Rational choice is the theoretic perspective that emphasizes both the active role played by individuals in creating and transforming the social institutions in which they participate, and the constraints those institutions place on paths available to social actors. Actions create structure, but actions are also constrained by the structures created by prior actions.
Rational choice is based on a view of behavior as purposive.
This means that choice is seen as governed either by a system of aims or goals, or by an incentive-based learning process. Though this view is shared by other theoretic perspectives, rational choice is unique in that purposiveness provides the explicit foundation upon which theories are constructed. The relationship between individual and collective interests is crucial, because when viewed in this way, a potential exists in most social situations for individual actions to produce collectively harmful outcomes. Studies of ways in which groups address these social dilemmas focus on the tension between self and other-oriented actions and alternative forms of resolution may involve the creation of systems of trust, group solidarity, social norms, altruism, or collective action. Reliance on a set of core theoretic concepts facilitates communication among rational choice scholars in different disciplines, including sociology, political science, anthropology, economics, and legal theory.