decision models of social structure

Modern studies of social structure focus on the individual as the analytic unit out of which kin groups are composed. They view individual behavior as responsive to self‐interest rather than obedient to societal norms and treat kin‐group composition as a by‐product of individual decisions, based on considerations of self‐interest, to join and leave such groups. Decision models of social structure attempt to develop this orientation into a formal and rigorous approach. Earlier decision models have been concerned with systematic retrieval and exhaustive listing of the decision criteria entering into kin‐group affiliation; more recent models have been concerned with improved prediction of individual affiliation and the kin group patterns which result. These later models fall into three types: “information processing models,” “retrodictive models,” and a “model of cultural principles.” All these models are highly predictive of situations in which individual affiliation is constrained by social norm or economic necessity. However, they cannot predict affiliation choices which are left up to the individual and are made on the basis of subjective evaluation, which varies from individual to individual. Kin‐group affiliation usually involves both constraints and opportunities for subjective evaluation of alternatives.