Addiction and intrapersonal externalities in the labour market

This paper attempts to model individual decision-making with respect to alcohol consumption as an intrapersonal game among different temporal selves. A temporal self’s decision regarding alcohol consumption is shown to affect the utility of other selves. This externality gives rise to a potential co-ordination problem. The co-ordination problem may lead to the existence of multiple intrapersonal equilibria which are Pareto rankable. The analysis of alcohol addiction is likely to yield very different conclusions when based upon such a framework as compared to Becker and Murphy’s (1988) rational addiction approach. For example, the reinforcement process characterising addiction emerges not because of the increased marginal benefits associated with alcohol consumption, but rather due to the decreased marginal productivity in the production of substitute commodities. The reasons for the persistence of addictive behaviour and potential for recovery are explored and the effect of depression on addictive consumption is illustrated.     

The Life Narrative of a Mixed-Race Man in Recovery from Addiction: A Case-Based Psychosocial Approach to Researching Drugs, ‘Race’ and Ethnicity

This paper explores the use of a psychosocial approach to researching drugs, race and ethnicity. It produces an analysis of interviews with Bobby, a mixed-race man in recovery from addiction. Sociological and psychoanalytic perspectives are brought to bear on the data in order to consider the character of Bobby's opportunities, identifications, crises and resolutions. Despite the affective components of the wider discourse on drugs and race, the majority of previous research on the subject has focused on the production of rational explanations produced within objectivist epistemological frames. In contrast, the methods used in this project seek an explicit engagement with the irrational and unconscious aspects of researching these subjects. The paper concludes by reflecting on the value of psychosocially oriented narrative methods in this field.     

Institutional Fads and the Medicalization of Drug Addiction

The purpose of this article is to historically review biologically based explanations of drug addiction to demonstrate the increased utility of the institutional fads approach in understanding modern medicalization. Our examination reveals that the medicalization of drug addiction has been long in the making, traveling through numerous fads that have attributed drug addiction to various biological matter, including body type or constitution, genetics, psychopathology, and neuroscience or brain imaging. These explanations follow a common trajectory (emerging, surging, and purging) in institutional fad research. Moreover, our analysis indicates that while scientific and technological developments have shaped these approaches’ influence and pathways, so too have political actors and institutional agendas. We begin by discussing how an institutional fads approach enables an improved understanding of the medicalization of drug addiction – a form of deviance – followed by a critique of four main biological explanations: body constitution, genetics, psychopathology, and brain chemistry/imaging. Our review pinpoints the specific narratives advanced and the academic and political interests at work. In doing so, it exposes the limitations of medicalizing one of the nation’s oldest social problems.     

Sociological Perspectives on Addiction

This article provides a critical survey of sociological research on addiction. It begins with the seminal research of Alfred Lindesmith on heroin addiction then proceeds through discussions of functionalist contributions, research that exemplifies what David Matza called the ‘appreciative’ turn in the sociology of deviance, rational choice theories, and social constructionist approaches. It is confined to research on addiction in its original meaning as putative enslavement to a substance or activity rather than merely deviant or disapproved activity more broadly. As will be seen, though, there is a ubiquitous and theoretically interesting tendency even among those who contend to be writing about addiction as such to slip into modes of analysis that effectively substitute questions regarding the social approval of an activity for questions concerning whether it is voluntary or involuntary. Hence, one purpose of this article is to explore whether, and how, this slippage might be avoided.     

Cigarette Smoking in Japan: Examination of Myopic and Rational Models of Addictive Behavior

Myopic and rational addiction models are employed to investigate cigarette consumption in Japan using aggregate time-series data. The estimations provide support for the rational addiction models. Therefore, we conclude that addiction of Japanese cigarette smokers is not a result of myopic consumer behavior, but future effects are considered in their current decisions.     

