scholarly journals Bounded Rationality in C. elegans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dror Cohen ◽  
Meshi Volovich ◽  
Yoav Zeevi ◽  
Lilach Elbaum ◽  
Kenway Louie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Gain Control ◽  
Information Coding ◽  
Genetic Manipulations ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Choice Sets ◽  
Basic Axiom ◽  
Value Coding

AbstractRational choice theory assumes optimality in decision-making. Violations of a basic axiom of economic rationality known as “Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives” (IIA), have been demonstrated in both humans and animals, and could stem from common neuronal constraints. We developed tests for IIA in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, an animal with only 302 neurons, using olfactory chemotaxis assays. We found that in most cases C. elegans make rational decisions. However, by probing multiple neuronal architectures using various choice sets, we show that asymmetric sensation of odor options by the AWCON neuron can lead to violations of rationality. We further show that genetic manipulations of the asymmetry between the AWC neurons can make the worm rational or irrational. Last, a normalization-based model of value coding and gain control explains how particular neuronal constraints on information coding give rise to irrationality. Thus, we demonstrate that bounded rationality could arise due to basic neuronal constraints.

scholarly journals Bounded Rationality in Compulsive Consumption

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. p30
Author(s):  
Ingo Fiedler
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Time Horizon ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Pathological Gamblers ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Compulsive Consumption

The standard microeconomic assumption is that consumers’ choices maximize consumers’ utility. This theoretical article challenges this assumption by presenting a framework of an extreme case: compulsive consumption. Backed by a wide range of existing empirical evidence it is shown by the example of pathological gamblers that some consumers (1) have inconsistent preferences, (2) underestimate the time horizon and the frequency of consumption, and (3) underestimate the costs and overestimate the benefits of consumption. The results do not necessarily violate rational choice theory if interpreted as intra-personal externalities. By applying the perspective of picoeconomics, it is possible to reconcile fully rational but competing agents within an individual with inconsistent aggregate decisions. Yet, from a welfare perspective, the results imply that bounded rationality can be interpreted as a source of inefficiency and can thus constitute a rationale for regulatory intervention.

scholarly journals Comparing Value Coding Models of Context-dependence in Social Choice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda W. Chang ◽  
Samuel J. Gershman ◽  
Mina Cikara
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Context Dependence ◽  
Social Evaluation ◽  
Social Decisions ◽  
Divisive Normalization ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
Value Coding

Decision-makers consistently exhibit violations of rational choice theory when they choose among several alternatives in a set (e.g., failing to buy the best product in a set when it is presented alongside high-quality alternatives). Many of society’s most significant social decisions similarly involve the joint evaluation of multiple candidates. Are social decisions subject to the same violations, and if so, what account best characterizes the nature of the violations? Across five studies, we tested whether decision-makers exhibit context-dependent preferences in hiring scenarios and past U.S. congressional race outcomes and co¬mpared different models of value coding as sources of the hypothesized context-dependence. Studies 1a, 1b, and 1d revealed that a divisive normalization value coding scheme best characterized participants’ choices across a series of hiring decisions, and that participants exhibited context-dependent preferences. However, the distractor had the opposite effect of that predicted by divisive normalization once we accounted for the random effect of participant: as the value of the distractor increased, participants were more likely to hire the highest-valued candidate. In Study 2, we used a combination of archival electoral data and survey data to examine whether normalization models could explain the outcomes of congressional elections. Electoral outcomes were predicted by political candidates’ inferred competence, but this time in line with the divisive normalization account. Our findings offer mixed support for a formal, neurobiologically-derived account of when and how specific alternatives exert their effects on social evaluation and choice and highlight conditions under which high-value distractors increase versus decrease relative choice accuracy.

