A Beginner's Guide to Irrational Behavior
Institution: Duke University (Coursera)
Date: March 11, 2014 - May 6, 2014
Bio: I signed up for this course after recognizing the instructor, Dan Ariely, from several of his TED talks. If you have seen and enjoyed those talks as well, then you will find the lecture material quite familiar. This behavioral economics class focuses more on the subject manner then the experimental method, and goes into depth on six topics over as many weeks including the psychology of money, Dishonesty, labor and motivation, and more. The lectures draw upon specific studies and research done in the field. There is a light track for completing the lecture quizzes and the final; and a distinction track that also involves reading 4-6 research papers each week and doing two written assignments.
Accomplishments: I completed the distinction track with a 98.5%, read through dozens of research papers, and completed the writing assignments. The second writing assignment involved designing a research experiment, which I aimed towards furthering existing research as to the effectiveness of 'pay what you want' pricing models.