Symbolic Systems Program

Decision Making and Rationality Concentration

Decision Making and Rationality

[updated 9/20/2009]

This concentration is designed for students who want to apply what they learn in the Symbolic Systems core to questions about behavioral rationality. It combines different methodological approaches to the study of both individual and social action. Goals include understanding human choice behavior in relation to normative theories of rationality, and assisting human decision making through formal models, empirical study, and computational tools. Students should work with a faculty advisor to choose six courses from among the five areas below (Philosophical inquiry, Formal decision theories, Empirical findings and explanations, Practical tools and applications, and Methodological foundations), including at least one course under each of the first four areas. Some courses may be appropriate for more than one area, as reflected in the listings below, but any given course may be counted only for one area. In selecting courses, students are encouraged to find and explore themes that interest them across the areas. The courses listed below are examples of courses that would be appropriate within each area - courses not listed below may be appropriate, but require explicit approval from the program. Some of the courses listed below may no longer be offered, and will be deleted from future lists.

Philosophical inquiry. For example: Computers, Ethics, and Social Responsibility (CS 201), Ethics and Public Policy (MS&E 197/PubPol 103B/STS 110), Materiality (CASA 372), The Ethical Analyst (MS&E 254), Voluntary Social Systems (MS&E 299), Medical Ethics (Phil 78), Concepts of Freedom (Phil 155), Popper, Kuhn, and Lakatos (Phil 156/Edu 214), Central Topics in the Philosophy of Science: Theory and Evidence (Phil 164/264), Probability: Ten Great Ideas About Chance (Phil 166/266), Philosophy, Biology, and Behavior (Phil 167B), Ethical Theory (Phil 170), Political Philosophy (Phil 171), Kantian Value Theory (Phil 172), Theory of Knowledge (Phil 184), Philosophy of Action (Phil 187), Philosophical Applications of Cognitive Science (Phil 189), Undergraduate Seminar: Time and Free Will (Phil 194B), Undergraduate Seminar: Free Will and Moral Responsibility (Phil 194D), Valuing (Phil 374), Topics in Democratic Theory (Phil 377/PoliSci 333), Justification and Entitlement (Phil 383), Practical Rationality (Phil 387), History of Political Thought I, II, and III (PoliSci 130A,B,C), Contemporary Theories of Justice (PoliSci 231S), Rational Choice (PoliSci 436)[if not taken for the core].

Formal decision theories. For example: Multi-Agent Systems (CS 224M), Algorithmic Game Theory (CS 364A), Economic Analysis II (Econ 51), Game Theory and Economic Applications (Econ 160), Normative Decision Theory and Social Choice (Econ 281), Game Theory and Economic Applications (Econ 286), Advanced Topics in Game Theory and Information Economics (Econ 289), Multiperson Decision Theory (Econ 290), Modal Logic (Phil 154), Logic and Social Choice (Phil 355), Introduction to Game Theoretic Methods in Political Science (PoliSci 152), Foundations of Political Economy (PoliSci 351A), Game Theory for Sociology (Soc 253).

Empirical findings and explanations. For example: Human Behavioral Ecology (AnthSci 163/HumBio 161), The Economic Individual in the Behavioral Sciences (BioSci 128/HumBio 113), Human Behavioral Biology (BioSci 150), Democratic Theory: Normative and Empirical Issues (Comm 138), Psychological Processing of Media (Comm 172), Experimental Economics (Econ 179), Psychology and Economics (Econ 244), Experimental Economics (Econ 279), Organizational Behavior and Analysis (Edu 288X), Seminar on Organizational Theory (Edu 375A/Soc 363A), International Health Policy: Comparative National Health Care Systems (HumBio 122), Decision Making in U.S. Foreign Policy (IPS 314S/PoliSci 314S), Judgment and Decision Making (Law 333/PubPol 205A/IPS 207A), American Political Sociology and Public Opinion: Who We Are and What We Believe (PoliSci 120A), Politics and Public Policy (PoliSci 123/PubPol 101), Political Culture (PoliSci 344U), Economic Analysis of Political Institutions (PoliSci 351B), Applied Formal Models: Government Decision Making (PoliSci 351C), Organizational Decision Making (PoliSci 365), Introduction to Political Psychology (PoliSci 424), Introduction to Learning and Memory (Psych 45), Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience (Psych 50), Introduction to Social Psychology (Psych 70), Introduction to Cultural Psychology (Psych 75), Introduction to Personality Psychology (Psych 80), The Science of Well-Being (Psych 135), Judgment and Decision Making (Psych 154), Applications of Social Psychology (Psych 156), Emotions: History, Theory, and Research (Psych 158), Seminar on Aggression (Psych 167), Emotion Regulation (Psych 168), Social Psychological Perspectives on Stereotyping and Prejudice (Psych 180), Foundations of Cognition (Psych 205), Social Psychology (Psych 212), Mind, Culture, and Society (Psych 215), Social Norms (Psych 223), Theories of Thought (Psych 225), Brain and Decision Making (Psych 232), Social Psychological Perspectives on Stereotyping and Prejudice (Psych 245), Affective Neuroscience (Psych 251), Frontiers of Personality (Psych 254), The Psychology of Everyday Morality (Psych 270), Topics in Cognitive Control (Psych 279), Organizations and Public Policy (PubPol 102), Business and Public Policy (PubPol 195), The Political Economy of the Federal Budget (PubPol 196), Politics and Society (Soc 110), Economic Sociology (Soc 114), Topics in Economic Sociology (Soc 115), Interpersonal Relations (Soc 120), Social Psychology and Social Structure (Soc 121), Introduction to Social Networks (Soc 126), Bargaining, Power, and Influence in Social Interaction (Soc 127), Formal Organizations (Soc 160), Sociology of Culture (Soc 222), Decision Behavior: Theory and Evidence (SymbSys 170).

