Honors Seminar on Decision Processes
Fall, 2000, Mondays & Wednesdays 4th period (1:10 - 2:30)
Psychology Building room A139 [note room change]
Professor: Gretchen B. Chapman, Ph.D.
| Date | Topic | Reading | Assignments |
| Wed Sept 6 | Introduction | Skim Chapters 1-3 | |
| Mon Sept 11 | Expected Utility Theory | Chapter 16 | Decision tree assignment handed out |
| Wed Sept 13 | Prospect Theory I | Chapter 18 | |
| Mon Sept 18 | Prospect Theory II | Tversky & Kahneman (2000/1984) | Decision tree assignment due |
| Wed Sept 20 | Choice biases I | Slovic (1995) | |
| Mon Sept 25 | Choice biases II | Shafir, Simonson, & Tversky (1993) | Choice assignment handed out |
| Wed Sept 27 | Study planning session | Read & Loewenstein (1995) | Choice assignment due |
| Mon Oct 2 | Sunk Cost | Arkes (1996) | |
| Wed Oct 4 | Regret | Zeelenberg (1999) | Take-home exam #1 handed out |
| Mon Oct 9 | Intertemporal Choice | Chapter 24 | |
| Wed Oct 11 | MAUT | Chapter 17 | Take-home exam #1 due; MAUT assignment handed out |
| Mon Oct 16 | Anchoring | Chapman & Johnson (in press) | |
| Wed Oct 18 | Quantitative Judgment | Chapter 20 | MAUT assignment due |
| Mon Oct 23 | Probability Judgment | Chapter 11 | Calibration assignment handed out |
| Wed Oct 25 | Study Planning Session | No reading assignment | |
| Mon Oct 30 | Overconfidence | Yates et al. (1998) | Calibration assignment due; |
| Tues Oct 31 | Halloween Study | Collect data | |
| Wed Nov 1 | Judgment Biases I | Chapter 12 | Take-home exam #2 handed out |
| Mon Nov 6 | Judgment Biases II | Tversky & Kahneman (2000/1974) | |
| Wed Nov 8 | Contingency Judgment | Chapter 14 | Take-home exam #2 due |
| Mon Nov 13 | Bayes' Theorem | Review Chapter 11 pp. 203-210 | Bayes' Theorem assignment handed out |
| Wed Nov 15 | NO CLASS | ||
| Mon Nov 20 | NO CLASS | ||
| Wed Nov 22 | NO CLASS (Friday classes) | Bayes' Theorem assignment due | |
| Mon Nov 27 | Hypothesis Testing | Chapter 13 | Halloween write-up due |
| Wed Nov 29 | Predicted utility | Loewenstein & Schkade (1999) | |
| Fri Dec 1 | Class trip to Gilbert colloquium | 4:00 pm at Princeton | |
| Mon Dec 4 | Game Theory | Rasmusen (1989) Chapter 1 | |
| Wed Dec 6 | Ethical Decision Making | Chapter 21 | Game Theory assignment handed out |
| Mon Dec 11 | Fairness | Chapter 22 | Game Theory assignment due |
| Wed Dec 13 | Social Dilemmas | Chapter 23 | Take home exam #3 handed out |
| Mon Dec 18 | Take home exam #3 due 8:30 am |
Course Description: This course will explore the cognitive processes that underlie decision making. The ways in which people actually make decisions will be contrasted with normative theories of the best or most rational way to make decisions. Discrepancies between the two, known as decision biases, are used to inform psychological or descriptive theories. Course topics will included decision making under uncertainty, decision making with multiple goals, decision making for delayed outcomes, judgments of uncertainty, and group decision making.
Class Format: This class will be a small seminar that mixes some lecture by the instructor with a lot of class discussion about the readings and lectures. Assignments will include several very short problem sets, three take-home essay exams, and attendance of an outside decision making colloquium (organized as a class trip). In addition, the class will design and administer a choice experiment.
Readings:
Dr. Chapman's office hours are tentatively set for Mondays 8:30 - 10:30 am and by appointment in room 215, Psychology Building, Busch Campus.
Assignments and Grading: