Behavioural Economics (5 cr)

Learning outcomes

The student is able to:
- evaluate the effects of psychological, social, cognitive, and emotional factors on economic decision making
- discuss the role of rationality and emotions in purchasing decisions
- explain the mechanisms that define judgment processes

Location and time

In Leppävaara according to schedule. Presence on the first day is compulsory, as well as presence during team presentations and possible guest lectures.

Materials

Literature:
Barden, Phil. (2013). Decoded. The Science Behind Why We Buy. Wiley.
Bazerman, Max H. & Moore, Don A. (2013) Judgment in Managerial Decision Making. Wiley.
Kahneman, Daniel, Sibony, Olivier & Sunstein, Caa R. (2021). Noise - A Flaw in Human Judgment. Little Brown Spark, Hachette Book Group.
Kahnemann, Daniel. (2011). Thinking Fast and Slow. Penguin Books.
Thaler, Richard H. (2015). Misbehaving. The Making of Behavioral Economics. W.W. Norton & Company Inc.
Thaler, Richard H. & Sustein, Cass R. (2008). Nudge. Improving Decisions, about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Yale University Press.
Please visit the Laurea library to find more information on this topic.
Articles:
Kahnemann, Daniel & Tversky, Amos. (1974) Judgment under Undercertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science. New Series. Vol. 185, No. 4157 (Sept. 27, 1974), pp. 1124-1131
Thaler, Richard H. (2008). Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice. Marketing Science. Vol. 27, No. 1. January-February 2008, pp. 15-25
From the net:
How You Really Make Decisions
Barry Schwartz: The Paradox of Choice
How Do People Really Make Choices
Dan Ariely: Are We in Control of Our Own Decisions?
Richard Thaler: Nudge - an overview
Richard Thaler: PBS News Hour
Mike Vaughan: How to Ask Better Questions

Teaching methods

Contact classes, team work, individual work.

Exam schedules

Contact classes and deadlines.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Further information

Behavioral economics assumes that people are boundedly rational actors with limited cognitive processing power and time, whose choices are influenced by the contexts in which decisions are embedded. (Samson, Behavioral Economics Guide 2017)
Behavioral economics takes into account the effects of psychological, social, cognitive, and emotional factors on economic decision making. During this course we will study them, discuss the role of rationality and emotions in purchasing decisions and seek to understand the mechanisms that define judgment processes.
The assignments that arrive late will be graded only if the late handing in has been agreed in advance with the teacher. The honoring of deadlines is taken into account in the grading. The late handing in will lower the grade, and if not justified, disallows the completing of this course.