Rationality & Society
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rss-journal.bsky.social
Rationality & Society
@rss-journal.bsky.social
A peer-reviewed journal debating the rational action paradigm and showing how it helps to understand societal problems.
Submit: https://journals.sagepub.com/author-instructions/RSS
Edited by Andreas Flache
Account managed by @aloseva.bsky.social
Pinned
Join for:
🎯 Focus on the rational action paradigm
📚 Disciplinary breadth
🎓 Scientific rigor: part of @journals.sagepub.com

Submission to desk-reject/review: 14 days*
Submission to R&R: < 3 months*
*median in 2024

Take rational action. Submit: journals.sagepub.com/author-instr...
Submission Guidelines: Rationality and Society: Sage Journals
Manuscript Submission Guidelines for Rationality and Society
journals.sagepub.com
As the R&S managing editor has to work from home while snowfalls lock up the Dutch transportation system, she finds herself pondering how #snowmobile trails are organized ❄️

Cue a #ThrowbackThursday read by Anttila & Stern on how local #SelfOrganization solves this #CommonPool resource problem
The Voluntary Provision of Snowmobile Trails on Private Land in Sweden - Sten Anttila, Charlotta Stern, 2005
A snowmobile trail canalizes snow-covered land to create a path of snowmobile travel. This form of communication infrastructure yields two kinds...
journals.sagepub.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Is #morality "rational"?

Even "broad" #RationalChoice theory doesn't fully resolve a paradox: Cheating can be seen as rational, but following a "Never lie" norm can’t 🤔

Palacio-Vera offers a way out: Reconsidering what’s rational and combining theoretical frameworks.

🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
December 10, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Do #prosocial people sustain #cooperation?

Bouman & Dijkstra @rug.nl ran an #experiment with repeated #SocialDilemma where enough resourceful players needed to invest in #PublicGood.

Takeaway: When others don’t contribute, altruists quickly learn to free-ride.

#OpenAccess: doi.org/10.1177/1043...
November 27, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Modern hunter-gatherers live by “to each according to need” rule, even though it’s not enforced by leaders or police. Why? Is #fairness ⚖️ a ‘natural duty’?

Binmore traces the #evolution of this #SocialNorm back to prehistoric times, when care and resources were shared among kin.

#ThrowbackThursday
THE EVOLUTION OF FAIRNESS NORMS - Ken G. Binmore, 1998
The evidence is strong that modern hunter-gatherer societies approximate the Marxian ideal in which each contributes according to ability and receives according...
journals.sagepub.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Academic housekeeper (she/her)

With #EqualPay and no #GenderInequality in workload, is #labor #discrimination in #academia overcome?

No, say Yabut & Arapoc. Low-promotable academic housework – committee, community, admin – falls more on the shoulders of married women.

🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
November 13, 2025 at 2:43 PM
“Bregretful” from the start 🇬🇧

Even before the UK left the EU, some #Brexit supporters were rethinking their vote.

@sofizqsan.bsky.social & Kara trace who changed their minds in 2017–2019 — and what that says about using #referendums to settle complex issues.

#OpenAccess: doi.org/10.1177/1043...
November 6, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Read in November’25 issue:

🇬🇧 Who regretted #Brexit?
🎓 What gender are “ #academic housekeepers”?
🤝 When do #altruists turn free-riders?
🤔 What explains #morality?
🧠 Does #TheoryOfMind hinder #cooperation?

#BehavioralScience #GameTheory @journals.sagepub.com

🔗 journals.sagepub.com/toc/rssa/37/4
October 30, 2025 at 2:10 PM
"I don't tip because society says I have to”?

In the paper following the renowned book “Passions Within Reason”, Frank explains why we commit to tipping and other #SocialNorms that go against our #SelfInterest.

Opening #ThrowbackThursday 🧵 on #emotions in #rationality:
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
October 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
When someone faints on the street, 🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏻 several people can jump to help — even if just one person's help is needed. But how to make sure there is at least one #volunteer among #bystanders?

Konrad shows how team discussion can solve the volunteer's #dilemma.

Read #OpenAccess: doi.org/10.1177/1043...
October 2, 2025 at 1:32 PM
⚔️ Is #Germany split 50/50 on #immigration and Islam?

Windzio finds: “conservative-skeptical” and “open-trusting” Germans aren’t opposites in how they think of #minorities or state institutions — but their political views reflect different #moral values.

#polarization

🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
September 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
#PayGap and unequal division of household labor both contribute to a vicious circle of #GenderInequality.

Youm & Laumann highlight a surprising factor that can break it: partners’ overlapping friendship circles.

#ThrowbackThursday on #EqualPayDay:

🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
The Effect of Structural Embeddedness on the Division of Household Labor: A Game-Theoretic Model Using a Network Approach - Yoosik Youm, Edward O. Laumann, 2003
Various economic and sociological approaches have attempted to solve the puzzle of persistent gender inequality in the division of housework, but...
journals.sagepub.com
September 18, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Launching a #startup and worried your #crowdfunding campaign might fall short? Ask for less — lower targets often get overfunded 💰. Why?

