Dear all,

I hope you do not mind, if I once more make use of this very helpful 
forum to get some ideas and references on the historical development 
of rational choice theory, on which I started working only very 
recently. I have two concerns:

1) First, it seems difficult to pin down when the term "rational 
choice theory" was actually used as such for the first time and by 
whom. Maybe you have any information about that!?

2) Another concern is the idea of operationalism: it seems to enter 
into economics "offically" in the 1930s with Samuelson influenced by 
P. W. Bridgman. However, when it comes to the concept of utility for 
example and the attempts to measure it, could we not say that a kind 
of operationalism seems to have been already present long before 
Samuelson? Maybe I am wrong and some of you have any thoughts about that.

I would be very grateful to get some advice or reading tips.

With best wishes,

Catherine Herfeld