Rational Behavior
Leon McGinnis

All human behavior is rational. That is, of course, an hypothesis. Obviously it contradicts our daily observation that some people behave irrationally. How can the hypothesis be reconciled with observation?

Let's start with the behavior of a single individual. Behavior involves action, or lack of action in a situation where action might be expected. Active behavior, for example, includes deciding to get out of bed, deciding what clothes to wear, deciding a route to work, and deciding how fast to drive. Inactive behavior can be as simple as not responding to being cut off in traffic, or as complex as not responding to the death of a loved one. In the case of both active and inactive behavior, the individual is exercising a choice, either consciously or instinctively, in deciding how to behave.

When the individual makes the choice to behave in a particular way, the choice is, by definition, what the person wants to do. It is that behavior from among the choices available, that best meets the needs of the individual at that point in time, i.e., it is rational.

When we observe the behavior, and we say, "That is not rational," what we really should say is "That does not appear to me to be rational." In order to understand why the behavior may appear to be not rational, we need to recognize that there are two individuals involved in the assessment--the actor, whose behavior is being evaluated, and the observer, who is making the evaluation.

The actor's behavior may appear to be irrational, either because the observer knows something that the actor does not, or because the actor knows something that the observer does not.

I observe a person whose income is barely above the poverty line purchase $100 worth of lottery tickets. I think that behavior is irrational, because I understand probability theory, and realize that no matter how many lottery tickets the person buys, the net return from this investment is likely to be negative. Now, perhaps the person purchasing the lottery ticket does not understand probability theory, and therefore makes a faulty assessment of the behavioral choices available. The purchase of lottery tickets is a mistake, but it is rational. Or, perhaps I do not understand that the person is perfectly willing to sacrifice the money spent on lottery tickets because, no matter how remote the chance, the person gains tremendous satisfaction knowing that there is at least some chance that they will become very wealthy overnight. Their purchase of lottery tickets is inconsistent with my personal preferences, but quite rational for them.

I observe a man running in front of a truck, being struck and likely killed, a behavior that certainly seems irrational. What I do not know is that the man has pushed a child out of the way, saving the child's life. I might not have done the same thing, but clearly the man's action is rational, from his point of view.

There are situations where people may do things that appear irrational, even from their own point of view, but they behave the way they do because they have no choice, or believe they have no choice. To inhale water is irrational, because doing so will kill you. However, if you are under water, and cannot reach the surface, you will inhale water, and drown; you literally have no choice, because your autonomic nervous system takes over. Believing that you have no choice can be the same as having no choice. Young people may choose not to engage in educational activities, because they believe they are incapable, and therefore learning is not really a choice for them. Young people may choose to deal drugs because they believe that no other behavior will bring them economic well being.