Entry
Reader's guide
Entries A-Z
Subject index
Rational Choice Theory
Rational choice theory (RCT) is a social-scientific approach that explains social phenomena in terms of deliberate decisions that self-interested individuals make.
One of the key assumptions of RCT is the notion of the purposeful actor. Rational choice theorists portray social actors as ...
- Aging and the Life Course
- Community, Culture, and Change
- Communitarianism
- Community
- Cults
- Cultural Capital
- Cultural Diffusion
- Cultural Imperialism
- Cultural Lag
- Cultural Relativism
- Cultural Values
- Culture of Dependency
- Culture of Poverty
- Culture Shock
- Culture Wars
- Cyberspace
- Digital Divide
- Faith-Based Social Initiatives
- Focus Groups
- Fundamentalism
- Gambling
- Gangsta Rap
- Institutional Ethnography
- Islam and Modernity
- Latent Functions
- Manifest Functions
- Mass Media
- Media
- Norms
- Obscenity
- Prestige
- Privacy
- Role Conflict
- Role Strain
- Secularization
- Social Change
- Social Conflict
- Social Disorganization
- Social Institutions
- Social Mobility
- Social Networks
- Subcultures
- Values
- Crime and Deviance
- Abuse, Child Sexual
- Abuse, Elderly
- Abuse, Intimate Partner
- Abuse, Sibling
- Addiction
- Alcoholism
- Arson
- Assault
- Binge Drinking
- Bullying
- Capital Punishment
- Child Abduction
- Community Corrections
- Community Crime Control
- Community Service
- Corporate Crime
- Corruption
- Crime
- Crime Rates
- Crime Waves
- Crime, Fear of
- Cultural Criminology
- Decriminalization
- Deviance
- Differential Association
- Domestic Violence
- Drug Abuse
- Drug Abuse, Crime
- Drug Abuse, Prescription Narcotics
- Drug Abuse, Sports
- Drunk Driving
- Eating Disorders
- Entrapment
- Environmental Crime
- Environmental Justice
- Ethnic Cleansing
- Extramarital Sex
- Felony
- Female Genital Cutting
- Gangs
- Genocide
- Gun Control
- Hate Crimes
- Hate Groups
- Hate Speech
- Holocaust
- Human Trafficking
- Identity Theft
- Illegitimate Opportunity Structures
- Incarceration, Societal Implications
- Incest
- Innocence Project
- Judicial Discretion
- Justice
- Juvenile Delinquency
- Juvenile Institutionalization, Effects of
- Juvenile Justice System
- Labor Racketeering
- Lynching
- Mass Murder
- Misdemeanor
- Murder
- Neighborhood Watch
- Obscenity
- Organized Crime
- Parole
- PATRIOT Act
- Pedophilia
- Piracy, Intellectual Property
- Plagiarism
- Plea Bargaining
- Police
- Police Stress
- Policing, Community
- Policing, Strategic
- Pornography
- Pornography and the Internet
- Pornography, Child
- Prison
- Prison, Convict Criminology
- Prisons, Gangs
- Prisons, Overcrowding
- Prisons, Pregnancy and Parenting
- Prisons, Privatization
- Prisons, Riots
- Prisons, Violence
- Probation
- Property Crime
- Prostitution
- Prostitution, Child
- Psychopath
- Racial Profiling
- Rape
- Rape, Acquaintance or Date
- Rape, Marital
- Rape, Statutory
- Reasonable Suspicion
- Recidivism
- Restorative Justice
- Riots
- Road Rage
- School Violence
- Sentencing Disparities
- Serial Murder
- Sex Trafficking
- Shoplifting
- Sociopath
- Stalking
- State Crimes
- Status Offenses
- Subculture of Violence Hypothesis
- Sweatshop
- Terrorism
- Terrorism, Counterterrorism Approaches
- Terrorism, Domestic Spying
- Theft
- Three Strikes Laws
- Torture
- Total Institution
- Twelve-Step Programs
- Uniform Crime Report
- Victimization
- Victimless Crimes
- Victim-Offender Mediation Model
- Vigilantism
- Violence
- Violence, Collective
- Violence, Sexual
- Violent Crime
- War Crimes
- Zero-Tolerance Policies
- Economics and Work
- Alienation
- Anomie
- Anti-Globalization Movement
- Automation
- Bankruptcy, Business
- Bankruptcy, Personal
- Budget Deficits, U.S.
