Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences
Dominant Approaches and Ideas – Part 2
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Dominant Approaches and Ideas – Part 2
The following are the objectives for this module:
1. Predict the social consequences of decision making based on scarcity
2. Examine the constitutive nature of informal and formal institutions and
their actors and how it constrains social behavior
Rational Choice Theory
The Development and Origin
Rational Choice Theory is primarily a part of economic theory as well as that
of social theory. According to Catherine (erfeld, the rational approach to
things started around the dawn of the Cold War. With the dawn of this new
intellectual age, thinkers, economists, philosophers and other prominent
members of society have shifted to the rational way. According to Blume
and Easley, rational choice had been around ever since the rise of capitalism
through the rise of Adam Smith. They write:
The use of the rationality principle in economics certainly predates
the utilitarianism with which it is so often conflated. Adam Smith
([1789] 1976, p. 19) describes, in his discussion of the division of
labor, a tribe of hunters in which one person is particularly deft at
making bows and arrows. (e frequently exchanges them for cattle or
for venison with his companions; and he finds at last that he can in
this manner get more cattle and venison, than if he himself went to
the field to catch them. From a regard to his own interest, therefore,
the making of bows and arrows grows to be his chief business, . . .
(Blume and Easley, 2007)
Therefore, it would be inaccurate to point out that rational theory
began only recently, since the basic premise of the theory has already been in
existence since before.
The Theory
The basic premise of rational choice is that social behavior and attitude is the
result of individual actions and choices, where each individual bases his
decision on rational considerations. If one thinks about it, rational choice
seems to have been around for quite some time, since the primary inclination
of a human being is to choose what is most rational. However, rational choice
as a theory applied in both sociology and economics has been applied only
recently. Rationality could take various forms, but applied to sociology, it
becomes the identity of society. It comes in close relation with the premise
that society is the sum of all individuals. This includes individuals
dispositions and choices.
Course Module
Institutionalism
The Development and Origin
Institutionalism as a theory is very broad, since it covers a number of subtopics that deal with different aspects of society. Their one similarity is that
all of these sub-topics deal with the function and relevance of institutions. As
a theory, it comes from the establishment of organizations throughout
history that led to the creation of what we call an institution. Examples of
institutions are schools, hospitals, correctional facilities and many other
sectors of society. All of these sectors originate from the gradual
establishment of a structured body that governs over a certain point in
society.
Key Thinker: Michel Foucault
One of the major thinkers when it comes to the study of institutional theory
is the French philosopher and sociologist Michel Foucault. His works include
Discipline and Punish, The Birth of the Clinic, History of Sexuality and other
works that deal with the function and administration of various institutions
over society. For example, the work Discipline and Punish deals with the
institution of the correctional facility where he mentions that institutions are
instruments of power and that established institutions determine largely
the entire character of society. For Foucault, the purpose of institutions
would be to create docile and obedient bodies or citizens, thereby making
society a subject of the power of institutional forces.
The Theory
There are three important kinds of institutionalism:
(1) Old Institutionalism
(2) New Institutionalism
(3) Historical Institutionalism
According to William Richard Scott:
Institutions are social structures that have attained a high degree of
resilience. [They] are composed of cultural-cognitive, normative, and
regulative elements that, together with associated activities and
resources, provide stability and meaning to social life. Institutions are
transmitted by various types of carriers, including symbolic systems,
relational systems, routines, and artifacts. Institutions operate at
different levels of jurisdiction, from the world system to localized
interpersonal relationships. Institutions by definition connote
stability but are subject to change processes, both incremental and
discontinuous. (Scott, 1995)
Differentiating between old and new institutionalism can be known
through their individual focus. Old institutionalism focuses on the effects of
institutions, as well as general rules, schemes, and factors, on the scale of the
global or local economy. (Scott, 2008) This refers to the adaptation of
businesses to the whims of the local institutions such as the political body,
schools, etc. When talking about new institutionalism, this focuses on the
sociological view on institutions, the way these institutions co-operate with
Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences
Dominant Approaches and Ideas – Part 2
3
each other and how they affect society as a whole. (DiMaggio and Powell,
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This is what we call the social powers that influence the flow and
daily living of society. Take for example the institution of the political body.
Lawmakers and enforcers have significant contributions to the functioning of
society for, without this institution, society would fall short on the need for
peace and order. On the other hand, without the institution of the school, the
members of a society would be inadequately educated, and would lead to
negative effects when it comes to the over-all well-being of society. Thus new
institutionalism seeks to understand further how these institutions could
shape the value of life a society has.
On the other hand, when one speaks of historical institutionalism, it
traces the progress of both socio-economic behavior in society through the
growth and history of an institution. According to Charles Tilly, historical
institutionalism is a method apt for measuring big structures, large
processes, and making huge comparisons. Tilly, 1
The value of
historical institutionalism is that it shows how an institution can reflect the
changes within society, and how one need not to extensively pursue a
conclusion based on multiple observations on society, but rather can be
focused on one body that sufficiently accounts for a proper description of
society s progress. That is why historical institutionalism can be regarded as
a combination of both old and new institutionalisms.
Glossary
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Course Module
Historical Institutionalism – it traces the progress of both socioeconomic behaviors in society through the growth and history of an
institution.
Institutionalism – an approach that views institutions as humanly
devised constraints that structure political, economic, and social
interactions.
New Institutionalism – focuses on the sociological view on
institutions, the way these institutions co-operate with each other and
how they affect society as a whole. (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983)
Old Institutionalism – focuses on the effects of institutions, as well as
general rules, schemes, and factors, on the scale of the global or local
economy. (Scott, 2008)
Rational Choice – is a product of scarcity and demand the people to
make the right and rational choice to maximize the use of its
resources. The basic premise of rational choice is that social behavior
and attitude is the result of individual actions and choices, where each
individual bases his decision on rational considerations.
References
Allingham, Michael (2002). Choice Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Amadae, S.M. (2003). Rationalizing Capitalist Democracy: The Cold War
Origins of Rational Choice Liberalism. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
DiMaggio, Paul J. and Powell, Walter W. (1991) )ntroduction . )n P. J.
DiMaggio and W. Powell eds. The New Institutionalism and
Organizational Analysis , pp. 1–38. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Meyer, Heinz-Dieter and Brian Rowan (2006) The New Institutionalism in
Education. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Scott, W. Richard (2008) Institutions and Organizations: Ideas and Interests.
Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Tilly, Charles (1984) Big Structures, Large Processes, Huge Comparisons. New
York: Russell Sage Foundations.