Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

None

Aims

The aims of this module are:

This module aims to deepen students' understanding of decision-making by exploring the decision to cooperate as a special case. The module will achieve this by integrating multiple approaches to understanding how humans and other animals make choices in the first half of the module. In the second half of the module, students will study economic and evolutionary explanations of cooperation as a special case of decision making.

The first half of the module will:
• Give an overview of decision-making across primate species and human societies by using an interdisciplinary approach.
• integrate economic, psychological, neurobiological, and evolutionary approaches to understanding how humans make choices
• examine the mechanisms shaping various facets of decision-making; and examine the evolutionary function of these processes
• assess the real-world consequences of decision-making in terms of wealth, health, and well-being.

The second half of the module will:
• Show how cooperation is a fundamental aspect of human and animal nature;
• Show how disciplines ranging from economics to evolutionary psychology can contribute to understanding cooperation;
• Provide an understanding of how and why individuals cooperate with each other;
• Use cooperation as a model for understanding the roles of mechanistic and functional explanations of behaviour;
• Use cooperation as a model for appreciating the various moral, ethical and practical issues surrounding appropriate research methods;

Outline Of Syllabus

Topics covered by this module include:


o Decision-making: why is important and how it is studied
o Principles of rational decision making- the concept of rationality in economics, psychology, and biology
o Choice biases and heuristics
o Decision-making variation across individuals: the effect of age, gender, personality, and individual states
o Emotions and decision-making
o Cultural variation in decision-making across human societies
o Evolution & natural selection/Tinbergen’s 4 whys
o The evolutionary origins of human biases and decision-making
o The fundamentals of cooperation
o Human and non-human animal cooperation
o Game theory and the economic approach to cooperation
o Theories of cooperation (e.g. kin selection, direct reciprocity, interdependence)
o Mechanisms of cooperation (e.g. cheat recognition, trust, punishment, emotions)
o Assessment preparation and guidance

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:


1. describe and discuss the principles of rational decision-making from economics, psychology, and biology
2. describe and evaluate various research methods (including their moral, ethical, and practical issues) used to assess cooperation and how humans make decisions, from lab experiments to field studies.
3. explain features of decision-making in terms of their underlying mechanisms and evolution
4. identify and discuss the factors that affect human choices
5. explain the fundamental role of cooperation in nature and in human societies
6. describe the range of ways in which individuals cooperate
7. discuss both functional and mechanistic explanations of cooperative behaviour
8. appraise the merits of applying a multidisciplinary approach to the study of human decision-making and cooperation
9. appraise the evidence for cross-species and cross-cultural variation in decision-making and cooperation

Intended Skill Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. integrate evidence from different disciplines to synthesize complex phenomena
2. apply evolutionary thinking and multidisciplinary approach to new problem
3. read, interpret and critically appraise research/literature from different disciplines on the topic of decision-making and cooperation, including the roles of theories, models, observations and experiments in science
4. synthesize empirical evidence examining cultural and evolutionary aspects of decision-making and cooperation
5. communicate research to a broad audience
6. deliver evidenced and thoughtful arguments on the moral, ethical and practical issues and constraints involved in the research methodologies of decision making and cooperation research
7. identify and evaluate opposing and complimentary explanations of cooperation and apply this to specific examples of cooperative behaviour in animals and humans
8. apply ethograms in the collection of observational behavioural data

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Weekly lectures are used as the primary and most effective mode of imparting the core knowledge of the module. The session will include interactive materials (such as recall of cheaters’ faces and playing economic games) to enhance the student experience.

Guest lectures will add to the depth and breadth of the module by providing examples of current research and trends in the field. It also presents an opportunity for students to hear different perspectives and presentation styles for delivering presentations in an academic context.

Seminars will encourage contextualisation of taught material through discussion, Q & As, data interpretation and problem-solving. Sessions will embed formative practice and will also support students in their assessment preparation.

The seminar series may also consist of an external seminar (fieldwork); following an appropriate risk assessment by the module leader, students will engage in field observations of a human or non-human animal cooperative behaviour while using an ethogram and then discuss their findings in relation to the module’s knowledge and skills outcomes.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The formative assessment and feedback (annotated bibliography) are aimed at giving students the opportunity to practice the skills necessary to search, select and use literatures relevant for the assessment.
The coursework (abstract) is aimed at practicing the ability to synthesize and explain concisely empirical research.

The presentation assessment in this module is designed to go beyond merely evaluating students' presentation skills. It serves as a comprehensive measure of their understanding and engagement with the core topics of cooperation and decision-making throughout the course. This ensures that students cannot limit their focus to a single topic narrow area.

To successfully meet the assessment criteria, students will be required to:
1.       Synthesise Content: Presentations must reflect an integration of knowledge acquired across multiple topics within the module. This will demonstrate their understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of cooperation and decision-making.
2.       Critically Evaluate: Students must consider multiple perspectives, including cross-species and cross-cultural examples.
3.       Future Directions: Students must apply their knowledge to making improvements to decision making research.
4.       Answer a Question: Students will be required to answer a question that encapsulates key themes from the module.

General Notes

N/A