Rational Choice Theory and the 1990 Party Merger in South Korea

OUGHTOPIA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-282
Author(s):  
In-Kyun Kim ◽  
Myeong-Geon Koh
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory

POLITICS-LAW CONVERGENCE OR DIVERGENCE? 'SMALL' POLITICAL PARTIES, REALPOLITIKAND SOUTH AFRICA'S 20 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kealeboga J Maphunye
Keyword(s):  
Game Theory ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Democratic Consolidation ◽  
Secondary Research ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
African Charter

This article examines South Africa's 20-year democracy by contextualising the roles of the 'small' political parties that contested South Africa's 2014 elections. Through the  prism  of South  Africa's  Constitution,  electoral legislation  and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, it examines these parties' roles in South Africa's democratisation; their influence,  if any, in parliament, and whether they play any role in South Africa's continental or international engagements. Based on a review of the extant literature, official documents,  legislation, media, secondary research, reports and the results of South Africa's elections, the article relies on game theory, rational choice theory and theories of democracy and democratic consolidation to examine 'small' political parties' roles in the country's political and legal systems. It concludes that the roles of 'small' parties in governance and democracy deserve greater recognition than is currently the case, but acknowledges the extreme difficulty experienced by the 'small'  parties in playing a significant role in democratic consolidation, given their formidable opponent in a one-party dominant system.

Nuclear Weapons, South Asia and Morality

Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-546
Author(s):  
ABHISHEK CHOUDHARY
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Moral Perspective ◽  
The Us ◽  
Positive Duties ◽  
Nuclear Development ◽  
Asian Context

The paper analyses the concerns arising from a moral perspective in the context of a renewed arms race in South Asia. It challenges the idea that possession of nuclear power could in any way contribute to any sort of balance. The emulation of so-called great powers and expecting that balance would arrive as it did in the case of the US and the erstwhile-USSR during cold war is detrimental to the temporal and spatial uniqueness of South Asia. Deterrence, based on rational choice theory, does not apply to the South Asian context due to ambiguity owing to mutual mistrust especially in the case of India and Pakistan. Also, it no longer only sates that are sole actors in the international arena. One cannot expect the non-state actors to behave in a rational manner. Furthermore, the idea of ‘credible minimum deterrence’ itself is questionable as it is a flexible posture adjusted to relative prowess and ambiguity in policy further aggravates the situation. The paper argues from a consequentialist notion of ethics and argues that the principles of harm and equity ought be part of nuclear decision-making. Another aspect that the paper uncovers relates to the ‘reification’ of nuclear power. Using a neo-Marxist framework and concept of Lukács, the paper argues that it is no longer the state as a repository of power that decides the trajectory of nuclear development. Rather the nuclear technology has started to dictate the way states are looking at regional and international relations. This inverted relationship has been created due to neglect of any ethical toolkit. The paper thus proposes an ethical toolkit that focuses on the negative duties of not to harm and also the positive duties to create conditions that would avoid harm being done to people.

Nowe podejście do harmonizacji technicznej w Unii Europejskiej a swoboda przepływu towarów

2016 ◽  
pp. 70-86
Author(s):  
Iwona Miedzińska
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Single Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Primary Method ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Free Movement Of Goods

This article is about the new approach directives and their impact on ensuring the free movement of goods in the single market. The author analysed the relevant legislation of the European Union adopted in the field of technical harmonisation: regulations and directives. The primary method of research used in this article is the legal and institutional analysis. Neofunctionalism and rational choice theory were also helpful to explain the processes of integration in this area. The analysis shows that the new approach directives affect the streamlining of procedures for the movement of goods in the single market. However, despite the simplification of procedures for the movement of goods, an adequate level of safety and consumer protection is ensured. The member states and the European Commission have effective response mechanisms when a product endangers life, health or safety of consumers.

Rational Choice Contractualism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Moehler
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Correct Choice ◽  
Original Position ◽  
Decision Situation ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
Traditional Understanding

This chapter discusses contractualist theories of justice that, although they rely explicitly on moral assumptions in the traditional understanding of morality, employ rational choice theory for the justification of principles of justice. In particular, the chapter focuses on the dispute between Rawls and Harsanyi about the correct choice of principles of justice in the original position. The chapter shows that there is no winner in the Rawls–Harsanyi dispute and, ultimately, formal methods alone cannot justify moral principles. This finding is significant for the development of the rational decision situation that serves for the derivation of the weak principle of universalization for the domain of pure instrumental morality.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document