Non-attendance for health care: When rational beliefs collide

Some patients choose not to attend for health care despite health concerns or an opportunity for improved health. Social norms that privilege professional expertise, and good health, deem this choice irrational. However, this paper explores how a particular version of rational choice theory suggests ‘positive choices’ for such non‐attendance. These are cognitive and subjectively rational decisions, which are made freely with potentially positive consequences and are not social problems if respect for personal autonomy trumps obligations to others. Specifically, Boudon's ‘cognitivist theory of action’ is used to conceptualise non‐attendance as both a rational and irrational choice, from different perspectives. Because the perspective of non‐attendees has been marginalised, the paper also suggests a typology of instrumental and non‐instrumental ‘strong reasons’ for rational non‐attendance. This may help groups such as professionals to understand and accept that non‐attendance can be subjectively rational, without relinquishing their own perspective that it is irrational. Acceptance of the defensibility, if not the rightness, of the perspective of non‐attendees is needed to show respect for non‐attendees' moral agency and to begin to repair relationships with these individuals, who may seek help from health professionals in the future.     

A Concealed Wrongdoing of Corporate Philanthropy: Evidence from China

The paper is trying to examine the changes between rational and irrational charitable donation of Chinese listed corporations under the background that an increasing number of Chinese listed corporations register charity foundations in recent years. Considering corporate income tax ratio as a proxy for tax preference, whether products are exposed to consumers directly or indirectly, as well as gross profit margin, debt financing scale and debt maturity structure as proxies for the reputation effect and strategic advantage, the indicators of rational charitable donation consist of the five factors mentioned above; The indicator of irrational charitable donation is disposal accrued profits calculated by Extended Jones Model. By the regression of data of charitable donations from Chinese A listed corporations during the year from 2008 to 2013, findings show that the behavior of rational charitable donation is weakened gradually, while, in contrast, the irrational charitable donation is strengthened. The listed corporations have strong motivation to transfer profits through registering and establishing charity foundations, which is a new tendency of transferring interests.     

The Impact of Jackpots on EGM Gambling Behavior: A Review

This paper reviews literature on how jackpots influence Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) gambling behaviour. Most of the available evidence addresses the motivational effect of the mere presence of EGM jackpots on play, as actual wins are relatively rare for individual gamblers. The review identifies a distinction between rational, biased and irrational motivations that attract people to EGM jackpots. The evidence suggests that EGM jackpots should generate additional consumption on EGMs above machines that do not have such lottery-like features. Rational motivations are likely to lead to consumer surplus, whereas biased and irrational motivations are likely to contribute to excessive consumption. Moreover, there is evidence that excessive gambling consumption is strongly associated with gambling-related harm. Future research should identify how the structural features of different types of jackpots; such as progressive, deterministic, hidden, mystery, linked and wide-area jackpots; may differentially appeal to rational, biased and irrational gambling motivations. Jackpots are common feature of EGM games, and therefore it is important to have a better understanding of how jackpot features influence play on the machines.     

Rationality,external norms,and the epistemic value of menus

Ever since Sen’s criticism of internal consistency properties of choice, there exists a perception that the standard rational choice approach has difficulties in coping with the existence of external norms, or the information a menu of choice might convey to a decision maker. This article provides a brief survey of possible responses to these criticisms of traditional rational choice theory. We review approaches to the internalization of external norms as well as ways to formulate norm-conditional rationalizability. Furthermore, we illustrate how the epistemic value of an opportunity set can be incorporated into rational choice theory.     

An exploratory analysis of composite choices: Weighing rationality versus irrationality

Humans are engineered neurologically to make rational and irrational choices. This paper introduces a new paradigm for decision making – a composite choice model – in which economic agents are constantly weighing rationality versus irrationality when encountering options. In an exploratory, deterministic, two-period model, an assumption of a two-way cross-embedment (i.e., a two-way interaction between the rational and irrational components) results in a paradoxical phenomenon, an outcome of either tending toward bliss or abyss at the end of the first period. This implies, for instance, a psychological struggle between two selves within the mind. The paradigm proposed is compared to the dual-process theories recently developed by the cognitive sciences. Future research will explore implications for public policy design and implementation.     

