Universität Wien

200023 PS Proseminar Biological Psychology und Cognitive-Affective Neurosciences (2025W)

Cooperation and Prosociality

6.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 20 - Psychologie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle
Th 11.12. 09:45-11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 40 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

- 02.10 11:30 - 13:00 Introduction
- 09.10 09:45 - 11:15 Lecture 1
- 16.10 09:45 - 11:15 Lecture 2
- 23.10 09:45 - 11:15 Lecture 3
- 30.10 09:45 - 11:15 Lecture 4
- 06.11 no class
- 13.11. Student Presentations 1 09:45 - 13:00
- 20.11. Student Presentations 2 09:45 - 13:00
- 27.11. Student Presentations 3 09:45 - 13:00
- 04.12. Student Presentations 4 09:45 - 13:00
- 11.12. Student Presentations 5 09:45 - 13:00
- 18.12 no class
- 8.01 no class
- 15.01. 09:45 - 11:15 (Test)
- 22.01. 09:45 - 11:15 (Test Optional)
- 29.01 no class

  • Thursday 02.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 09.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 16.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 23.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 30.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 13.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 13.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 20.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 20.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 27.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 27.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 04.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 04.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 11.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 15.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock
  • Thursday 22.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal G Psychologie, Liebiggasse 5, 2. Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This seminar introduces the foundations of cooperative and prosocial behavior from an interdisciplinary perspective, bridging psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary theory. The course aims to (1) familiarize students with key empirical findings and theoretical frameworks, (2) examine the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying cooperation, (3) explore the developmental and comparative roots of prosociality, and (4) encourage critical reflection on the applicability of joint action and cooperation research to broader societal challenges.

The following topics will be covered:
1. Introduction: Why study cooperation?
2. Evolutionary and comparative foundations
3. Developmental origins of prosociality
4. Cognitive and motivational mechanisms
5. The cooperative brain – fMRI evidence, hormones and neurochemistry
6. Joint action as cooperation toward shared goals

This course consists of four preparatory sessions, five block dates, and two (alternative) test dates.

During the preparatory sessions (1.5 hours), we will have lectures on the topic of the course together with an interactive discussion about the readings.

During the block dates (3 hours), student groups will present a relevant paper (chosen from a list or proposed by the group). Other teams of students will be responsible for curating relevant questions, and critically assessing the presented article. As a class, we will finish with an interactive discussion about the topics presented that day.

Assessment and permitted materials

During the preparatory sessions (1.5 hours), we will have lectures on the topic of the course together with an interactive discussion about the readings.

During the block dates (3 hours), student groups will present a relevant paper (chosen from a list or proposed by the group). Other teams of students will be responsible for curating relevant questions, and critically assessing the presented article. As a class, we will finish with an interactive discussion about the topics presented that day.

The final test will consist of 12 MC questions on the topics of the lectures and readings.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria


- Group presentation (40%, individual contributions will be evaluated separately)
- Discussion contributions to other project topics and active participation (10%)
- Final test (40%)
- Attendance (10%)

Attendance
You must be present to minimum 2 sessions: 1) the session where you have the group presentation, 2) the session where you are a discussant

Grading
90-100: Very good (1)
80-90: Good (2)
70-80: Satisfactory (3)
60-70: Sufficient (4)
<60: Failed (5)

Examination topics

At the end of the course, the students should:
(1) read, critically evaluate and present scientific articles
(2) be familiar with key empirical findings and theoretical frameworks
(3) understand basic cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying cooperation

Reading list

A full list of the required reading literature can be found on the course Moodle. Examples include:

Tomasello, M., & Vaish, A. (2013). Origins of human cooperation and morality. Annual review of psychology, 64(1), 231-255.
Rand, D. G., & Nowak, M. A. (2013). Human cooperation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Sebanz, N., Bekkering, H., & Knoblich, G. (2006). Joint action: Bodies and minds moving together. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

Association in the course directory

70231

Last modified: Mo 08.09.2025 11:06