Elements of Reason: Cognition, Choice, and the Bounds of Rationality

Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology

by Arthur Lupia (Editor), Matthew D. McCubbins (Editor), Samuel L. Popkin (Editor)

Many social scientists want to explain why people do what they do. A barrier to constructing such explanations used to be a lack of information on the relationship between cognition and choice. Now, recent advances in cognitive science, economics, political science, and psychology have clarified this relationship. In Elements of Reason, scholars from across the social sciences use these advances to uncover the cognitive foundations of social decision making. They answer tough questions about how people see and process information and provide new explanations of how basic human needs, the environment, and past experiences combine to affect human choices.

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

"Arthur Lupia conducts research on topics relevant to politics and policy including voting, elections, persuasion, opinion change, civic education, coalition governance, legislative-bureaucratic relationships and decision-making under uncertainty. His books, articles and editorials address these topics by integrating insights from his interactions with mass and elite decision makers with tools and concepts from cognitive science, economics, political science, and psychology."