PSY3172

Decision making in professional settings

(SCI)

Offered subject to final approval

Professor Tom Triggs and Dr Jim Phillips

6 points + Two 1-hour lectures and one 2-hour laboratory per week + Second semester + Caulfield + Prerequisites: PSY2011 and PSY2022 or PSY2051 + Corequisite: PSY2042

Synopsis: An understanding of decision making is fundamental to professional and organisational activity, otherwise people evaluate risks, make decisions and take gambles without knowing odds or consequences. This unit provides an appreciation of issues faced by real-world decision makers by addressing: methods of analysis of real-life problems; decision aids; decisions made under stress. Lectures will outline rational and naturalistic accounts of decision-making, the behaviour of expert decision makers, and analyse some real-life decisions leading to catastrophic disasters. The laboratory program complements lectures, providing further training in analysis, oral presentation and teamwork.

Assessment: Examination (3 hours, short answer): 50% + Laboratory reports (2000 words): 20% + Essay (2000 words): 20% + Seminar attendance & participation: 10%