Study Questions for Little, Chapter 7

1. What is the author's main point?
2. What are the differences between formalists and substantivists?
3. How do these differences relate to comparisons in earlier chapters?
4. How would Ball suggest that rational choice practicioners deal with substantive critiques?
5. Which substantive critiques apply to the rational choice approach to American politics?
6. What characteristics in persons apply across cultures?
7. What practices/institutions in American politics could be explained by a formalist, but not substantivist, approach? Substantivist, but not formalist?
8. How "thick" does a rational choice approach need to be? (Or, how "narrow" is too narrow?) How does one know where to cut? What are the tradeoffs?
9. Why does any of this matter to political scientists?

Things to look for/keep in mind for future readings:

• what rational choice theories include and exclude
• what other theories include and exclude

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