See module specification for other years:
2022-232024-25
Module will run
Occurrence
Teaching period
A
Semester 2 2023-24
Module aims
The future of life hinges on human thinking and behaviour. This basic insight puts psychology at the crossroads between extinction and flourishing. When the stakes are high and the risks are growing, what does the science have to say? Navigating risks is more than just crunching the numbers. Decades of research in cognitive science has shown that understanding risk involves grappling with individual differences, context, and societal factors. In this module, we will examine these factors, achieving an up-to-date overview on the psychology of risk, and asking how a scientific approach can help us survive the most important century.
Module learning outcomes
Discuss the development of rational approaches to risk and their relation to psychological theory
Critically evaluate how everyday risk perception deviates from rational risk assessment in systematic and predictable ways
Integrate the role of risk at different levels of analysis—brain, person, group, society—and over different timescales
Reason about the impact of decisions taken now on the future of humanity.
Module content
Origins of risk research
Hazards and risk perception
Development and individual differences
Luck and games
Frontiers of forecasting
Disaster and risk mitigation
Extinction risks
Indicative assessment
Task
% of module mark
Essay/coursework
100
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
Task
% of module mark
Essay/coursework
100
Module feedback
The marks on all assessed work will be provided on e-vision.