Rational lives : norms and values in politics and society / Dennis Chong.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-282) and index.

Interests versus Values -- Rational Choice -- Status Politics -- Symbolic Politics -- Does Rational Choice Theory Survive the Challenges Posed by the Symbolic Politics Research? -- Taking Stock of Expressive and Instrumental Theories -- A Model of Individual Choice -- Dispositions and Incentives -- Reference Groups and Conformity -- Group Dynamics -- A Model of Individual Choice -- Incentives: The Meaning of [pi] -- Reinforcing Only L -- Reinforcing Only R -- Dispositions: The Meaning of a and b -- Exposure to Both L and R -- Deductions: The Interplay between Incentives and Dispositions -- Coordination and Conflict -- Four Mechanisms of Defense -- Coordination Problems -- Ethnocentrism -- Vested Interests -- Majorities and Minorities -- Cultural Mobilization -- Creating Common Frames of Reference -- Deductions -- General Strategies -- The Element of Surprise -- Convergence on a Focal Point -- Arguing with Principles -- Economics Meets Morality in a Texas Community -- Setting the Agenda -- Framing Strategies following the First Vote -- Competing Worldviews -- The Role of Social and Moral Beliefs in Solving Coordination Problems -- Morality, Trust, and Social Order -- Political Repercussions of Cultural Diversity -- Evaluating Information and Reasoning about Means and Ends -- Are the Citizens of Williamson County Acting in Their Self-Interest? -- Mass Adjustment to New Norms -- Incentives and Dispositions (Reprised) -- Social Adjustment to New Norms and Practices -- A Model of Social Adjustment -- Mechanisms of Social Change.

Print version record.

"Rational Lives is a study of value formation and change, group identification, and conflict over social norms and lifestyles. Most scholars who study value conflicts have resisted rational choice approaches to the subject on the grounds that social conflict between groups is best explained by expressive motives and other "nonrational" factors. In contrast to this view, Dennis Chong shows that a single model that combines economic and sociological mechanisms can explain how people make decisions across both cultural and economic realms. He argues that the investments we make in the norms and values of our communities reflect the influence of our psychological dispositions, as well as the social and material costs and benefits of the options we face."--Jacket

English.

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