Mayhew, David R. Congress: The Electoral Connection, Second Ed. New Haven: Yale University
Press, 2004.
Shapiro, Ian. A Model That Pretends to Explain Everything. Accessed 12 January 2008 from
http://phoenix.liu.edu/~uroy/eco54/histlist/pol-sci-rational.htm.