PSYC 267 - Behavioral Decision Making

Adult life comes with the responsibility of managing difficult decisions about relationships, health, money, and work, and the classic rational-agent view of human behavior assumes that people are predisposed to view life decisions objectively and to make sound choices regardless of other circumstances. Instead, researchers have discovered that each of us sees the world through a subjective lens that is influenced by our personal experiences, evolutionary history, and immediate surroundings, none of which consistently promotes rational choice. In this course, we will examine the associative, emotional, and motivational processes that govern how people evaluate their environment and make real-life choices in the face of uncertainty and incomplete information. We will also explore how the psychological work on these topics has enhanced our ability to predict and control peoples’ choices and has influenced contemporary decision theory. Learning about these concepts will encourage you to be skeptical about your own judgments, to look out for the many pitfalls of sound decision-making, and to weigh the perspectives of others when judging their choices. Prerequisite: C- or better in PSYC 110. Tier 2 course. Spring Group I