Rational Choice Research Articles

Factors Modulating the Occurrence of the Selective-Value Effect in Tufted Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus spp.)

During foraging decisions, animals often make irrational choices. The selective-value effect refers to the lack of preference for an option consisting of one highly preferred item plus one less preferred item compared to a single highly preferred item. A similar bias is the less-is-better effect, in which individuals prefer a single highly preferred item rather than an option that includes both a highly preferred item and a less preferred one. Here, we investigated the occurrence of these decisional biases in twelve tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) by exploring, for the first time in this genus, both the role of the relative value of the highly vs. less preferred food and the length of the intertrial interval. Overall, capuchins made rational choices by preferring the mixed option over the single one. However, on an individual level, some capuchins exhibited the selective-value effect. Mirroring previous findings in apes, both the relative value of the highly vs. less preferred food and the length of the intertrial interval modulated capuchins’ preference for the mixed option. This study provides further insight into the factors influencing violations of rationality in primate food choices, suggesting that these decisions might reflect cognitive adaptations for optimizing sensory feedback and nutrient intake rather than being irrational.

Understanding Undervaluation: A Law and Psychology Analysis of the WTO Environmental Goods Agreement

Recent research in environmental law and psychology has revealed a pernicious problem: psychological phenomena often lead people to underperceive and undervalue environmental harms. These insights have yet to be applied to the transnational realm. This article employs a psychological approach to explore the evaluation of environmental concerns in the context of the World Trade Organization’s Environmental Goods Agreement (“EGA”). Although the EGA purports to be a “win-win” agreement that simultaneously promotes economic development and environmental protection, it has failed to reach meaningful agreement. The present research argues that a psychological perspective on environmental law may supplementally explain the failure in EGA negotiation by demonstrating how states inadvertently undervalue the transboundary environmental impacts of environmental goods. This insight also fills the void left by rational choice theory in regard to the valuation process.

Rational Choice on a Hacker Forum: The Effect of Risk and Reward Cues on Target Selection for Account Hijacking

Rational Choice on a Hacker Forum: The Effect of Risk and Reward Cues on Target Selection for Account Hijacking

Realism and Rational Choice

ABSTRACT Mearsheimer and Rosato present what they claim to be a novel understanding of rationality in international relations. In fact, their proposal does not differ significantly from the standard approach, subjective expected utitlity theory (SEU). Their main critique of SEU is that states are unable to estimate the probabilities of the outcomes of their choices from empirical data, and need to use international relations theory for this purpose. However, nothing in SEU requires the probability estimates to be based on statistical data or prevents them from being based on theory. Their suggestion is therefore best understood as an argument for the importance of theory in estimating the likely outcome of choices in international relations, and therefore as a supplement to SEU, rather than a replacement for it.

Regulatory signatures involved in the cell cycle pathway contribute to egg production heterosis in chicken

BackgroundCrossbreeding is widely promoted as an efficient strategy to improve the productivity in agriculture. The molecular mechanism underlying heterosis for egg production is always intriguing in chicken. The transcriptional dynamic changes play a crucial role in the formation of heterosis, but little is known for the egg production traits.ResultsIn present study, we measured the continuous manifestation of heterosis ranging from 2.67% to 10.24% for egg number in the crossbreds generated by reciprocal crossing White Leghorn and Beijing You chicken. The high-quality transcriptomes of ovary for purebreds (WW and YY) and crossbreds (WY and YW) in 5 laying stages were sequenced and integrated to identify regulatory networks relevant to the heterosis. We found highly conserved transcriptional features among 4 genetic groups. By using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we obtained multiple gene co-expression modules that were significantly correlated with egg number for each group. The common KEGG pathways including apelin signaling pathway, cell cycle, ribosome, spliceosome and oxidative phosphorylation, were screened for the 2 crossbreds. Then, we identified consensus co-expression modules (CMs) that showed divergent expression pattern among crossbred (WY or YW) and purebreds (WW and YY). The hub genes of CMs were again overrepresented in the cell cycle pathway, and the crossbreds exhibited temporally complementary dominance of hub genes in the 5 laying stages. These results suggested that the crossbreds inherited from both parents to maintain the ovary function by cell cycle-related genes, contributing to the persistent heterosis for egg production. Furthermore, the dominant genes including MAD2L1, CHEK2 and E2F1 were demonstrated to function in ovarian follicle development and maturation and could be the candidate genes for egg production heterosis.ConclusionOur study characterized the dynamic profile of genome-wide gene expression in ovary and highlighted the role of dominant expression of cell cycle pathway genes in heterosis. These findings provided new insights for the molecular mechanism of egg production heterosis, which would facilitate the rational choice of suitable parents for producing crossbred chickens with higher egg production.

