We make decisions
every day of our lives. Sometimes we are happy with our decisions.
Other times we are regretful and believe that, if we had the
chance to do it again, we could make a better decision. On the
other hand, many of us have the experience of making the same
mistake repeatedly. In past decades psychologists, and more
recently economists, have provided interesting insights regarding
how people’s decisions deviate from the optimal. This course is an
introduction to the theory and empirical evidence on human
decision processes. We will study how heuristics and biases affect
individual decisions, and how individual decisions differ from
those made at group level. The goal of this course is to develop
an understanding of the nature and implications of human
limitations in judgment and decision. This will help you to better
predict decisions made by others, and will also assist in
improving your own decisions.
Punishment is an
important tool for promoting cooperation in social environments
including families, companies, markets and courts. This seminar
uses experimental research in economics, law and psychology to
explore critical issues in punishment and cooperation. Why do
people sometimes incur costs to themselves in order to punish
others? How do people behave under punishment threats? Why do
punishment threats sometimes have detrimental effects on
cooperation? How are emotions and punishment connected? Students
will investigate these and related research questions. Each
student will design an experiment that can inform a single
research topic. Each student will make classroom presentations and
submit term-papers detailing her topic and the way she address it
using laboratory or field experiments.
