Vorlesungsverzeichnis

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Veranstaltungen von M. Sc. Mareike Westfal

Lehrveranstaltungen

Psychological Heuristics in Social Information Processing (Seminar)

Inhalt: How can we act immediately in new situations? Why is our brain able to respond so rapidly, and under what circumstances might this become a disadvantage in processing (social) information? Heuristics are rules of thumb, mental shortcuts, or experience-based strategies that humans employ to make plausible or effective decisions and find solutions under conditions of limited knowledge and time—even though such decisions are not necessarily optimal. They enable us to remain efficient and capable of action in everyday life. This seminar explores different heuristics, situates them within the broader framework of social information processing, and addresses the central question: Are heuristics ultimately beneficial or detrimental? The primary teaching format used in this seminar includes a mixture of student presentations and discussions. In each session, scientific articles on a specific topic relevant to heuristics will be assigned for reading and discussion. Each student will present at least one article during the seminar. The student presentations have been included to benefit both the collective and the individual. From a collective perspective, student presentations expose all students to more articles, enriching their knowledge while reducing the burden of having to read too many papers. From an individual perspective, student presentations help them improve their presentation and communication skills. As such, the students should prepare their presentations as if they were giving the talk at an academic conference. Thus, they will need to first set up the theoretical context and then select the most important studies to present. After each presentation, the discussion of the presentation, the respective article, and related research will be held between students and the instructor.