Practical tools and applications. For example: Managing the Commons: Evolving Theories for Sustainable Resource Use (AnthSci 167C), Introduction to Biomedical Systems (Biomedin 211/CS 271),Computers, Ethics, and Social Responsibility (CS 201), Rational Agency and Intelligent Interaction (CS 222), Multi-Agent Systems (CS 224M), Statistical Techniques in Robotics (CS 226), Probabilistic Models in Artificial Intelligence (CS 228), Computer Science and Game Theory (CS 324), Seminar on Studying Up (CASA 349), Introduction to Financial Accounting (Econ 90), Finance I for Non-MBAs (Econ 135), Auctions and Market Design (Econ 136), Information and Incentives (Econ 137), Risk and Insurance (Econ 138), Public Finance and Fiscal Policy (Econ 141), Ethics in Economics Policy (Econ 143), Economic Policy Analysis (Econ 150), Economics of the Internet (Econ 153), Environmental Economics and Policy (Econ 155/EarthSys 112), Computational Economics (Econ 288), Educating for Equity and Democracy (Edu 167X), Moral Education (Edu 247), Engineering Economy (Engin 60), Ethics of Development in a Global Environment (EDGE) (Engin 297A,B,C), Ethics in the Professions (EthSoc 108), Ethical Issues in the Neurosciences (HumBio 121), Economic Analysis of Law (Law 277), Introduction to Decision Analysis (MS&E 152), Introduction to Decision Making in Organizations (MS&E 153), Organizations: Theory and Management (MS&E 180), Ethics and Public Policy (MS&E 197/PubPol 103B, STS 110), Economics of Natural Resources (MS&E 248), Engineering Risk Analysis (MS&E 250A), Project Course in Engineering Risk Analysis (MS&E 250B), Stochastic Decision Models (MS&E 251), Decision Analysis I, II, and III (MS&E 252, 352, 353), Influence Diagrams and Probabilistic Networks (MS&E 355), Mediation for Dispute Resolution (Psych 152), Applications of Social Psychology (Psych 156), Seminar on Personal and Social Change (Psych 166), Technology and Politics (STS 176), ICT, Society, and Democracy (Symbsys 201), Philanthropy: Effecting Social Change and Innovation in the Public Sector (UrbanSt 122), Business Concepts and Skills for the Social Sector (UrbanSt 163B).

Methodological foundations. For example: Outcomes Analysis (Biomedin 251/HRP 252), Communication Research Methods (Comm 106), Questionnaire Design for Surveys and Laboratory Experiments: Social and Cognitive Perspectives (Comm 239), Introduction to Scientific Computing (CS 137/CME 108), Matlab and Maple for Science and Engineering Applications (CS 138), Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction Design (CS 147), Introduction to Automata and Complexity Theory (CS 154), Design and Analysis of Algorithms (CS 161), Optimization and Algorithmic Paradigms (CS 261), Economic Analysis I (Econ 50), Introduction to Econometrics (Econ 102B), Advanced Topics in Econometrics (Econ 102C), Introduction to Optimization (Engin 62), Probabilistic Analysis (MS&E 120), Introduction to Stochastic Modeling (MS&E 121), Matrix Theory and Its Applications (Math 103), Research Methods and Experimental Design (Psych 110), Statistical Methods for Behavioral and Social Sciences (Psych 252), Statistical Theory, Models, and Methodology (Psych 253), Methods in Personality and Social Psychology (Psych 296), Methods for Sociological Research (Soc 180), Introduction to Statistical Inference (Stat 200), Statistical Methods in Meta-Analysis (Stat 211), Introduction to Stochastic Processes (Stat 217, 218), Statistical Computing (Stat 227), Theory of Probability (Stat 310A,B,C), Systems: Theory, Science, and Metaphor (SymbSys 205).