Barrachina & Jiménez-Fernández explain the equity crowdfunding paradox with #GameTheory.

🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
September 4, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Caplan’s "rational irrationality" has faced many critiques. Why are people #rational in daily life but irrational on #election day 🗳️?

In defense, Manor argues that political beliefs differ from other ones in two key ways — how they connect to action and how we form them.

🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
August 28, 2025 at 2:36 PM
If better policies are out there, sticking to your guns is irrational… right? 🤔

Wrong, says Caplan. It’s rational to be biased in politics — when your vote doesn’t change the outcome, why bother scrutinizing beliefs?

#ThrowbackThursday on #VoterBehavior, #PublicChoice, and rational irrationality:
The Logic of Collective Belief - Bryan Caplan, 2003
Many political failure arguments implicitly assume that voters are irrational. This article argues that this assumption is both theoretically and...
journals.sagepub.com
August 21, 2025 at 1:39 PM
What’s common between USB 💻 and birthday candles 🎂?

Industry standards & social norms are results of consensus 🤝. How to reach it?

Renzini’s #GameTheory #ABM shows: choosing popular partners in #SocialNetworks boosts coordination while chasing personal gain weakens it.

🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
August 14, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Read in August'25 issue:

⚔️ Do political disagreements hide deeper moral divides?
💰 Why do small crowdfunding goals get overshot?
🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏻 When do people step up to help?
🤝 Which networking rules foster consensus?
🗳️ Are voters “rationally irrational”?

🔗 journals.sagepub.com/toc/rssa/37/3
August 7, 2025 at 3:04 PM
In #history, kinship ties made dynasties 💪 (think Medici) — but also fueled anti-elite revolts 🔥.

Armandola, Doehne, and Rost use #SocialNetworks to study #CollectiveAction and reveal who joined the 1691 Basel uprising.

Read #OpenAccess: doi.org/10.1177/1043...
July 31, 2025 at 1:10 PM
In a world of only Right and Left, do you:
🗳️ run to cast a ballot, or
🙈 ignore the #elections?

Arzumanyan shows why a chasm between party platforms does not intimidate voters but boosts #turnout – unlike similar centrist policies.

Read #OpenAccess: doi.org/10.1177/1043...
July 24, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Reading a quote about kindness, would you be moved to donate time ⌚ or money 💸 to help others?

How we frame messages and incentives can affect people’s willingness to do good.

Barrera, Romanò, and Bocca explore this in simple experiments and real-world tasks: doi.org/10.1177/1043...
July 17, 2025 at 1:26 PM
To foster #cooperation, we either 🤝 form lasting relationships or 📝 sign contracts — but both come at a cost. Sokolova, Buskens & Raub use #GameTheory and experiments to show when people choose to invest in these strategies.

Read #OpenAccess: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
July 10, 2025 at 2:08 PM
As we’re waiting for Beate Völker’s #Sunbelt2025 @insna.bsky.social keynote on social capital in #SocialNetworks:

Her renowned paper w/ Flap on why in totalitarian regimes, people don’t feel united — even when they can rely on each other.

#ThrowbackThursday pick of today: doi.org/10.1177/1043...
June 26, 2025 at 2:25 PM
By denying asylum to refugees fleeing Vietnam in 1978, Thailand shocked the world. Populism or strategic necessity in negotiations with the US? How were the fates of “boat people” decided?

#ThrowbackThursday paper by Zeager on the eve of #WorldRefugeeDay:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
The Role of Strategic Threats in Refugee Resettlement - Lester A. Zeager, 2002
The Indochinese refugee crisis of 1978-79 is modeled as a prisoners' dilemma, with Thailand choosing whether to permit first asylum and the United States c...
journals.sagepub.com
June 19, 2025 at 1:38 PM
POV: you’re a healthcare intern and #COVID strikes. Do you:
🏥 show up for your internship or
🏠 #stayhome?

@tteekens.bsky.social, Giardini & Wittek show how #SocialNorm beliefs affected Dutch students’ #DecisionMaking during #lockdown.

Read #OpenAccess: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

@rug.nl
June 12, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Read in May'25 issue:
🤝 Why do we commit to contracts or lasting bonds?
💡 How to spark more prosocial actions?
🏥 Why did interns choose to work in lockdown hospitals?
🗳️ Does voter turnout rise under polarization?
🔥 What drives people to join uprisings?
journals.sagepub.com/toc/rssa/37/2
May 20, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Join for:
🎯 Focus on the rational action paradigm
📚 Disciplinary breadth
🎓 Scientific rigor: part of @journals.sagepub.com

Submission to desk-reject/review: 14 days*
Submission to R&R: < 3 months*
*median in 2024

Take rational action. Submit: journals.sagepub.com/author-instr...
Submission Guidelines: Rationality and Society: Sage Journals
Manuscript Submission Guidelines for Rationality and Society
journals.sagepub.com
May 20, 2025 at 12:47 PM