Human thought and action in a social context often appears to be irrational. We will examine and discuss theoretical explanations and empirical studies regarding a host of phenomena that may be subsumed under the heading of "irrationality," among them:
• judgmental bias as a result of heuristic thinking
• magical thinking
• superstition
• intuition and feeling-based judgment
• treating animals and inanimate objects as if they were human (anthropomorphization)
etc.
Some of the questions we will address: Are there underlying principles that apply to all of these phenomena? How are they distinct? May what appears irrational actually have adaptive benefits?
IMPORTANT: In the first week of the semester there will be a joint preliminary meeting of the two social psychology seminars in Module 27-M-G (Diehl / Bohner). This will take place on Thursday, 9 October 2014, 12.15-13.00h (room tba). Students who wish to participate but cannot attend the preliminary meeting should call the social psychology office 0521 1064436 (Mrs. Akkaya-Willis) and indicate their preference for one of the two seminars.
This seminar will be held in English. This means that *all* materials, communications, and correspondence will be in English. Participating students should thus be comfortable with reading English literature, completing English-language homework assignments, and contributing actively to discussions in English each week.
The seminar forms part of MSc module 27-M-G (G.2 or G.3) and should be taken in either the second or third semester.
The list below is selective – additional literature will be compiled in the seminar.
Ariely, D. (2012). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions (2nd ed.). New York: HarperCollins.
Ariely, D. (2012). The upside of irrationality: The unexpected benefits of defying logic at work and at home. New York: HarperCollins.
Epstein, S., Pacini, R., Denes-Raj, V., & Heier, H. (1996). Individual differences in intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational thinking styles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 390–405.
Fogg, B. J., & Nass, C. (1997). Silicon sycophants: The effects of computers that flatter. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 46, 551–561.
Kahneman, D., Slovic, P., & Tversky, A. (Eds.). (1982). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Risen, J. L., & Gilovich, T. (2008). Why people are reluctant to tempt fate. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 293–307. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.2.293
Rozin, P., Millman, L., & Nemeroff, C. (1986). Operation of the laws of sympathetic magic in disgust and other domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 703-712.
Shafir, E., & Tversky, A. (1992). Thinking through uncertainty: Nonconsequential reasoning and choice. Cognitive Psychology, 24, 449-474.
Tversky, A., & Shafir, E. (1992). The disjunction effect in choice under uncertainty. Psychological Science, 3, 305-309.
There will be seminar pages on the Stud.IP platform.
Rhythmus | Tag | Uhrzeit | Format / Ort | Zeitraum |
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Modul | Veranstaltung | Leistungen | |
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27-M-G Grundlagen und Anwendung: Personal- und Angewandte Sozialpsychologie | G.2 Aufbauseminar zur Personalpsychologie oder Basisseminar zur Angewandten Sozialpsychologie | Studienleistung
|
Studieninformation |
G.3 Vertiefungsseminar zur Personalpsychologie oder zur Angewandten Sozialpsychologie | Studienleistung
|
Studieninformation |
Die verbindlichen Modulbeschreibungen enthalten weitere Informationen, auch zu den "Leistungen" und ihren Anforderungen. Sind mehrere "Leistungsformen" möglich, entscheiden die jeweiligen Lehrenden darüber.
Studiengang/-angebot | Gültigkeit | Variante | Untergliederung | Status | Sem. | LP | |
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Psychologie / Master | (Einschreibung bis SoSe 2012) | G.2; G.3 | 4 | unbenotet | |||
Psychologie / Master | (Einschreibung bis SoSe 2012) | IndErg |
3 ECTS credits ("Studienleistung") for regular attendance, active participation, and preparing short written answers to weekly homework assignments. Also, each week one or two students will chair the seminar session (i.e., give a brief introductory presentation, moderate discussions, initiate group tasks, etc.).