Psychology and Economic Behaviour

People buy and consume products, they gamble, they negotiate, and save money for their children. All these behaviours are examples of economic decisions that are governed by psychological processes. In this course, you will learn what psychology can contribute to the understanding of economic decisions and we will discuss how knowledge about psychology and economic behaviour can be used in practice. Can we harness ourselves to make better economic choices in daily life? And can governments or communities use insights from psychological findings to improve individual welfare?

This course will consist of lectures and tutorials. During the lectures, the teachers will give an overview of research and practice across a range of topics from psychology to understand economic behaviour. During the tutorials, students will learn how to apply psychological theory to behavioural problems in economic decision making. They will also conduct an experiment and write a report on the way in which research findings can inform us about potential solutions to real-life problems. Assessment consists of individual and group assignments as well as an exam.

You can contact us at the following email adress; PEB@uu.nl

The entire course will be taught in English. This also includes assignments and exams.

At the end of the course the student is able to:
• understand the main psychological phenomena at play in economic decisions
• design and conduct a psychological experiment on economic decision making
• reflect upon the implications of research findings for real-life situations

Je moet voldoen aan de volgende eisen

• Book Economic Psychology (ISBN 9781118926345)