Psy 410F-B: Judgment and Decision Making Capstone

Prof. Allen McConnell — Autumn 2003

Class meets in 133 Benton Hall
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30 - 1:45 p.m.

Psy 410F-B on the World Wide Web: http://www.users.muohio.edu/mcconnar/psy410-jdm.html

Readings

·        Cialdini, R. B. (2001).  Influence: Science and practice (4th edition).  Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

·        Plous, S. (1993).  The psychology of judgment and decision making.  New York: McGraw-Hill.

·        Psy 410F-B reading packet, Oxford Copy Shop, 10 South Poplar, uptown Oxford, 523-3636 ($10.48 + tax).

This course focuses on understanding judgment and decision making processes.  Every day, we make decisions both big (e.g., choosing a career, ending a romantic relationship) and small (e.g., wondering whether we ordered pizza from the best place in town).  How do we make decisions such as these?  Why do many of our decisions produce very strong feelings and emotions within us?  What biases our decisions?  How can we make better decisions in the future?  What aspects of judgment and decision making are beyond our control and purview?  Social psychologists have become the vanguard in judgment and decision making research, borrowing many ideas from cognitive, personality, developmental, and clinical psychology.  Hence, it is especially fitting for this course to be offered as a capstone class in psychology because although we will examine judgment and decision making from a social psychological perspective, we will draw upon other areas of psychology as well.

This course has several goals... 

•   First, students should develop an in-depth and integrative understanding of how approaching judgment and decision making from a psychological perspective improves our understanding of human behavior.

•   Although the emphasis of the course is on how social psychologists study judgment and decision making,
this capstone course is designed to show how different subdisciplines in psychology contribute to our understanding of judgment and decision making.

•   Also, students should learn how theory helps to frame issues associated with judgment and decision making and how research findings that examine judgment and decision making speak to psychological theory, helping to build bridges among different areas of psychology.

•   Lastly, this course should help students identify and understand various judgment and decision making processes that affect human behavior in the real world.  In other words, the application of findings and theories should help students “make sense” of why people do the things they do.  These insights should help students better understand the events they see in the news, with their friends, in their families, and within their communities.

Grades

The instructor reserves the right to adjust the grading scale.  If modifications occur, such changes will only make it easier for you to get a better grade (i.e., the scale will never be adjusted against you).  However, it would be extremely unwise to anticipate that an adjustment will occur.  Final grades will be based on the final number of points earned as applied to the above grading scale, no exceptions.  There is no end-of-semester negotiation period where students plea and barter for a better grade in the class.  If students are dissatisfied with their performance in the class, they should discuss their situation with the instructor or TA early in the term — don’t wait until it’s too late.

Exams

Analysis Papers

During the semester, each student will write two short (3-4 pages, double-spaced, typed) papers, applying the topic matter for the course to an analysis of recent, real-world phenomena.  Analysis papers are individual projects (i.e., they are not group projects), and they must be conducted individually.  There will be two topics for this semester: understanding the military conflict in Iraq (Paper 1) and considering fluctuations in the stock market (Paper 2).  Each student must identify one or more noteworthy aspects for each topic and apply the theories and findings of the course to explain why things occurred the way they did (i.e., analyze).  The first paper (war in Iraq) will draw upon course material covered in the first half (Weeks 1-7) of the course, whereas the second paper (stock market behavior) will draw upon material presented during the second part of the course (Weeks 6-13).  Only material related to course readings and discussions should be used in the analysis papers.  To facilitate writing and thinking, a writing day will be observed before each paper is due, providing students with a day off from course reading to cull their ideas and write about them.  More details about the analysis papers will be provided in separate handouts provided in class.

Oral Presentation Project

At the end of the semester, students will give an oral presentation to the class by picking one of the two topics and applying judgment and decision making theories and findings to develop a psychologically engaging situation.  Students will have a choice between inventing a “game of chance” designed to maximize the likelihood of inducing people to “spend their last penny to play the game” or designing a shopping environment that maximizes the likelihood the people will “purchase a great deal of material goods they don’t really need.”  Whether students design the “ultimate game of chance” or the “ultimate shopping environment” is completely up to them.  The goal of the oral presentation project is to focus students on integration of the material from the entire semester and applying that knowledge to situations that are especially engineered to prey on people’s poor judgment and decision making skills.  Students will explain their grand design in short reports (approximately 6-7 minutes) during the last week of the class.

