Date

Class Agenda

Session 1

February 9^th

Topic: Course Overview & a Multidisciplinary Approach Towards Understanding Human Cooperation

Description:

·       Active learning introduction to the course

·       Discussion: class expectations, assignments, effective learning methods.

·       Lecture: A multidisciplinary approach towards understanding human cooperation.

Reading:

·       This syllabus

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Course information form completed

Session 2

February 16^th

Topic: Origins of Human Cooperation

Description:

●      How and why do researchers use qualitative and quantitative methods to study human cooperation? 

●      The basic evolutionary mechanisms such as direct reciprocity, reputation, punishment supporting cooperation

●      What can we learn from great apes and children about cooperation?

●      The basic psychological mechanisms from a developmental and comparative perspective.

Reading: 

·       Introduction chapter from: Tomasello, M. (2009). Why we cooperate, Boston Review Books.

·       Watch: “The Origins of Cooperation” Tomasello online lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOHxsZBD3Us

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Debate #1: Are people basically self-interested?

PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF COOPERATION

Session 3

February 23^rd

Topic: Communication and Social Skills

Description:

●      The role of social cognition in cooperation.

●      The importance of attention sharing, knowledge sharing and shared experiences for cooperation

●      Nonverbal signals that support cooperation (eye contact and pointing).

Reading:

·       Tomasello, M., Carpenter, M., Call, J., Behne, T.& Moll, H. (2005). Understanding and sharing intentions: The origins of cultural cognition. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 28, 675-735. 

·       Watch Allan Pease’s TED talk on Body Language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZZ7k8cMA-4

·       Brooks, D. (2011) The Social Animal “Introduction”

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Reflective synthesis #1

Session 4

March 2^nd

Topic: Human Attraction and Interpersonal Closeness

Description:

·       Psychology of intimate relationships

·       Automatic and reflective systems in relationships

·       The role of understanding and how intimacy works

·       Marriage and family as an “institution”

Reading:

·       Brooks, ch. 1 & 2 “Decision Making” and “The Map Field”

·       Listen to Hidden Brain “What Makes Relationships Thrive” https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/what-makes-relationships-thrive/

·       Aron et. Al. (1997) The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness: A procedure and preliminary findings. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23 (4).

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Debate #2 Is love really blind?

Session 5

March 9^th

Topic: Perspective taking and Empathy

Description:

●      Perspective taking- the mental capacity to understand other people and their behavior by ascribing mental states to them

●      Empathy as a complex and fading phenomenon, how to develop it.

Reading:

·       Brooks, ch. 3 “Mindsight”

·       Watch Jamil Zaki’s TED talk on Empathy: https://www.ted.com/talks/jamil_zaki_we_re_experiencing_an_empathy_shortage_but_we_can_fix_it_together

●      Listen to Hidden Brain “The Empathy Gym”: https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/you-2-0-the-empathy-gym/

Assignments/deadlines: none

Session 6

March 16^th

Topic: Altruism as a motivational force

Description:

●      Altruism as freely chosen helping behavior at personal cost

●      Workplace generosity: reciprocity styles and outcomes

●      Charitable giving as an altruistic activity

●      Differences in networking with others among reciprocity styles

Reading: 

·       Grant, Give and Take chapters 1 & 2: “Good Returns” and “The Peacock and the Panda”

·       Fehr & Fishbacher (2003) The Nature of Human Altruism, Nature, 425.

·       Tusche et al. (2016) Decoding the Charitable Brain: Empathy, Perspective taking, and Attentional Shifts Differentially Predict Altruistic Giving. The Journal of Neuroscience, 36 (17).

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Reflective synthesis #2

Session 7

March 23^rd

Topic: Trust, Social and Interpersonal

Description:

●      The dynamics of building trust

●      Social trust and sense of obligation to cooperate

●      Cultural inhibitors/ facilitators of trust

Reading: 

·       Kanagaretnam, et. Al. (2010) Trust and reciprocity with transparency and repeated interactions. Journal of Business Research, 63.

·       Tomasello, M. (2020). The moral psychology of obligation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 43, E56.

·       Brooks, ch. 12 “Freedom and Commitment”

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Debate #3: Should trust ever be automatic?

