POL 320 - Applied Policy Analysis

4 credits (Fall)

Cross-listed as: PST 320-01 and PSY 320. Improving Public Decision Making and Problem Solving. This seminar will explore how research in psychology might inform (a) the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies and (b) decision-making processes which rely on the analysis of public problems. Among other topics, we will examine research into human judgment, problem solving, decision making, and reasoning about information, risks, and other uncertainties. We apply this research to understand how problems are framed, how risks are perceived and acted on, and how taking psychology into account can influence policy design and implementation. Analytical tools used to advise decision makers-such as cost-benefit analysis, decision trees, methods of debiasing, and program evaluations-will also be explored and applied.

Prerequisite: Prerequisite for POL-320: POL 216, POL 222, POL 239, or POL 250. Prerequisite for PST-320: PST 220. Prerequisite for PSY-320: PSY 220 or PSY 260 and PSY 225.
Instructor: Gibson, Hess