Understanding Sexual Burglary.

This review includes research on sexual burglary to highlight the distinct behaviours of such offenders. Only recently has there been a thorough examination of the decision-making that goes into this hybrid crime, and the potential for these individuals to progress to more serious and violent criminal acts. Work on sexual burglary has found that decisions made during the crime commission reflect rational decision-making and organization, despite previous research suggesting that sexual crimes are mostly impulsive. Furthermore, these rational choices may lead to the development of expertise in sexual burglary, with offenders learning how to avoid detection and engage in forensic awareness strategies. The knowledge that sexual burglars are expert decision-makers has important implications, as these behaviours may lead to more violent and lethal sexual crimes. Identifying these offenders through their decisions and crime characteristics is key to potentially deterring or preventing future offending.

The Influence of Self‐Efficacy, Trust, Perceived Costs and Healthcare‐Environment on Compliance With the Data Protection and Privacy Act by Health Workers in Uganda

ABSTRACTDespite existing regulations, compliance with Uganda's Data Protection and Privacy Act (DPPA) remains challenging, as studies focus only on technical and organizational aspects, neglecting behavioral and contextual factors. Furthermore, the limited number of health workers, low awareness of the DPPA, high costs of compliance, and a lack of trust within hospitals exacerbate these challenges. This study investigates the influence of self‐efficacy, trust, perceived costs, and the healthcare‐environment on DPPA compliance among healthcare workers in Uganda. It also explores the moderating effects of gender and work experience on the relationship between self‐efficacy and compliance. Using quantitative methods, data were collected from 309 healthcare workers across three hospitals through a self‐administered questionnaire. Regression analysis revealed that perceived costs (β = 0.240, p < 0.0001) were the strongest predictor of compliance, followed by trust (β = 0.193, p < 0.0001), healthcare environment (β = 0.178, p < 0.0001) and self‐efficacy (β = 0.121, p = 0.022) was positively associated with compliance. Gender (β = 0.119, p = 0.024) significantly moderated the self‐efficacy‐compliance relationship, with women exhibiting higher adherence to protocols, while work experience did not exhibit a significant moderating effect. The findings suggest that healthcare institutions in Uganda should invest in gender‐specific training programs to enhance self‐efficacy, build organizational trust, and reduce perceived compliance costs. Establishing supportive healthcare environments with clear policies and dedicated privacy officers is critical for promoting DPPA compliance. This study is among the first quantitative and empirical study to assess self‐efficacy, trust, costs of compliance and healthcare‐environment on DPPA compliance in Ugandan health context using social cognitive theory, theory of planned behavior, rational choice theory and institutional theory, a multi‐theoretical approach offering valuable insights for healthcare policy and management in resource‐constrained settings.

Framing Biases in Plea Bargaining Decisions in Those With and Without Criminal Involvement: Tests of Theoretical Assumptions

ABSTRACTAbout 95% of criminal convictions in the United States are obtained through plea decisions, a growing global practice. Courts justify these convictions based on defendant choice—defendants, as rational agents, can freely choose to plead guilty or go to trial. However, a fundamental axiom of rational choice—descriptive invariance—has never been effectively tested for plea decisions. To test this axiom, we manipulated gain–loss framing of plea options. The shadow‐of‐trial model, the leading theory of plea decision‐making, is predicated on expected utility theory which is in turn predicated on the invariance axiom; if the axiom is falsified, the entire structure collapses. Thus, framing effects are important as a test of fundamental assumptions undergirding practice and as an empirical phenomenon revealing effects of context. We tested framing effects in students and community members including those with criminal involvement for whom plea bargaining has personal relevance. Varying subtle changes in wording of outcomes, we produced pronounced differences in choices to accept a plea rather than proceed to trial. These framing effects were robust to age, sex, educational attainment, risk propensity (DOSPERT and sensation seeking), and loss aversion. Perceived fairness of the legal system increased acceptance and risk propensity decreased it (each about 32%). However, controlling for those effects, loss (compared to gain) framing increased the odds of going to trial by 664%. Criminal involvement did not account for additional variance. These results are consistent with prospect theory and fuzzy‐trace theory, but they challenge the legal theory of bargaining in “the shadow of trial.”