- Bureaucracy
- Burnout
- Capital Flight
- Conglomerates
- Conspicuous Consumption
- Contingent Work
- Corporate State
- Culture of Dependency
- Culture of Poverty
- Current Account Deficit
- Debt Service
- Deindustrialization
- Dependency Ratio
- Deregulation
- Downsizing
- Economic Development
- Economic Restructuring
- Evaluation Research
- Gini Coefficient
- Global Economy
- Globalization
- Income Disparity
- Inflation
- Intergenerational Mobility
- Interlocking Directorates
- Job Satisfaction
- Labor Force Participation Rate
- Labor Market
- Labor Movement
- Labor Sectors
- Labor Unions
- Labor, Child
- Labor, Division of
- Literacy, Economic
- Living Wage
- Megamergers
- Military-Industrial Complex
- Mixed Economy
- Mommy Track
- Monopolies
- Multinational Corporations
- Occupational Safety and Health
- Oligarchy
- Oligopoly
- Outsourcing
- Pensions and Social Security
- Pink-Collar Occupations
- Postindustrialism
- Scientific Management
- Second Shift
- Segregation, Occupational
- Service Economy
- Skills Mismatch
- Social Capital
- Socialism
- Split Labor Market
- Sweatshop
- Taylorism
- Trickle-Down Economics
- Underclass Debate
- Underemployment
- Underground Economy
- Unemployment
- Wage Gap
- Wealth Disparities
- Wealth, U.S. Consumer
- World-Systems Analysis
- Education
- Brown v. Board of Education
- Ability Grouping
- Academic Standards
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Basic Skills Testing
- Bilingual Education
- Bullying
- Charter Schools
- Class
- Digital Divide
- Disability and Disabled
- Education, Academic Performance
- Education, Inner-City Schools
- Education, Policy and Politics
- Education, School Privatization
- Education, Silencing
- Education, Special Needs Children
- Educational Equity
- English as a Second Language
- Evaluation Research
- Grade Inflation
- Hidden Curriculum
- Illiteracy, Adult in Developed Nations
- Illiteracy, Adult in Developing Nations
- IQ Testing
- Labeling Theory
- Learning Disorders
- Life Chances
- Literacy, Adult
- Magnet Schools
- Minimum Competency Test
- Nature-Nurture Debate
- No Child Left Behind Act
- Oppositional Culture Theory
- Plagiarism
- Redistricting, School Districts
- School Dropouts
- School Funding
- School Prayer
- School Segregation
- School Violence
- School Vouchers
- Segregation, De Facto
- Sex Education
- Social Promotions
- Standardized Testing
- Stereotyping
- Title IX
- Family
- Adoption
- Adoption, Gay and Lesbian
- Adoption, Transracial
- Boomerang Generation
- Child Care Safety
- Child Neglect
- Cohabitation
- Divorce
- Domestic Partnerships
- Domestic Violence
- Dual-Income Families
- Extramarital Sex
- Family
- Family Leave Act
- Family Reunification
- Family, Blended
- Family, Dysfunctional
- Family, Extended
- Family, Nuclear
- Fathers' Rights Movement
- Foster Care
- Foster Children, Aging Out
- Intermarriage
- Missing Children
- Mommy Track
- Premarital Sex
- Runaways
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Sandwich Generation
- Second Shift
- Single Mothers
- Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting
- Transition Living
- Transnational Families
- Gender Inequality and Sexual Orientation
- Adoption, Gay and Lesbian
- Bisexuality
- Body Image
- Comparable Worth
- Feminism
- Feminist Theory
- Feminization of Poverty
- Gender Identity and Socialization
- Gini Coefficient
- Glass Ceiling
- Homophobia
- Homosexuality
- Hostile Environment
- Income Disparity
- Inequality
- Mommy Track
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Second Shift
- Segregation, Gender
- Standpoint Theory
- Stratification, Gender
- Transgender and Transsexuality
- Wage Gap
- Women's Rights Movement
- Health
- Accidents, Automobile
- Alcoholism
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Bioethics
- Chronic Diseases
- Codependency
- Deinstitutionalization
- Dementia
- Disability and Disabled
- Eating Disorders
