PSY 4000
Dr. Ion Juvina
Fall 2014
Psychological Game Theory
Game theory studies strategic reasoning and decision-making. A game is defined as an
interaction between two or more players. Game theorists are interested in what strategies
players choose, what they know about one another, what their motives are, etc. One of
the best-known game theorists is John Nash whose life story was depicted in the film “A
Beautiful Mind.”
This course will focus on the psychological aspects of game theory, such as knowledge
representation and processing, learning, memory, motivation, and emotion. We will
review classic game scenarios such as Chicken and Prisoner’s Dilemma. In Chicken, two
drivers race toward each other on a narrow road to see who will swerve first. Neither
player wants to yield to the other, even though they risk their lives if a collision occurs. In
Prisoner's Dilemma, two prisoners are being separately interrogated for their common
crime. Each must decide whether to confess or remain silent, knowing his partner has the
same choice.
We will acquire basic working knowledge of game theory and its psychological
underpinnings that will allow us to understand strategic decision-making in business,
diplomacy, and personal life. Students will be able to describe concepts and theories from
the field of psychological game theory. They will be familiar with a large number of
empirical studies showing how humans behave in standard strategic situations. In
addition, they will be able to explain human strategic behavior in psychological terms.
Required Text
Camerer, C. F. (2003). Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction,
Princeton University Press.
Meetings
Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 am to 10:50 am in Millett 497.
Office hours: 313G Fawcett Hall
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Tuesday and Thursday,
and by appointment (ion.juvina@wright.edu)
Course requirements
Class time will be dedicated to self-study assessment, group discussion, application
exercises, and lecture. In addition, students will write a final paper on a theme of their
choice.
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PSY 4000
Dr. Ion Juvina
Fall 2014
Self study. You will be required to do individual work in preparation for the class. You
will be assigned a short text from the required textbook1 to study before each class (at
least 30 pages per week). Bring a short essay (no more than 200 words) to class and
hand it to the professor. Think of this essay as a personalized summary of the assigned
text. You do not need to summarize the whole material. Rather, write what you found
relevant to your own learning and career goals in the assigned text. Imagine you meet
someone in the elevator on your way to class and you want to share what you found
interesting in your homework. All of the “elevator essays” you hand in will be graded and
will contribute to your final grade. If, for any reason, you cannot come to class, send your
essay via email. Essays are meant as preparation for class, thus they are due before each
class, respectively; late essays are NOT accepted.
In addition, each class will start with an individual quiz to assess the knowledge
acquired through self-study. There will be no makeup quizzes. Individual quizzes will be
graded and will count toward your final grade.
Group discussion. The class will discuss the questions on the individual quiz and agree
on the best answers. Participation in the group discussion will count toward your final
grade.
Lecture. Lectures will consist of feedback on individual work, clarification of difficult
material, integration of knowledge elements, and samples of the professor’s research.
Unstructured question-and-answer sessions will be included in the lecture to provide
opportunities for personalized learning. In addition, feel free to send questions by email,
come to the office hours, or request an appointment with the professor. The latter will be
honored if time permits.
Final paper. Each student will write a final paper on a theme of their choice. This final
paper should contain a comprehensive literature review, a critical discussion of the main
findings, and conclusions. Students will present their final papers in class.
Exams
Exam I:
Exam II:
Final paper:
10/14
12/2
12/9
30% of final grade
30% of final grade
20% of final grade
All exams will be open-book/computer, that is, you can bring and use your laptops, texts,
and class notes. They will assess your ability to comprehend and integrate information,
make connections with other disciplines, and identify application areas. Some exam
questions will be similar to prior quiz questions; others will be new and more difficult.
Some exam questions will require integration of knowledge across multiple topics.
Grading
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Additional readings may be assigned or recommended from time to time
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PSY 4000
Dr. Ion Juvina
Fall 2014
a. Self Study (10% of total grade). You will receive up to 5% for your elevator
essays and up to 5% for your individual quiz answers.
b. Group discussion and class participation (10% of total grade).
c. Exams (60% of total grade). There will be two exams, independent of one
another, each counting as 30% of total grade.
d. Final paper (20% of total grade). You will receive up to 20% of total grade
based on the quality and originality of your paper as judged by your classmates
and the professor.
Grading scale
%
85-100
70-84
60-69
55-59
< 55
Letter grade
A
B
C
D
F
Preliminary schedule
Date
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Topic
What is game theory (good for)?
Ultimatum and dictator games
Trust games
Mixed strategy equilibrium
Unstructured and structured bargaining
Bargaining under incomplete information
Dominance-solvable games – part 1
Dominance-solvable games – part 2
Learning in strategic interaction – part 1
Learning in strategic interaction – part 2
Learning in strategic interaction – part 3
Coordination Games – part 1
Coordination Games – part 2
Signaling and Reputation
Open questions in Psychological game theory
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