Agents and Structures: Two Views of Preferences, Two Views of Institutions

Two analytical distinct approaches to the study of domestic politics have been referred to as the "new institutionalism." The fundamental difference between the two brands of institutionalism can be seen in the way they handle the relationship between "agents" and "structures.""Structure-based" approaches to institutions give ontological primacy to structures and view agents as being constituted by them. "Agency-centered" approaches view human agents as ontologically primative and view institutions as structures that are created by goal-maximizing individuals. The two approaches are compared, with special attention given to the way they treat the preferences that actors hold. I argue that contrary to arguments made by many structure-based theorists, the agency-centered approach is capable of contributing to discussions regarding the sources of actor preferences. A limited information model of the strategic interaction between workers and capitalists is used to demonstrate ways in which the agency-centered approach can begin to make preferences endogenous.     

Hindsight bias and third-party consentors to warrantless police searches

Research on hindsight bias indicates that awareness of event outcome influences how individuals interpret information and form judgments. We extend this earlier work to suggest that the effect of this bias on lay perceptions of third-party consent to warrantless searchers of residences may be contingent upon the presence verus absence of the search target(the suspect). A study using random assignment to experimental conditions in a between-subjects design explored this possibility. The experiment indicated that hindsight bias in perceived rights of the third-party consentor is influenced, not only by search outcome, but also by a web of overlapping and potentially competing social obligations and personal prerogatives, the salience of which is influenced by situational dynamics.Portions of this research were reported in a panel session at the 1989 meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Reno.     

Health policy for the elderly

also director of the human development program at his university. He is the author of The Decision-Makers: The Power Structure of Dallas; The Aging Enterprise; Long-Term Care of the Elderly,and Political Economy, Health, and Aging.