- Epidemics, Management of
- Eugenics
- Euthanasia
- Famine
- Genetic Engineering
- Genetic Theories
- Genetically Altered Foods
- Health Care, Access
- Health Care, Costs
- Health Care, Ideological Barriers to Change
- Health Care, Insurance
- Hospices
- Learning Disorders
- Life Expectancy
- Managed Care
- Medicaid
- Medical Malpractice
- Medical-Industrial Complex
- Medicalization
- Medicare
- Mental Depression
- Mental Health
- Neuroses
- Nursing Home Care
- Obesity
- Pandemics
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Psychopath
- Psychoses
- Secondhand Smoke
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Smoking
- Socialized Medicine
- Sociopath
- Stressors
- Suicide
- Total Institution
- Twelve-Step Programs
- Vegetarian Movement
- Housing and Urbanization
- Capital Flight
- Economic Restructuring
- Edge Cities
- Gentrification
- Housing
- Inner City
- Inner-Ring Suburb
- Invasion-Succession
- Mass Transit
- Megacities
- Megalopolis
- Political Fragmentation
- Postindustrialism
- Segregation, Residential
- Service Economy
- Traffic Congestion
- Urban Decline
- Urban Infrastructure
- Urban Renewal
- Urban Sprawl
- Urban Underclass
- Urbanization
- White Flight
- Politics, Power, and War
- Arms Control
- Citizen Militias
- Citizenship
- Civil Rights
- Claims Making
- Collateral Damage
- Collective Consciousness
- Colonialism
- Conflict Resolution
- Conservative Approaches
- Corruption
- Culture Wars
- Demilitarization
- Democracy
- Eminent Domain
- False Consciousness
- Gerrymandering
- Groupthink
- Hegemony
- Human Rights
- Identity Politics
- Imperialism
- Mediation
- Militarism
- Moral Entrepreneurs
- Nation Building
- Nuclear Proliferation
- PATRIOT Act
- Peacekeeping
- Political Action Committees
- Political Fragmentation
- Politics and Christianity
- Power
- Power Elite
- Propaganda
- Public Opinion
- Public-Private Dichotomy
- Redistricting, Congressional Districts
- Segregation, De Jure
- Situation Ethics
- Social Control
- Special Interest Groups
- Surveillance
- Terrorism
- Terrorism, Counterterrorism Approaches
- Terrorism, Domestic Spying
- Think Tanks
- Totalitarianism
- Voter Apathy
- War
- War Crimes
- Population and Environment
- Acid Rain
- Baby Boomers
- Birth Rate
- Contraception
- Deforestation
- Demographic Transition Theory
- Desertification
- Disasters
- Ecosystem
- Environment, Eco-Warriors
- Environment, Hazardous Waste
- Environment, Pollution
- Environment, Runoff and Eutrophication
- Environment, Sewage Disposal
- Environmental Crime
- Environmental Degradation
- Environmental Hazards
- Environmental Justice
- Environmental Movement
- Environmental Racism
- Erosion
- Extinction
- Fertility
- Global Warming
- Infant Mortality
- Mortality Rate
- Neo-Malthusians
- NIMBYism
- Nonrenewable Resources
- Ozone
- Population Growth
- Population, Graying of
- Social Movements
- Sustainable Development
- Total Fertility Rate
- Toxic Waste
- Urbanization
- Water Organization
- Water Quality
- Water Resources
- Zero Population Growth
- Poverty and Social Class
- Aid to Families with Dependent Children
- Class
- Class Consciousness
- Codependency
- Evaluation Research
- Feminization of Poverty
- Food Insecurity and Hunger
- Gini Coefficient
- Hierarchy of Needs
- Homelessness
- Homelessness, Youth
- Housing
- Income Disparity
- Inequality
- Living Wage
- Means-Tested Programs
- Medicaid
- Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
- Poverty
- Poverty, Children Worldwide
- Relative Deprivation
- Single Mothers
- Socioeconomic Status
- Stratification, Social
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- Trickle-Down Economics
- Underclass Debate
- Underemployment
- Unemployment
- Wealth Disparities
- Welfare
- Welfare Capitalism
- Welfare States
- Working Poor
- Race and Ethnic Relations
- Brown v. Board of Education
- Plessy v. Ferguson
- Acculturation
- Adoption, Transracial
- Affirmative Action
