Judgement & Decision-Making (PSYC3052)

Class 1: AI as Your Intellectual Sparring Partner

What if your study buddy never slept, remembered everything, and could challenge your thinking at 3 AM? We’ll transform AI from a tempting shortcut into a powerful amplifier for your cognition. You’ll learn to orchestrate idea scaffolds, extract conceptual DNA from dense readings, craft questions that expose your blind spots, and receive instant feedback that sharpens your writing. These aren’t just tech tricks—they’re cognitive partnerships that turn AI into an extension of your thinking process, not a replacement for it.

Class 2: The Mind’s Complementary Processing Systems

Your brain integrates intuitive and analytical thinking in fascinating ways. We’ll explore how Kahneman and Tversky revolutionised our understanding of how humans actually decide—not how we should theoretically decide. You’ll see how your quick intuitions (System 1) handle routine judgements efficiently yet stumble predictably on certain problems, while your more deliberate reasoning processes (System 2) offer valuable corrections but require cognitive effort you might conserve. This interplay between automatic and reflective thinking shapes how we interact with AI systems throughout the course—sometimes enhancing our reasoning, sometimes capitalising on our mental shortcuts.

Class 3: Your Brain’s Brilliant Shortcuts (And Where They Lead You Astray)

Why do shark attacks seem more dangerous than bathtubs, despite the statistics? Your mind’s ingenious shortcuts—heuristics—let you navigate a complex world without overheating your cognitive processors. We’ll dissect the big three (availability, representativeness, anchoring) that power your intuitive judgements yet create predictable blind spots. These aren’t random errors but systematic cognitive illusions—as stubborn as optical illusions—that persist even when you know they exist. In our AI-augmented world, understanding these mental shortcuts becomes even more crucial, as algorithms can either amplify our biases or help us recognise them.

Class 4: Building Mental Lego: How Humans (and Machines) Solve Problems

When you’re stumped by a problem, what’s happening in your mind? We’ll peek under the hood of human reasoning—from the “Aha!” moment that seems to come from nowhere to the methodical problem-solving strategies that build solutions piece by piece. You’ll discover why you get stuck in mental ruts (hint: it’s not lack of intelligence) and how to climb out of them. By comparing your cognitive toolkit with AI approaches, you’ll see both the stunning flexibility of human insight and the relentless computational power of machine reasoning—each with lessons for the other.

Class 5: Thinking About Thinking: Your Mind’s Hidden Control Room

How does a chess master recognise patterns in seconds that would take you minutes to analyse? We’ll explore metacognition—your brain’s capacity to monitor itself—and the “Eureka!” moments when solutions seemingly materialise from thin air. You’ll discover how experts don’t just know more facts but see fundamentally different patterns, chunking information like master Tetris players arranging blocks. We’ll debunk the “10,000-hour rule” while uncovering how deliberate practice actually rewires thinking. This isn’t just academic—it’s your roadmap from novice to mastermind in any domain you choose, even as AI reshapes the boundaries of what expertise means in the 21st century.

Class 6: Navigating the Fog: Decisions When You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Would you rather a guaranteed $500 or an 80% chance at $700? Your answer likely changes if these are gains or losses—a quirk prospect theory explains beautifully. We’ll explore why humans are notoriously bad at probability judgements yet surprisingly sophisticated in handling deep uncertainty. You’ll witness your own sensitivity to how problems are framed and experience firsthand your asymmetric feelings toward equivalent gains and losses. We’ll harness AI tools that can crunch uncertainty’s numbers while examining the paradoxical human expertise in domains where probabilities themselves are unknown.

Class 7: Minds Beyond Humans: What Corvids, Octopi, and Algorithms Reveal About Thinking

When a crow fashions a hook from wire to retrieve food, or an octopus solves a complex puzzle, what kind of intelligence are we witnessing? We’ll venture beyond human cognition to explore the alien intelligences all around us—from the astonishing problem-solving of corvids to the eerily effective learning of neural networks. These alternative cognitive architectures offer a humbling perspective: human reasoning isn’t the pinnacle of intelligence but one evolutionary solution among many. You’ll discover what makes our thinking uniquely powerful, where other minds outshine us, and what this reveals about intelligence itself.

Class 8: The Group Mind: When We Think Together (For Better or Worse)

How did intelligent NASA engineers collectively approve a catastrophically flawed Challenger launch decision? Your mind transforms in groups—sometimes achieving collective brilliance, other times spectacular failure. We’ll dissect groupthink, where the desire for harmony overwhelms critical evaluation, and polarisation, where discussions mysteriously make groups more extreme than their members. You’ll learn when the “wisdom of crowds” produces near-miraculous accuracy and when it degenerates into dangerous amplification of errors. Most importantly, you’ll master practical techniques to harness collective intelligence while avoiding its pitfalls.

Class 9: The Architecture of Influence: When Nudges Work, Fail, and Backfire

Ever wonder why fruit at eye level boosts healthy eating while calorie labels fail? Initial excitement around “nudging”—tiny tweaks to decision environments—has collided with meta-analyses showing wildly variable effects. We’ll examine why structural nudges (like default organ donation) outperform informational ones, and when interventions backfire through psychological reactance. You’ll see how AI transforms nudging—targeting your cognitive quirks with precision—while raising questions about manipulation versus enhancement. Is nudging cognitive candy or medicine? The answer lies in understanding when interventions harmonise with your thinking rather than trigger your mind’s defences.

Class 10: Cognitive Crossfit: Can You Really Train Your Brain?

Does mastering chess make you better at life? Can Lumosity games boost your intelligence? We’ll cut through the hype surrounding “brain training” with razor-sharp scientific skepticism. You’ll discover the disappointing truth about knowledge transfer—how expertise remains stubbornly domain-specific despite commercial promises to the contrary. We’ll explore where genuine cognitive enhancement is possible and where biological constraints laugh at our ambitions. This critical lens becomes even more valuable as AI-powered “cognitive enhancement” tools flood the market with bold claims but questionable evidence—leaving you equipped to separate legitimate augmentation from digital snake oil.

Class 11: Your Brain on Bullshit: Building Cognitive Immunity to Misinformation

In an era where AI can generate convincing falsehoods faster than humans can debunk them, how do you separate signal from noise? Your mind contains both vulnerabilities that make you susceptible to misinformation and powerful defences when properly deployed. We’ll explore why compelling narratives often triumph over dry facts, why corrections sometimes backfire, and how identity-protection drives belief persistence. You’ll experience firsthand how your brain processes synthetic media and develop resistance techniques against falsehoods—including surprising new evidence that AI-based correction methods can shift even entrenched conspiracy beliefs.

Class 12: When Every Choice Matters: Decision Science Under Pressure

How do doctors make life-or-death calls under uncertainty? Why do experienced judges make different parole decisions before and after lunch? High-stakes decisions magnify cognitive biases—but strategic interventions can minimise these errors. We’ll explore how simple checklists save lives in operating rooms, how “sequential unmasking” prevents forensic confirmation bias, and how AI-assisted diagnostics reduce—yet sometimes introduce—critical mistakes. You’ll learn practical methods to preserve clear thinking when emotions run high, time is short, and consequences are enormous—skills essential in professional contexts where decisions truly matter.