Advanced Seminar in Psychology: Origins of Cooperation and Conflict

Catalog description

In this seminar, students will take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the origins of cooperation and conflict. This course will foster integrated learning by drawing on perspectives and bodies of research spanning evolutionary biology, game theory, anthropology, and experimental psychology. In the first part of the course, we will examine the evolutionary roots of cooperation and conflict, including the role of natural selection in shaping human behavior, and explore how game theory can help us understand when individuals are likely to cooperate or compete in strategic interactions. In the second part of the course, we will examine cooperation and conflict from a more psychological lens, reading a diverse range of primary research encompassing social, developmental, political and comparative psychology. Readings in this section will cover topics such as collective action, social emotions, morality, theory of mind, punishment, intergroup conflict, and social norms. Lastly, in the third part of the course, students will apply the knowledge acquired in the first two parts of the class to contemporary social issues broadly related to cooperation and conflict, including polarization, politics, immigration, and misinformation. Students will be encouraged to make connections between course material and their interests in other academic disciplines (e.g., how psychology can inform theories of international relations). The class will culminate in an independent research project broadly related to cooperation and conflict, allowing students to conduct independent research in a topic that interests them and gain hands-on experience with the research process. By the end of the course, students will have a deep understanding of the key concepts related to the origins of cooperation and conflict and the ability to use this knowledge to generate scientifically informed…