Quizzes and Class Participation:

During the semester, short pop quizzes (10 total) on assigned readings will be administered to reward students for keeping up with their readings.  They will not be difficult.  If students do their reading, this will be the easiest 10% of the grade.  They will be administered at the very beginning of class.  If students are late to class or are sick, they cannot make them up (even with a documented excuse).

Class participation and attendance will be assessed each class for which there is a reading assignment or a class  discussion.  Missing class will cost students 10 points per day (even if the absence is excused).  Students who habitually say nothing will lose points even if they attend class (they will receive a warning from the instructor first).  Because discussion is at the heart of a capstone course, participating is essential.

Class Policies:

Academic integrity:  Any act of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, lying, cheating, plagiarism) will not be tolerated and will be punished to the fullest extent in accordance with Miami University policy on academic misconduct (see Sections 501-507 of Undergraduate Academic Regulations, 2003-2004 Student Handbook).  Any evidence of academic misconduct by a group of students will be considered academic misconduct by all parties involved.

Assignments:  Assignment due dates are posted in the syllabus, and they are due at the end of the regularly-scheduled class period (i.e., an assignment is late if handed in later in the day after class).  In essence, this syllabus serves as a contract between the instructor and students.  The instructor reserves the right to alter the syllabus at any time as warranted.  However, the instructor will make such revisions at least one week ahead of a particular due date if it entails making assignments due at an earlier date.  Any alterations will be announced in class.  Although such arrangements will be communicated in advance, it is the student’s responsibility to attend to these announcements.  Students who do not attend class assume the responsibility for missing alterations to the course.

Special considerations:  In situations where special and documented circumstances require that a student not take an exam during a scheduled time (e.g., arrangements for disabled students, being a member of an athletic team that has an official obligation during class time, religious observance), special arrangements can be made to accommodate such needs.  However, students in these situations must make these arrangements with the instructor at the beginning of the semester and provide official documentation regarding these circumstances.

Course notes:  Attending class and taking notes are each student’s responsibility.  The instructor will lend out notes under any circumstances.  If students miss a class, ask classmates to borrow their notes. 

Classroom conduct:  While in the classroom, people are expected to conduct themselves in a respectful and civil manner.  It is quite all right (and downright encouraged) for people to express their opinions and beliefs in an impassioned fashion.  It is quite another thing, however, to be disrespectful or rude to students or to the instructor.  It is fine to disagree with others, and it is okay to express non-PC (politically correct) views.  However, bigotry will not go unchallenged and disrespect will not be accepted.  In class, listen to others, participate, and be involved.  If you want to read the paper, talk to friends, or sleep — stay at home.  In the same vein, turn off your cell phone, silence your pager, and leave your toys in your bookbag. 

Make-ups:  There are no make-ups if you miss an exam or an analysis paper due date because of an unexcused absence.  An unexcused absence occurs when a student (1) did not obtain prior permission from the instructor concerning the absence or (2) did not provide documented evidence justifying the absence.  Documented evidence can be one of three things: (1) a signed note from a physician stating that you were sick and unable to attend class, (2) a letter from a funeral home or clergy on their letterhead indicating that you attended a memorial service, or (3) a letter from the Dean.  There are no exceptions to this policy.  There are absolutely no make-ups for the following assignments: quizzes, class participation, oral presentations.  If students miss these assignments, they will receive a zero (regardless of the circumstances).

Incompletes:  Except for cases of documented medical or family emergencies, incompletes will not be given.  There is no need for you to do badly in this class: the instructor will be available for meetings and will answer e-mail questions promptly, and points are earned in small chunks rather than a couple of monstrous exams.  If students feel compelled to drop the class, please note that the last day to drop the course without a grade being posted is September 16.  The deadline for withdrawal from the course with a W is October 7, and the last day to withdraw from the University or to drop the class with a grade of WP or WF is December 12.  Please see the academic calendar information published by the Office of the Registrar for more, and official, details regarding these dates and university policies.

Semester breakdown: