Poverty Related Courses

Fall 2009: Translational Research on Decision Making (HD 4250)
Valerie Reyna

Fall 2009: Introduction to Personality Psychology
Vivian Zayas

Spring 2010: Behavioral Economics (Econ 3580)
Ted O'Donoghue

Spring 2010: Psychology & Economic Theory (Econ 7580)
Ted O'Donoghue

Spring 2010: Research on Risk and Rational Decision Making (HD 6020)
Valerie Reyna

Spring 2010: Social and Cognitive Psychology for Lawyers (Law 6823)
Jeffrey Rachlinski

Spring 2010: The Self (Psych 4850)
David Dunning

Spring 2010: Research Methods in Psychology (Psych 4910)
Vivian Zayas

Fall 2009: Translational Research on Decision Making (HD 4250)
Valerie Reyna

A laboratory-based course focusing on basic foundations in translational research on decision making across the lifespan. The course will introduce students to hands-on applications of research skills in the context of research on decision making, spanning basic and applied research in law, medicine, behavioral economics, and policy. This introductory course will focus on such topics as human subjects protection, working with populations across the life span (e.g., children; seniors), database development, working with external partners and stakeholders (e.g., schools; hospitals), and basic concepts and techniques in decision research. Students in this basic course will participate in weekly laboratory meetings in small teams focused on specific projects as well as monthly meetings in which all teams participate. During laboratory meetings, we discuss ongoing research, plans for new studies, and interpretations of empirical findings from studies that are in progress or have been recently completed. New students work closely with experienced students eventually working more independently. In order to fully grasp how the research projects fit into the broader field, students will read relevant papers weekly and write reaction responses. Because several projects are ongoing at all times, students have the opportunity to be involved in more than one study and will be assigned multiple tasks such as piloting research paradigms, subject recruitment, data collection, data analysis, and data entry. Students attend a weekly lab meeting for 1.5 hours per week, read pertinent papers, write reaction responses, and work 10.5 hours per week in the laboratory completing tasks that contribute to ongoing research studies.

Fall 2009: Introduction to Personality Psychology
Vivian Zayas

Each individual possesses a unique personality -- i.e., characteristic ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that uniquely distinguish one person from another. This course focuses on understanding the individual within his and her social environment, from trait, biological, cognitive, and learning perspectives. The course emphasizes contemporary research, theory, and methodology, as well as provides a review of historical accounts that have significantly contributed to current thinking of the individual.

Spring 2010: Behavioral Economics (Econ 3580)
Ted O'Donoghue

Behavioral economics is an emerging subfield of economics that incorporates insights from psychology and other social sciences into economics. The broad goal is improve the realism of economic models — by incorporating realistic features such as an aversion for losses, a problem with self control, or a concern for others — and thereby improve economic analyses. In this course, we will review some of the standard assumptions made in economics, and examine evidence on how human behavior systematically departs from these assumptions. We will then investigate attempts by behavioral economists to explore alternative models of human decision making, and assess to what extent these alternative models help improve economic analyses.

Spring 2010: Psychology & Economic Theory (Econ 7580)
Ted O'Donoghue

This course will provide an overview of the emerging field of behavioral economics (aka psychology & economics). Behavioral economics attempts to incorporate more realistic assumptions into economics, in particular assumptions motivated by research in psychology, sociology, and related fields. Our goal is both to better understand the behaviors we see in the world and to improve our analyses of welfare and policy.

Spring 2010: Research on Risk and Rational Decision Making (HD 6020)
Valerie Reyna

This hands-on laboratory course will inculcate research skills in the context of risk and rational decision making in human development from multiple disciplinary perspectives and with respect to different kinds of decision-making under risk and uncertainty. Such decisions concern war, terrorism, cancer control and prevention (e.g., screening tests), personal behaviors that involve risk (e.g., HIV–prevention), and other public health risks (e.g., vaccinations), law enforcement (e.g., use of a weapon), and legal decision-making (e.g., jury deliberations). Students will read the research literature, and discuss the latest empirical findings and scientific theories of risk and rationality, engaging in group work and peer review to hone their skills. Students will then design research projects based on that 6520 Translational Research on Aging material as well as additional references tailored to their interests.

Spring 2010: Social and Cognitive Psychology for Lawyers (Law 6823)
Jeffrey Rachlinski

In their short history, cognitive and social psychology have produced a rich understanding of how human beings think and how they interact with each other. It should therefore come as no surprise that these two fields have a
number of applications to law. This course will explore those applications. Examples include: what effect common errors in judgment have on tort and contract law; how the perception of risk affects societal demand for regulation in environmental law; how organizational and group decision-making processes affect corporate governance; how social norms about fairness impede or facilitate negotiation and dispute resolution; how biases in judgment influence litigation strategies; and what studies of conformity mean for the development of international human rights law. The goal of this course is to introduce students with interests in different areas of law to some general principles of human thought and social interaction that will be valuable to them in their future practice.

Spring 2010: The Self (Psych 4850)
David Dunning

An enduring task in psychological inquiry has been to survey the ways in which a person’s self-image influences emotion, thought, and action. What is self-esteem, and is it a good or a bad thing? How do concerns over self-image motivate people? Do people really know themselves accurately? How does a person’s sense of self develop, and does it differ across cultures? Students will be introduced to these and other topics by reading original research articles, and should expect to take part in class discussions of the issues raised.

Spring 2010: Research Methods in Psychology (Psych 4910)
Vivian Zayas

This graduate level laboratory course provides students with an overview of the research methods, designs, and tools used by behavioral scientists. The course focuses on quantitative methods used to empirically test hypotheses that are inherently social in nature. Throughout the course, we cover the following topics: generating a research question, selecting appropriate research designs and measures, hypotheses testing and data anlayses, and the writing up and dissemination of results.