Mon, 10 Oct 1994 19:23:49 -0700 for <socgrad@ucsd.edu>
Date:         Mon, 10 Oct 94 22:13:50 EDT
From: Alan <DAVIDSON@UConnVM.UConn.Edu>
Subject:      Rational Choice and Human agency
To: socgrad@UCSD.EDU
It is true that, on some level, normative commitments can inform or shape
the actions of particular actors.  But, the main thrust is, that norms and
internalization isn't all there is to it, and, unless someone is in a quest
to prove the inherent conceptual predictability of a human actor, internalizati
on and norms are not the most fruitful avenue to go down in explaining why
actors do what they do.  A very good case in point is religious switching.
One would be hard pressed to explain on normative criteria alone not only
the fact that people change religious denominations and affiliations in
their lifetimes, but also why people who have switched into a religion or
denomination as adults often show greater levels of religious practice,
and doctrinal understanding than those who were raised as and remain members
of a particular group.  In this world, parental socialization explains less and
less about adult behavior, and while "internalization " might exist and
operate, it is hardly the requisite social process Parsons made it out to
be.