RICHARD POSNER's THEORY OF JUDICIAL DECISION-MAKING (in 'How Judges Think' 2008) argues judges are:

1. RICHARD POSNER's 'How Judges Think' (2008) developed a sophisticated theory of judicial behaviour. 2. KEY CLAIMS: 3. (i) Judges are NEITHER pure legal formalists NOR purely partisan ideologues; 4. (ii) Judges are RATIONAL ACTORS pursuing PERSONAL OBJECTIVES within constraints — leisure, reputation, professional satisfaction, integrity, public esteem; 5. (iii) Constraints: career considerations, collegiality, workload, reputation; 6. (iv) Judges as 'OCCASIONAL LEGISLATORS' — gap-filling in ambiguous cases reflects pragmatic policy considerations; 7. (v) PRAGMATISM — emphasis on consequences over abstract principles; 8. (vi) ECONOMIC ANALYSIS — applied to judicial decision-making. 9. CRITIQUES: economic model may not capture all motivations; reductionism. 10. INFLUENCE: empirical studies of judicial behaviour; jurisprudence of strategic judging. 11. Hence option B is correct. _Source: Legal Research Methodology + Jurisprudence — Richard Posner, 'How Judges Think' (2008); 'Reflections on Judging' (2013)_