·       Experimental research proposal due

Mid-term break

Mid-term break March 21-25

Session 8

April 6^th

Topic: Apologies, forgiveness and reconciliation

Description:

·       The anatomy of effective apologies

·       Watch documentary “As We Forgive” about the Rwandan reconciliation process after genocide

·       The relationship between forgiveness and reconciliation

·       Forgiveness, truth and moral distancing

Reading:

·       Listen to Hidden Brain podcast “The power of apologies” https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/the-power-of-apologies/

·       Exline, J.J. (2013) The Thorny Issue of Forgiveness: A Psychological Perspective. Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal, 13.

·       Staub. E (2014) The Challenging Road to Reconciliation in Rwanda: Societal Processes, Interventions and Their Evaluation, Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2 (1)

·       Grant, ch. 5 “The Power of Powerless Communication”

Assignments/deadlines: none

CHALLENGES TO COOPERATION

Session 9

April 13^th

Topic:  Social Dilemmas and Game Theory

Description:

• Simulations: Students will learn about various strategies in game theory by playing and making decisions in several games.
• The basic ideas behind the key concepts in game theory, such as equilibrium, rationality, and cooperation.
• Prisoner’s dilemma and how to escape it
• The Stag Hunt game and social structure

Readings:

·       Listen to Freakonomics episode 132 “Jane Austen, Game Theorist”: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/jane-austen-game-theorist/

·       Preface chapter and Chapter 1 (pp. 1-14) from: Skyrms, B. (2004). The Stag Hunt and the Evolution of Social Structure, Cambridge University Press.

·       Watch “How to Outsmart the Prisoner’s Dilemma”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emyi4z-O0ls

Assignments/deadlines: none

Session 10

April 20^th

Topic: Deception and Free-riding

Description:

●      Deception: environmental antecedents and outcomes

●      Free-riding and group collaboration

●      Addressing and overcoming problematic factors in cooperation

Reading:

·       Gross, et. Al. (2018) Ethical Free Riding: When Honest People Find Dishonest Partners. Psychological Science, 29 (12).

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Debate #4: Can deception be a social good?

Session 11

April 27^th

Topic: Tribalism and Group Conflict

Description:

·       Enculturation & Acculturation in group contexts

·       The Robber’s Cave experiment

·       Psychology of implicit bias, group rivalry and hatred

·       Contact theory and cooperative antidotes to group conflict and hatred

Reading: 

·       Read “Life After Hate”, the story of Angela King: https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/life-after-hate/

·       Watch Jonathan Haidt’s TED talk on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives: https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_the_moral_roots_of_liberals_and_conservatives

·       Watch Robber’s Cave 5 Minute History Lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PRuxMprSDQ

·       Cikara, et. Al (2011) Us and Them: intergroup failures of empathy. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20 (3).

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Reflective synthesis #3

Session 12

May 4^th

Topic: Self-interest and the Common Good

Description:

•   The tragedy of the commons

●      Conflict between short-term individual interests and long-term collective interests

●      Managing common-pool resources

●      Understanding depletion of natural resources through game theory

Reading: 

·       Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Science 162, 1243–1248.

·       Watch What is the Tragedy of the Commons?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxC161GvMPc

·       Spiliakos, (2019) Tragedy of the Commons: What is it and 5 examples: https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/tragedy-of-the-commons-impact-on-sustainability-issues

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Debate #5: Can we shift people’s mindset to collective interests to solve global problems?

Session 13

May 11^th

Topic: Practical applications, research presentations

Description:

●      Strategies for sustaining cooperation

●      Implications for public policy and business

●      Implications for private life

●      Digital tools to improve cooperation

●      Presentations of experimental research findings

Reading:

·       Grant, ch. 8 “The Scrooge Shift”

·       Brooks, ch. 20 and 21: “The Soft Side” and “The Other Education”

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Experimental Research Paper

·       Presentations begin

Session 14

May 18^th

Topic: Summary, discussion, questions, presentations

Description:

●      Feedback

●      Presentations of research

●      Mind-mapping what we learned and how can we apply it

●      Where to find quality resources to improve our cooperation

Assignments/deadlines:

·       Research presentations