Abstract: Rational choice theory analyzes how an agent can rationally act, given his or her
preferences, but says little about where those preferences come from. Instead,
preferences are usually assumed to be fixed and exogenously given. We introduce a
framework for conceptualizing preference formation and preference change. In our
model, an agent's preferences are based on certain "motivationally salient"’properties
of the alternatives over which the preferences are held. Preferences may change as
new properties of the alternatives become salient or previously salient ones cease
to be so. We suggest that our approach captures endogenous preferences in various
contexts, and helps to illuminate the distinction between formal and substantive
concepts of rationality, as well as the role of perception in rational choice.