Uncanny advocates. Conversion and Islamic-Buddhist encounters in New Order Indonesia (1965–1998)

ABSTRACT This article explores the subject of religious crossing from the vantage point of a conversion narrative in New Order Indonesia. It follows the story of Ven. Sudhammo and his passage from an Islamic household into the monastic network of transnational Theravada Buddhism. By evoking the monk’s biography from the onset of Suharto’s regime up until its fall, the article casts light on the unfolding of voluntary conversion over extended periods of time, and how religious passage is afforded by encounters of varying scales occurring across ontological planes. The article revises Lewis Rambo’s notion of advocate as an important device for dislocating individual conversion from the domains of revelation and of rational choice while grounding it, instead, in supra-individual encounter vignettes. Contra to the modernist representation of Buddhist affiliation as a rationalized and mostly disenchanted project, that is, the article emphasizes how conversion and its advocates constitute a relevant analytical category that requires a more serious engagement in the anthropology of Buddhism.

Economic Policy Choices and Economic Growth of Nigeria: Lessons from the Asian Pacific

This study examined the effect of economic policy choices on the growth of Nigeria with specific reference to the Asian Pacific from 1994 to 2022 (i.e. 29 years). Specifically, the study covered three (3) variables. The three economic policy variables are broad money supply, total trade and government revenue. The three economic policy variables accounted for monetary, trade and fiscal policy measures. Meanwhile, the economic growth proxy is considered to be real gross domestic product (RGDP). Data were retrieved from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin, 2022. The robust regression analysis was suitable for the study. The study confirmed that the broad money supply negatively affects economic growth. However, total trade and government revenue positively affected economic growth. Overall, the study concludes that economic policy choices have a mixed effect on the growth of the Nigerian economy. As such, the Nigerian government should use its monetary policy tools to curb excess cash from circulation. Further, efforts should be made to reduce some trade barriers that mitigate successful trading in Nigeria. Lastly, the Nigerian government should reappraise the country's current trade policies, as this may be the main reason the Nigerian economy is still underdeveloped.

Rediscovering Homo Sapiens in International Politics: Evolution and Rationality’s Missing Link

ABSTRACT In How States Think, John Mearsheimer and Sebastian Rosato argue that the two dominant approaches to decision-making in international politics—rational choice theory and political psychology—are fundamentally flawed. Instead, they propose a model of rationality in which individuals use “credible theories” of how the world works to guide their assessments, and elites deliberate over these theories to determine foreign policy. I suggest that existing theory is too hastily rejected, and that these apparently opposing models can be reconciled by taking an evolutionary perspective—the process by which humans and human brains were built and therefore a critical, yet missing, part of the puzzle. An evolutionary perspective suggests: (1) rational choice is not always the most effective or efficient solution to decision-making problems; (2) cognitive biases are not mistakes, but adaptive “strategic instincts,” which evolved because they helped us make good decisions, not bad ones; (3) these “non-rational” dispositions follow a systematic pattern, allowing predictions about how people are likely to react under given conditions; (4) a theory for the origins of preferences; (5) an explanation for why humans can sometimes seem rational and sometimes non-rational (because adaptive behavior depends on context); and finally (6) error management theory suggests that cognitive biases evolved precisely because of uncertainty, as a way of minimizing costs over time. Human decision-making and behavior does not match the definition of either “rationality” or “non-rationality,” and is much better described as “adaptive rationality,” honed over the millennia to compete strategically for survival and reproduction under conditions of uncertainty.

초등 사회과 교육과정에 나타난 가계와 기업의 역할 분석

This study analyzes the key changes in the 2022 revised elementary social studies curriculum focusing on the behaviors of households and firms as economic agents and explores corresponding teaching strategies. A content analysis of the statements of achievement standards in the 2015 and 2022 revised elementary social studies curricula revealed that the 3rd and 4th grade group emphasizes the concept of rational choice, rooted in scarcity and decision-making, and the 5th and 6th grade group focuses on the interrelationship between economic agents and introduces new concepts such as "freedom of enterprise," "labor rights," and "corporate social responsibility." Based on these findings, this study proposes teaching strategies addressing rational choices by households and firms, the relationships between economic agents, and corporate social responsibility. This study suggests: first, it is necessary to design inquiry activities in elementary schools related to the rational consumption of households, incorporating budget constraints, products with the same price, and opportunity costs; second, the rational decision-making of firms should move beyond interest-driven activities to focus on profit-seeking and production activities centered on resource utilization; and third, teaching corporate social responsibility as a concept that integrates long-term profit-making with societal contributions.

