Universität Wien
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200072 SE Advanced Seminar: Work, Economy, and Society (2024S)

Prosocial Behaviors

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 20 - Psychologie
Continuous assessment of course work

Vertiefungsseminare können nur für das Pflichtmodul B verwendet werden! Eine Verwendung für das Modul A4 Freie Fächer ist nicht möglich.
Moodle

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. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Students who wish to remain registered for the course must attend the first session (unless a valid reason, e.g., sickness, or family emergency, is provided). Otherwise, your slot could be given to those who are on the waiting list but nonetheless attend. Also, there will be no class on 25 June.

  • Tuesday 05.03. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 19.03. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 09.04. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 16.04. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 23.04. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 30.04. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 07.05. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 14.05. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 21.05. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 28.05. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 04.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 11.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 18.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A
  • Tuesday 25.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum Psychologie NIG 6.OG A0621A

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

We are a remarkably prosocial species, often ready to help strangers even without expecting to meet them again. We willingly contribute our time and valuable resources to charities and show genuine concern for the well-being of our loved ones. Prosocial behaviors have been one of the greatest evolutionary puzzles. Why do we have such a strong predisposition to help others, sometimes even at a significant cost to ourselves? How come that, at the same time, we can also be extremely hostile to people from different social groups? What can we do to foster prosocial behaviors to tackle prominent societal challenges, such as climate change? This seminar course aims to provide students with essential background knowledge and an overview of the latest developments in basic (and sometimes applied) research about human prosociality. Through lectures, student presentations, discussions, and interactive tasks, participants will delve into the complexities of human prosocial behaviors.

Tentative schedule (and topics that will be covered):
- Mar 5: Introduction
- Mar 19: Conceptual overview
- Apr 9: Methods in prosociality research
- Apr 16: Social dilemmas
- Apr 23: Trust
- Apr 30: Punishment
- May 7: Reputation
- May 14: Intergroup cooperation and conflicts
- May 21: Prosocial health decision-making
- May 28: Dishonesty and corruption
- Jun 4: Human-technology interaction
- Jun 11: Charitable giving
- Jun 18: Effective altruism
- Jun 25: CANCELLED

This course assumes no prior knowledge about these topics. Nonetheless, given its strong focus on basic empirical research, students would benefit the most if they are generally interested in (multidisciplinary) research processes and methods and find themselves comfortable reading and learning (sometimes advanced) quantitative analyses of behaviors.

Assessment and permitted materials

Assessment will consist of attendance and participation (20%), an individual in-class presentation (15 minutes; 30%), and two individual written assignments (50% in total). The details will be elaborated during the first session.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

To pass the course, students need to obtain at least 50% for each assessment component.

Examination topics

The individual presentation will be about an empirical paper that is relevant to the topic of discussion of the session. The details for the written assignments are to be determined.

Reading list

The material list will be provided at the beginning. There are mandatory readings each week, and students are expected to at least skim them. Most materials are empirical journal articles or review articles on the topic of discussion. Occasionally there will be books and podcasts. There will be no assessment of whether students actually read the mandatory materials, but they are mandatory for a good reason.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Tu 27.02.2024 09:46