About Rational Choice Theory - extension

Typically, the term of "rationality" means "sane" or "in a thoughtful clear-headed manner."

Rational choice theory uses a specific and narrower definition of "rationality" simply to mean that an individual acts as if balancing costs against benefits to arrive at action that maximizes personal advantage.

Thus, "rationality" described by rational choice theory is different from the colloquial and most philosophical use of the word.

In rational choice theory, all decisions, crazy or sane, are postulated as mimicking such a "rational" process.

Thus rationality is seen as a property of patterns of choices, rather than of individual choices: there is nothing irrational in preferring fish to meat the first time, but there is something irrational in preferring fish to meat and preferring meat to fish, regularly.

Work done under the rational choice theory paradigm typically does not investigate the origins, nature, or validity of human motivations (why we want what we want). Instead, it takes the biological, psychological, sociological, moral, and ethical roots of behavior and preferences as given and theorizes with these factors fixed.

 

Footnote: Some materials is from Wikipedia

Aghanemat Aghayev