Finance organizations, decisions and emotions

Analyses of global financial markets are dominated by atomized models of decision-making and behavioural psychology ('exuberance' or 'panic'). In contrast, this paper argues that overwhelmingly, finance organizations rather than 'individuals' make decisions, and routinely use emotions in formulating expectations. Keynes introduced emotion (business confidence and animal spirits) but in economics, emotion remains individualistic and irrational. Luhmann's system theory lies at the other extreme, where emotions like trust and confidence are central variables, functional in the reduction of complexity in sub-systems like the economy. The gap between irrational emotions aggregated to 'herd' behaviour in economics, and 'system trust' applied to finance and money as a 'medium of communication' in sociology, remains largely unfilled. This paper argues that while organizations cannot be said to 'think' or 'feel', they are rational and emotional, because impersonal trust, confidence and their contrary emotions are unavoidable in decision-making due to fundamental uncertainty. These future-oriented emotions are prevalent within and between organizations in the financial sector, primarily in generating expectations. The dynamic of corporate activities of tense and ruthless struggle is a more plausible level of analysis than either financial 'manias' in aggregate or 'system trust'.     

INFORMATIZATION AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: A POLITICAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE

In recent years, both academic and policy making circles in the UK have shown a growing interest in the potential uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the delivery of government services. Much of the academic literature has been centred around the concept of 'informatization', and it has been suggested that the new technologies are transforming public services. Key theorists in the field of Public Administration have argued that informatization is one of a number of major trends likely to shape public services in the twenty-first century. However, the dominant theoretical approaches within public administration- those rooted in political sciencesuggest that inertia and stability are the norm in the public sector; clearly there is something of a contradiction between these two broad approaches. This paper outlines three political science perspectives that might be used in analysing informatization: the policy networks approach, rational choice and the new institutionalism. Evidence is then drawn from the social security, health care and social care sectors of the British public sector and related to the political science frameworks in order to examine their utility. Not only do these frameworks rightly highlight the incremental nature of change, but they also help to explain important variations in ICT use across the three policy sectors. It is concluded that combining the study of informatization and political science offers a fruitful avenue for future research.     

Effects of limited and unlimited stakes on gambling behavior

The present study evaluated the effects of limited and unlimited stakes on motivational and cognitive activities of roulette players. Earlier studies have shown that irrational thinking dominates rational thinking during gambling. It was hypothesized that subjects in the limited stakes condition would be less motivated to play and would verbalize fewer irrational cognitions than subjects who were allowed to bet freely. Two groups of 15 individuals played 50 trials of American roulette. The results showed that, although each group emitted more irrational than rational thoughts, there was no difference between the groups in the percentage of irrational verbalizations. One unexpected difference between the groups was found. Subjects in the limited stakes condition made riskier bets than subjects in the unlimited stakes condition. Possible explanations for this difference are discussed.The authors wish to thank Valerie Lorenz for her helpful comments and Michel Dumont and Serge Leclerc for conducting the study.Acknowledgement: this research was supported by a grant from the Consel Québécois de la Recherche Sociale.     

Treatment Approaches for Child Welfare Mothers with Addiction Problems

Abstract

This paper argues that child welfare mothers with addiction problems may require specialized treatment approaches based on their gender. The prevalence of women's problems with addiction and the unique ways addictions manifest themselves in women are discussed. The literature is then used to guide a discussion on the limitations of traditional treatment approaches that have been designed for men and may be of ill service to child welfare mothers. Alternative treatments are reviewed, and suggestions for improving treatment services to child welfare mothers with addiction problems are provided.     

Does past life matter? Social workers' views on biographical approaches

The article discusses the application of biographical approaches in social work practice and aims to identify issues that may need to be taken into account when implementing these approaches. The essays of 16 Finnish social workers, working in psychiatry, addiction treatment, rehabilitation, gerontology, pre-adoption counselling and vocational education, were analyzed regarding the respondents’ views on the benefits of biographical approaches, especially biographical interviewing (BI). Qualitative content analysis was used. The results indicate that biographical approaches can create a space for user reflection and social worker listening as well as provide a better understanding of service users’ situation. However, concerns regarding limitations of the approach, ethics and necessary professional competencies were raised. The conclusions drawn are that social work practice can benefit from BI done with awareness and ethical sensitivity and that ‘biographical lenses’ as a metaphor for a general attitude can be applied in most practice situations. The paper draws on a wider literature on biographical approaches in the social sciences.     

