Rationality, strategic interactions, and theories of middle range

Abstract

Various versions of rational choice theories exist. In the face of common misconceptions of the approach, this comment aims to make two contributions. First, it informs about different variants and emphasizes the essential component of strategic uncertainty in game theory. Second, this article highlights the role of bridge assumptions when applying rational choice theories in practice. Hence, the rational choice approach is not a theory which can be directly applied in practice without further assumptions. Instead the rational choice approach is an analytical framework which leads to theories of middle range by combining a theoretical core with additional auxiliary assumptions which are tailor-made for a specific explanatory problem.