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The use and misuse of rational models in collective behavior and social psychology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Ralph H. Turner
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Extract

During the past two decades the use of rational decision models, especially those which assume self-interest motivation, has diffused widely throughout sociology, including the fields of collective behavior and social psychology. This trend is interesting as a datum for study in the sociology of sociology, for what it reveals about changing assumptions concerning the nature and dynamics of social behavior, and as a trend that is sometimes beneficial and sometimes deleterious. My objective is to raise questions based on these three kinds of interest, and to suggest some answers.

Type
The puzzling scope of rationality
Information
European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , May 1991 , pp. 84 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © Archives Européenes de Sociology 1991

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