RATIONALITY, EMOTION AND PREFERENCE CHANGE - DRAMA-THEORETIC MODELS OF CHOICE

Traditional models of ''rational choice'', such as those based on Game Theory and Decision Theory tend to work on the assumption that aims/p references can be specified prior to the decision process, and remain fixed during it. Other approaches, by contrast, stress the dynamics of preference change and problem re-formulation. In the context of confl ict and cooperation analysis, we have recently attempted to bridge the se two traditions by introducing drama-theoretic models. ?his paper re views some theories about preference change from this standpoint, some concerning individual preferences (including the role of emotions), o thers introducing group and organisational dimensions. We suggest that it possible to build dynamic models of choice which use the paradoxes of rational choice to link and systematise research both on the strat egic role of emotions and on the strategic use of argumentation.