Rational Choice Theory

Rational choice theory is the idea in social sciences that people make decisions using rational thought. They use all the info they have, then look at the options they have, as well as their own preferences.

“Rational” not in the colloquial sense, but in the economic and sociological sense. Rational means evaluating options to reach a goal based on preferences. Basically, when someone’s being...calculating. Actions based on a whim that are random or impulsive aren’t rational, since they weren’t thought out with a goal in mind.

Besides economics and sociology, rational choice theory spans across political science and philosophy. This is partially thanks to Gary Becker, an economist who applied rational choice theory in new ways (at the time). For instance, it was previously accepted that criminals were irrational; why would you do x, y, or z when you could get in trouble? Same with drug use: why would you do that when you know it’s not good for you? These choices seemed irrational.

Gary Becker showed us how they are perfectly rational. Criminals weigh the probability of getting caught, the potential reward...all the costs and benefits that go into deciding whether or not to commit a crime. Calculating. Becker once parked illegally, using that to explain how he chose to do it because he was late, and he believed the risk of getting caught was low.

Likewise, addictive drug users. For people who are addicted to drugs, Becker argued it was perfectly rational for them to continue using drugs. Since withdrawal suckkkkssss, it was always more rational to continue using the drugs, as long as the cost of acquiring them was lower than the cost of facing withdrawal symptoms. For people who aren’t using drugs, it's irrational to start using them, since the risk of addiction is high.

Of course, this kind of talk angered nuclear family parents. How could that Nobel Prize-winning economist be telling me that my addicted children are being rational by staying on drugs? Ooof. The colloquial “rational” isn’t the same thing. Regardless, this widened the use of rational choice theory as a way to explain human behavior.