Will We Ruin Them for (Civic) Life? Analyzing the Impact of Teaching Rational Choice in Introductory Courses

In: PS: political science & politics, Band 40, Heft 2, S. 387-391

Abstract

This article revisits a debate between Jurg Steiner and Paul Johnson
(Johnson 1990; Steiner 1990) over the civic implications of teaching rational
choice that appeared in PS a little over 15 years ago. That
debate summarized key contemporary arguments about the possible civic
implications of teaching rational choice that likely still reverberate in
department and conference discussions today. Despite numerous books,
articles, and conference sessions on the perils and pluses of rational
choice in scholarship, very few empirical studies examine the civic
consequences of learning rational choice in undergraduate political
science courses. This article reports the results of a study that attempts
to do just that; to measure rational choice influences on students'
civic attitudes.