Everything but liberal – aid and EU democracy promotion in the European neighbourhood

ABSTRACT What types of democracy are impacted by European Union (EU) democracy promotion? Although the EU is a major democracy promoter globally, little is known about which types of democracy it impacts. This article pioneers an examination of the impact of EU aid on V-Dem’s five distinct democracy indices in the European neighbourhood from 2000 to 2020, using both aggregated and disaggregated panel data analysis for a comparative assessment. Based on a novel synthesis of rational choice theory and political legitimacy, the study hypothesizes that electoral democracy will be particularly associated with EU-provided aid. The findings reveal that EU aid is positively associated with electoral, egalitarian, deliberative, and participatory forms of democracy, however show no significant association with liberal democracy. This contribution emphasizes the relevance of disaggregated research to better understand the relationship between aid and democracy and highlights the importance of considering various democracy types when assessing EU democracy promotion.

Incommensurability, Environment and Planning: A Response to Hahnel's Reply

This paper responds to Hahnel’s reply to my paper ‘Pluralism, ecology and planning’ in this special issue. It focuses on disagreements concerning value commensurability and growth. It defends the possibility of rational choices in the use of resources in the absence of value commensurability. It defends the claim that the systematic drive for growth in capitalism is a central source of environmental problems and of environmental injustice. It questions Hahnel’s assertion that substitution in production and consumption alone is the only strategy to achieve environmental sustainability. Substitution is necessary but not sufficient. Environmental limits require consumption and production corridors above sufficiency for all but below excess. Those corridors are a condition for meeting the needs of the poor within environmental limits. Both the examination of environmental problems in capitalism and democratic planning require forms of in-kind analysis defended by Neurath and Kapp to address the problem of meeting human needs within environmental limits.

Perceived Effectiveness of Choosing Prefects Using Interviews: A Case of a Private High School in Harare, Zimbabwe

The study assessed the effectiveness of choosing student leaders based on interviews as a shift from the traditional mode whereby school administrators appoint student leaders in secondary schools. The study is underpinned by the Rational Choice Theory by Adam Smith which posits that individuals make choices based on weighing the costs and benefits. This study adopted a qualitative case study design. The sample comprised purposively sampled aspiring students who applied to be interviewed for the student leadership positions. Ethical protocols were observed before the data was collected. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect the data. Data was transcribed and coded accordingly. Inductive thematic data analysis was used. Findings indicate that there are pros and cons of using interviews in selecting student leaders. However, the majority of the respondents indicated that despite the setbacks of using interviews in the selection of prefects it is the right direction to go; schools should move with the times and adopt contemporary electoral modes that are used in their societal contexts whereby leaders are selected as opposed to being appointed by the school administration. The study recommends that secondary schools develop user-friendly instruments (such as interviews, voting etc) that are free and fair to select prefects democratically from the students’ body.

Constructive Strategies for Enhancing Public Engagement in County Governance: A Focus on Nandi, Kenya, 2024.

Abstract: This article examined the effectiveness of constructive strategies for engaging the public in county governance in Nandi County, Kenya, 2024. It highlighted that the legal and institutional framework has not ensured public participation as intended by the Kenya 2010 constitution. The study’s objectives included examining the effectiveness of constructive strategies for engaging the public in county governance in Nandi County. It utilised Adam Smith’s Rational Choice Model and employed a concurrent mixed research design, incorporating purposive sampling. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews, with secondary data from document analysis. Analysis was done using a statistical package for the social sciences for descriptive statistics, and qualitative data was processed through thematic analysis. Devolution in Kenya, implemented in 2013, shifted responsibilities to county governments to enhance transparency and public participation. It allowed citizens to elect local leaders and engage in decision-making, promoting responsive governance. The County Government Act (2012) emphasises timely access to information and the role of non-state actors in fostering citizen involvement. The findings revealed that the most common mode of collaboration was electing project leaders. However, many individuals were unaware of the importance of participation, leading to low engagement, especially in project identification and implementation. The primary source of information on development projects was barazas (public meetings). The study concluded that public participation in development projects is below desired levels as per the County Government Act and recommended that Nandi County should improve public engagement across all sectors for a more significant impact on constructive strategies.