Conspiracy culture,blame culture,and rationalisation1

This paper outlines an approach to conspiracy culture that attempts to resolve the conundrum posed by the parallel logics of conspiracy and sociological theorising, without reducing the former to an irrational response to hidden social forces. Rather, from a re‐crafting of Weber's rationalisation thesis as an analysis of the developmental logic of theories of suffering, it argues that conspiracy culture is an outcome of the means of moral accounting, or blame attribution, that inform mundane reasoning in modernity, as also are the human sciences. As part of this, the paper sketches a tentative framework of moral accounting in relation to the notion of ‘blame culture’ based in part on a distinction between a culture of blaming and the blaming of culture. This is used to argue that there is nothing irrational about conspiracy culture – or at least no more so than there is about sociology.     

Two sources of human irrationality: Cognitive dissonance and brain dysfunction

Akerof and Dickens explored the relevance of cognitive dissonance theory for economics, and the theory is shown here to predict occasional irrational thinking. Secondly, it is proposed that the focus of neuroeconomics on brain dysfunction and the role of neurotranmitters on cognition suggests two ways in which the functioning of the brain can impair rational decision-making.     

The relationality of law and culture: Dominant approaches and new directions for cultural sociologists

Much of the cultural sociological research in law and culture falls into one of the following approaches: (1) law as a structure that enables and constrains culture; (2) culture as a structure that enables and constrains law; and (3) law as a cultural toolkit or repertoire upon which actors draw to orient strategies for action. This article briefly reviews these approaches, then, drawing from the generative socio‐legal tradition in law as culture, highlights a fourth approach. While law and culture are often analyzed as autonomous forces in ongoing contention, negotiation, and reconciliation, the socio‐legal approach conceptualizes the relationality of law and culture as constituted by ongoing contention. I argue that this relational approach may offer cultural sociologists who do not study law a framework for better analyzing how power undergirds, enables and constrains cultural meaning. I offer examples to illustrate the utility of this research agenda through three areas of interest for cultural sociologists: (1) embodiment; (2) emotions; and (3) political culture. Such an approach encourages a two‐way bridge between cultural sociology and socio‐legal studies conceptualizing culture as a dynamic system of power relations.     

Portfolio choice when relative income matters

This paper derives conditions under which concerns about relative income produce rational herding—the shift of individuals’ portfolios into the same direction as others’. To endure the generality of results, the model makes parsimonious behavioral assumptions and no assumption about the functional form of utility. The two most critical conditions are substitutability between one's own income and relative income and diminishing marginal utility of relative income. The keeping-up-with-the-Joneses (KUJ) motive unambiguously contributes to rational herding. When relative income is viewed as a measure of status, however, the KUJ motive is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition.     

Reflections on rational choice—The existence of systematic irrationality

The behavioral challenge to the rational choice paradigm is oriented toward individual decision-making. Behavioral irrationality does not mean chaos. Most irrational behavior involves the exercise of reasoning. In reality, decision makers do not behave with full knowledge and/or optimal computational power in pursuit of maximizing expected utility. Besides reviewing critiques to the rationality paradigm for judgments and preferences and exploring the impact of culture on people's economic behavior, this paper is the first to call the attention of researchers to the phenomenon of systemic irrationality. Irrationality may exist at the aggregate or societal level, a conclusion based on the observation that large segments of the population are incapable of making decisions in accord with traditional rationality—groups such as those who have a psychiatric disorder, those who are taking medications, those with limited intelligence, those from the lower social classes, children and adolescents, and the elderly. Even those who are not included in the aforementioned groups, but who take medications for medical conditions may have their decision-making impaired to some extent. Therefore, it is argued that rationality in economic decision-making may be the exception rather than the norm.