- Afrocentricity
- American Dream
- Americanization
- Anti-Semitism
- Apartheid
- Assimilation
- Asylum
- Backlash
- Bereavement, Effect by Race
- Bilingual Education
- Biracial
- Black Codes
- Black Nationalism
- Black Power Movement
- Blaming the Victim
- Bootstrap Theory
- Bracero Program
- Chicano Movement
- Cultural Capital
- Cultural Diffusion
- Cultural Imperialism
- Cultural Relativism
- Cultural Values
- Culture Shock
- Deportation
- Dillingham Flaw
- Discrimination
- Discrimination, Institutional
- English as a Second Language
- English-Only Movement
- Equal Protection
- Ethnic Cleansing
- Ethnic Group
- Ethnicity
- Ethnocentrism
- Ethnomethodology
- Genocide
- Hate Crimes
- Hate Groups
- Hate Speech
- HIV/AIDS, Reaching High-Risk Populations
- Holocaust
- Hypersegregation
- Identity Politics
- Immigration
- Immigration, United States
- Income Disparity
- Index of Dissimilarity
- Inequality
- Infant Mortality
- Intermarriage
- Internal Colonialism
- Islam and Modernity
- Jim Crow
- Labeling Theory
- Labor, Migrant
- Life Chances
- Lynching
- Marginality
- Melting Pot
- Middleman Minority
- Migration, Global
- Minority Group
- Miscegenation
- Multiculturalism
- Multiracial Identity
- Native Americans, Cultural Degradation
- Native Americans, Reservation Life
- Nativism
- Nature-Nurture Debate
- One-Drop Rule
- Oppositional Culture Theory
- Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
- Personhood, Evolving Notions of
- Pluralism
- Politics and Christianity
- Prejudice
- Race
- Race-Blind Policies
- Racial Formation Theory
- Racial Profiling
- Racism
- Redlining
- Refugees
- Religion and Conflict
- Religion and Politics
- Religion, Civil
- Religious Extremism
- Religious Holidays as Social Problems
- Religious Prejudice
- Reparations
- Repatriation
- Resettlement
- Sanctuary Movement
- Scapegoating
- Segmented Assimilation
- Segregation
- Segregation, De Facto
- Segregation, De Jure
- Segregation, Residential
- Slavery
- Social Distance
- Social Exclusion
- Split Labor Market
- Stereotyping
- Stratification, Gender
- Stratification, Race
- Stratification, Social
- Transnational Families
- Underground Economy
- Undocumented Immigrants
- White Flight
- White Supremacy
- Xenophobia
- Social Movements
- Anti-Globalization Movement
- Black Power Movement
- Chicano Movement
- Countermovements
- Environmental Movement
- Fathers'Rights Movement
- Labor Movement
- Prohibition
- Resource Mobilization
- Sanctuary Movement
- Social Movements
- Social Revolutions
- Temperance Movement
- Transnational Activism
- Transnational Social Movement
- Vegetarian Movement
- Women's Rights Movement
- Social Theory
- Activity Theory
- Bootstrap Theory
- Conflict Perspective
- Demographic Transition Theory
- Differential Association
- Disengagement Theory
- False Consciousness
- Feminist Theory
- Labeling Theory
- Modernization Theory
- Oppositional Culture Theory
- Postmodernism
- Queer Theory
- Racial Formation Theory
- Rational Choice Theory
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
- Social Bond Theory
- Social Constructionist Theory
- Split Labor Market
- Standpoint Theory
- Strain Theory
- Theory
- Substance Abuse
- Accidents, Automobile
- Addiction
- Alcoholism
- Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
- Binge Drinking
- Club Drugs
- Cocaine and Crack
- Codependency
- Decriminalization
- Deterrence Programs
- Deviance
- Drug Abuse
- Drug Abuse, Crime
- Drug Abuse, Prescription Narcotics
- Drug Abuse, Sports
- Drug Subculture
- Drunk Driving
- Evaluation Research
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
- Fetal Narcotic Syndrome
- Gateway Drugs
- Harm Reduction Drug Policy
- Heroin
- Labeling Theory
- Marijuana
- Methadone
- Prohibition
- Psychoactive Drugs, Misuse of
- Rehabilitation
- Stigma
- Temperance Movement
- Therapeutic Communities
- Twelve-Step Programs
- Zero-Tolerance Policies
196463
- Loading...