Deletion of atypical type II restriction genes in Clostridium cellulovorans using a Cas9-based gene editing system

The anaerobic bacterium Clostridium cellulovorans is a promising candidate for the sustainable production of biofuels and platform chemicals due to its cellulolytic properties. However, the genomic engineering of the species is hampered because of its poor genetic accessibility and the lack of genetic tools. To overcome this limitation, a protocol for triparental conjugation was established that enables the reliable transfer of vectors for markerless chromosomal modification into C. cellulovorans. The availability of reporter genes is another requirement for strain engineering and biotechnological applications. In this work, the oxygen-free fluorescence absorption-shift tag (FAST) system was used to characterize promoter strength in C. cellulovorans. Selected promoters were used to establish a CRISPR/Cas system for markerless chromosomal modifications. For stringent control of expression of Cas9, a theophylline-dependent riboswitch was used, and additionally, the anti-CRISPR protein AcrIIA4 was used to reduce the basal activity of the Cas9 in the off-state of the riboswitch. Finally, the newly established CRISPR/Cas system was used for the markerless deletion of the genes encoding two restriction endonucleases of a type II restriction-modification (RS) system from the chromosome of C. cellulovorans. In comparison to the WT, the conjugation efficiency when using the deletion mutant as the recipient strain was improved by about one order of magnitude, without the need for prior C. cellulovorans-specific in vivo methylation of the conjugative plasmid in the E. coli donor strain.Key points• Quantification of heterologous promoters enables rational choice for genetic engineering.• CRISPR/Cas with riboswitch and anti-CRISPR allows efficient gene deletion in C. cellulovorans.• Conjugation protocol and type II REase deletion enhance genetic accessibility.

Explaining the Success of Litigation Strategies in the Schrems Cases

This article seeks to explain the success of litigation strategies pursued by interest groups defending a public interest (hereafter public interest groups). We focus on the sub-field of data transfer between the European Union and the United States, where the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), through rulings indirectly triggered by such groups, has invalidated a Commission’s decision relating to EU-US arrangements (Safe Harbour in 2015, then Privacy Shield in 2020). To evaluate the likelihood of litigation successes, we propose an analytical model based on five elements derived from the new institutionalist theory: actors and instruments (rational choice institutionalism), processes (historical institutionalism), context and legitimacy (sociological institutionalism). Although we cannot prove that all five elements are necessary conditions for success, we argue that litigation successes in the cases we studied (the Schrems rulings) were very likely because all five elements were combined, even if the relative weight of each element slightly varied.

Neighborhood Disadvantage, Rational Choice, and Offending

Objective: Recent contributions have highlighted the compatibility of choice- and structural-based perspectives of crime. Drawing on those insights, this study examines the mechanisms that may link neighborhood disadvantage to individual differences in subjective expectations of the risks, costs and rewards from crime. We also evaluate the extent to which subjective expectations may account for the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and individual offending. Methods: Using data from the Pathways to Desistance study and structural equation modeling, we decompose how experiences and interactions with others mediate the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage, subjective expectations and offending. Results: The impact of neighborhood disadvantage on perceived arrest risk is mediated by direct and vicarious arrest experiences. Social capital and commitment to conventional values partially mediate the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and anticipated social costs, and peer delinquency and peer attitudes partially mediate the association between disadvantage and perceived social rewards. Finally, we find that subjective expectations account for about one-third of the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and individual offending. Conclusions: Our study illuminates the value of integrating rational choice and sociological perspectives and highlights the utility of advancing multilevel rational choice theories of offending.

How does agricultural insurance influence grain production scale? An income-mediated perspective

IntroductionAgricultural insurance has become a vital instrument in risk diversification, loss compensation, and farmer support, with China emerging as the largest agricultural insurance market globally by premium volume. However, the extent to which agricultural insurance influences grain production scale and the underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently explored.MethodsDifferentiating itself from previous studies, this paper conducts a rigorous theoretical and empirical analysis of how agricultural insurance affects grain planting scale. It further examines the mediating role of farmers’ income in this process, providing novel insights into the complex dynamics between agricultural insurance and production behavior. This study applies the von Neumann-Morgenstern expected utility model, coupled with theories on economies of scale, technology diffusion, and rational choice, to examine the theoretical links between agricultural insurance, farmers’ income, and grain production scale.ResultsUsing panel data from 27 Chinese provinces between 2011 and 2021, analyzed through fixed-effects and mediation models, the study finds that agricultural insurance positively, albeit moderately, impacts the scale of grain production, with farmers’ income serving as a partial mediating factor.DiscussionBased on these findings, we recommend expanding agricultural insurance coverage, developing a multi-level insurance framework, and enhancing insurance protection levels to bolster sustainable agricultural development and food security in China.