1. Humans are purposive and goal oriented.

2. Humans have sets of hierarchically ordered preferences, or utilities.

3. In choosing lines of behavior, humans make rational calculations with respect to:
   • the utility of alternative lines of conduct with reference to the preference hierarchy

   • the costs of each alternative in terms of utilities foregone

   • the best way to maximize utility.

4. Emergent social phenomena -- social structures, collective decisions, and collective behavior -- are ultimately the result of rational choices made by utility-maximizing individuals.

5. Emergent social phenomena that arise from rational choices constitute a set of parameters for subsequent rational choices of individuals in the sense that they determine:
   • the distribution of resources among individuals

   • the distribution of opportunities for various lines of behavior

   • the distribution and nature of norms and obligations in a situation.

(Jonathan Turner 1991, The Structure of Sociological Theory, p. 354)