Cognitive Science 311, Is Deviating from Rational Conduct Rational?  Economic Behavior in Humans and Other Animals

Office Hours

	Sean Flynn:  Thursdays, 5:00-7:00 p.m., 29 Blodgett Hall or 130 Blodgett Hall
	Kevin Holloway: Mondays, 10:00-12:00 p.m., 223 Blodgett Hall

Contact

	Sean Flynn: flynn@vassar.edu
	Kevin Holloway: keholloway@vassar.edu

Course Documents

Syllabus

Course Description

The 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to psychologist Daniel Kahneman for his explorations of decision making in situations of uncertainty. His and other research has shown that actual behavior often differs radically from models that assume rational behavior.  In our course we will examine these models and assumptions as they apply to foraging in humans and other animals, social effects on economic behavior, conservation of economic behavior across species, game theory, evolutionary theory, absolute vs. positional games, neuroeconomics, and models of risk aversion.  We will address these topics through readings, lectures, student presentations, discussions, and experiments.