Psy­cho­logy of De­cision Mak­ing - We are not Ir­ra­tion­al, are we?

Course content

Having completed business or management education, most of us are searching for the keys to adaptive decision making in classrooms, textbooks and other controlled environments with clear metrics and practical tools. Rigorous analytical methods can help us in well-ordered situations. Frequently, however, what we were taught about making tough choices quickly falls apart, because the dynamic real-world situations are anything but well structured. We have to rely on our experiences, intuition and creativity instead, and look for a different set of approaches. A major focus of this inter-disciplinary course is whether, or under what conditions, people deviate from normative rules of decision making that have been developed by other disciplines, such as economics or management. We will examine ambiguous situations which are difficult to understand, and where conventional methods may not lead to good solutions. We will explore assessments of risk and uncertainty, including research on heuristics and biases. We will approach decision situations from the individual's perspective, through the different lenses of individual personalities and styles. We will see how decisions are actually made and how psychological processes can explain the apparent deviation from logic and rationality. This course will help students develop personal competencies in the following areas:
- enhancing mental effectiveness by learning the psychology behind rational thinking, as well as its barriers;
- identifying personal decision making styles and recognizing the styles and strategies of others;
- strengthening problem solving, decision making and negotiation skills.  

Pre-course activity: Preliminary readings (as per syllabus) and completing two tests (on 'canvas')

 

Class 1: Thinking about thinking: Mental models; tests, case study discussion
Class 2: Personality types; self-awareness, cultural values
​​Class 3: Stress in decision making, crisis management - in-class experiment
Class 4: Problem solving and decision making; Decision models
Class 5: Are we rational? - concept of rationality; 'quasi-rationality'
Class 6: Limits to decision making; cognitive biases

Class 7: Ambiguity; Crisis decision making

Class 8: Creative problem solving. Intuition
Class 9: Interactive decision making – negotiation: styles, psychology of negotiation
Class 10: Comprehensive Review

  See course description in course catalogue