http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/rational-choice Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:10:43 -0400 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:10:43 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1798/the-weight-of-emotions-on-decision-making-a-comparative-analysis By Jadzia M. Wray - When making decisions, a person must rationally analyze their options and understand potential outcomes. Emotions, the way that we feel in a particular moment, are also involved in how we respond to others. But how much do emotions really weigh upon our ability to form decisions? There is a possibility that emotional factors can be considered from a rational or emotional perspective in decision-making. Therefore, a person's decision-making process has the potential to produce different outcomes. In the current study, 57 participants (ages 18 to 23) completed a survey where they were required to... Wed, 16 Sep 2020 10:34 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1798/the-weight-of-emotions-on-decision-making-a-comparative-analysis http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1707/decision-making-theories-and-chinas-military-intervention-in-the-korean-war By Hao Ming Xiong - This article uses two decision-making theories – rational choice theory and prospect theory – to examine China’s resolution to intervene militarily in the Korean War. I argue that Chairman Mao Zedong was in a domain of loss both domestically and internationally when the U.N. Command crossed the 38 Parallel and approached the Yalu River. In this context, loss aversion predisposed him to gamble on a risky option – direct military intervention – which is estimated to have a higher utility than strengthening border defenses, an option that would have been more attractive... Wed, 22 Nov 2017 09:42 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1707/decision-making-theories-and-chinas-military-intervention-in-the-korean-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1636/suicide-terrorism-as-a-tactic-how-dominant-yet-subtle-representations-form-identities-and-meanings By Frank Mariscal - Although terrorism has been present in the world for centuries, it is only since the 1980s that suicide terrorism has become an object of study for academics and an existing concern for government professionals. While discourses on suicide terrorism have evolved, and passed through small, but varied cycles of resurgences, one of the bigger revivals of suicide terrorism discourse appeared in 2001, after the horrific attacks of 9/11. This paper analyzes the two major discourses surrounding the motivations that terrorist organizations in the Middle East have for utilizing the tactic of suicide bombing... Sun, 30 Apr 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1636/suicide-terrorism-as-a-tactic-how-dominant-yet-subtle-representations-form-identities-and-meanings http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1500/the-political-rationality-of-terror-understanding-terrorism-as-the-result-of-organizational-goal-seeking By Guy Lowicz - In the early 1990s, two terrorist organizations, Hamas and the Fatah-led Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), were using terrorism to promote their political plight of Palestinian self-determination. Although both organizations vowed to use armed struggles to promote the Palestinian plight, Fatah chose to desert violence in favor of legitimate political channels. In the beginning, terrorism proved to be effective for both groups in mobilizing popular support, legitimizing their cause, and raising capital. After years of armed tactics that proved fruitful, Yassir Arafat, Fatah’s leader... Mon, 28 Nov 2016 12:50 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1500/the-political-rationality-of-terror-understanding-terrorism-as-the-result-of-organizational-goal-seeking http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1570/rationally-irrational-applying-the-rational-actor-model-to-rio-de-janeiros-police-gang-conflict By Amber Waltz - Both gangs and police in Rio de Janeiro seemingly operate irrationally in an extended conflict, as it is highly unlikely that the state will make drug dealing legal, and it is also unlikely that gangs would be able to destroy the police through armed force. This article attempts to determine why favela gangs and police became and are still engaged in a conflict with what some see as an inevitable outcome, using the rational actor model to determine the motivations and strategies of each side. This article finds that because gangs understand their importance to Rio's society and depend on the income... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1570/rationally-irrational-applying-the-rational-actor-model-to-rio-de-janeiros-police-gang-conflict http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1574/terrorist-divorce-examining-alliance-break-ups-and-the-al-qaedaisil-split By Vivian G. Hagerty - Though somewhat counterintuitive given terrorist organizations' clandestine nature, such organizations do engage in strategic alliances and partnerships with one another. A handful of scholars have grappled with terrorist alliances, but a gap in the literature remains when it comes to how these alliances end. This study will examine "terrorist divorce" – the point at which these alliances fall apart – by building a preliminary theoretical discussion and investigating the break-up of al Qaeda Core and The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (formerly al Qaeda in Iraq). The study finds... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1574/terrorist-divorce-examining-alliance-break-ups-and-the-al-qaedaisil-split http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1328/sexual-behavior-in-prison-populations-understood-through-the-framework-of-rational-choice-and-exchange-theory By April N. Terry - Rational choice and exchange theories have been used to explain many phenomena in the field of sociological research. Although some literature has used such theories to explain sexual offenses, no research has attempted to make the connection between rational choice and exchange theory as a way of explaining sexual behavior of inmates. The following paper attempts to use such theories to further understand explanations for sexual behavior of inmates. Although standards such as the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) seek to restrict sexual behavior amongst the incarcerated population, while providing... Sat, 16 Jan 2016 10:04 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1328/sexual-behavior-in-prison-populations-understood-through-the-framework-of-rational-choice-and-exchange-theory http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1317/terrorism-and-the-infinite-bargaining-model By Alexander Farrow - From the Ku Klux Klan's lynchings to al Qaeda's World Trade Center attacks, terrorist organizations have historically exploited fear and destruction to achieve their end goals. Attacking both a nation's government and population, terrorist organizations inflict damage on their intended audiences, or targets.1 This paper explores how terrorist organizations interact with their targets. In my analysis, I assume complete rationality and build an infinite bargaining model of political concession between both actors. I claim that terrorist organizations bargain with targets in the long run by increasing... Fri, 01 Jan 2016 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1317/terrorism-and-the-infinite-bargaining-model http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/755/mexican-drug-activity-economic-development-and-unemployment-in-a-rational-choice-framework By David J. Masucci - From his inauguration in 2005 to the end of his presidency in 2012, Mexican President Felipe Calderon presided over one of the most violent periods in his country’s history. Making good on one of his election promises, Calderon unleashed the country’s military against drug trafficking organizations (DTO’s) and other criminal gangs who usurped authority from local governments in the northern and western parts of the country. The result has been a brutal and sustained war between Mexico’s security forces and the drug cartels. U.S. media outlets report daily violence from... Thu, 05 Sep 2013 12:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/755/mexican-drug-activity-economic-development-and-unemployment-in-a-rational-choice-framework http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/368/cartel-parties-and-party-competition-growth-and-analysis By Alexander P. Young - Throughout the course of the second half of the 20th century, it is undeniable that the organizational structures and methods employed by political parties have changed: one hypothesized change, publicized by Katz and Mair, is the evolution of parties into so-called ‘cartel parties.’ Over the course of this essay, it is aimed that the implications of this new structure on patterns of party competition, through an analysis of historical developments in party structures and an exposition of ‘traditional’ patterns of party competition, be explored with a view to show that... Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:21 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/368/cartel-parties-and-party-competition-growth-and-analysis