Empirical-Analytical Approaches in the Social Sciences (Microlevel)

Rational Choice Theory (RCT)

Rational choice theory (RCT) is a powerful tool in making sense of why people act or behave in the way they do. Nonetheless, it is not a comprehensive theory that can fully account for one's behavior or action. According to Elster 1989 (in Ward2002,65), "(t)he essence of rational choice theory is that 'when faced with several courses of action, people usually do what they believe is likely to have the best overall outcome." lndividuals' actions are based on their preferences, beliefs, and feasible strategies (Ward 2002).

The RCT has become a dominant approach to political science at least in the US. But while it traces its beginnings to the behavioral movement, "rational choice theory draws on the methodology of economics in contrast to behavioralists who drew on sociology or psychology" (Ward 2002, 65). Using similar methods as in standard microeconomics, it is the economists who carried out largely early work in rational choice theory.The most important tool used is the game theory. Central to the game theory is strategic interdependence, a situation where others'choice of strategy affects an individual's best.choice and vice versa (Ward 1995).

Rational choice theorists'explanations of individual actions and the outcomes they lead to are anchored on three pillars, namely:

1. strategies or courses of action open and available to them.
2. their preferences over the end-states to which combinations of actions chosen by the various players lead.
3. their beliefs about important parameters such as others' preferences.

Nonetheless,RCT has been the target of criticisms not only from political science but also from other disciplines in the social sciences. Ward grouped these criticisms into four modes, namely, 

1. the heretics' critique who wish to emphasize bounded rationality; 
2. the sociologists' critique of RCT's tendency to play down social structure and holistic modes of explanations; 
3. the psychologists'critique of RCT's main assumption that individuals often act rationally
4. critique from mainstream political science on the basis of the implausibility of the assumptions made and the predictive failures of the model.

Simon believes that individuals use standard operating procedures as a heuristic device and as a shorthand guide to rational action. For Simon, an action is procedurally rational if it is based on beliefs that are reasonable given the context the actor is in.

"Herbert Simon"

Symbolic Interactionism

Symbolic interactionism is a sociological framework that focuses on the different meanings individuals attach to objects, peoples, and interactions as well as the corresponding behaviors that reflect those meanings and/or interpretations. 

George Herbert Mead was an influential figure in the field of symbolic interactionism. Gestures, according to him, are important in communication. Mead's central concept is the self, "the part of an individual's personality composed of self-awareness and self-image".

"George Herbert Mead"

There are three  overarching premises that constitute symbolic interactionism: 

• The first assumes that meaning is an important element of human existence. 
• A second premise asserts that people identify and mold their unique symbolic reference through the process of socialization.  
• The third tenet of symbolic interactionism affirms that there is a cultural dimension that intertwines the symbolic "educational" development. 

Symbolic interaction has both "insider" and "outsider" critics. lnsiders' criticism focus on the method, and the central concepts of symbolic interactionism, particularly the ambiguity of major concepts used particularly the concept of the "self." These criticisms attack the utility of symbolic interactionism in the production of cumulative and generalizable knowledge. Outsiders'critique, on the other hand, highlights the astructural bias in symbolic interactionism. This bias refers to the claim that symbolic interactionism's perspective is a historical, noneconomic, and a limited view of social power and social organization.

Four of the most prominent contemporary varieties of symbolic interactionism include: 

• the Chicago School
• the Iowa school
• the dramaturgical approach'
• ethnomethodology

All these four schools of thought or orientations share the view that human beings construct their realities in a process of social interaction, and agree on the methodological implication of such, that is, the necessity of "getting inside" the reality of the actor in order to understand what is going on.