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Rational Choice and Social Psychology: Theory and Applications
Rational Choice and Social Psychology: Theory and Applications
Wednesday, 13 July 2016: 09:00-10:30
Location: Hörsaal 27 (Main Building)
RC45 Rational Choice (host committee) Language: English
This session investigates how rational choice theory contributes to the study of human psychology. Human psychology here includes happiness, trust, opinions, emotions, social norms, class identification, cultural differences, and romance.
Aristotle regarded happiness (eudaimonia) as the highest virtue (arete) of human kind. Bentham argued that a society should pursue “the greatest happiness of the greatest number.” Yet it has been pointed out that monetary growth does not imply happiness (called the paradox of happiness or Easterlin paradox).
Therefore our subjective states are not directly connected to objective conditions. This is why we need a powerful theoretical framework on social psychology. Rational choice theory can be a good candidate. To widen frontiers, topics may include (but are not limited to):
- Theoretical approaches (such as concepts, formal models, history)
- Methodological approaches (measurement, statistical models)
- Empirical approaches (case studies, survey and experimental analyses, comparative studies)
Session Organizer: