MAXIMIZATION AND THE ACT OF CHOICE

The act of choosing can have particular relevance in maximizing behavi or for at least two distinct reasons: (1) process significance (prefer ences may be sensitive to the choice process, including the identity o f the chooser), and (2) decisional inescapability (choices may have to be made whether or not the judgemental process has been completed). T he general approach of maximizing behavior can - appropriately formula ted - accommodate both concerns, but the regularities of choice behavi or assumed in standard models of rational choice will need significant modification. These differences have considerable relevance in studie s of economic, social, and political behavior.