The new field of behavioral science seeks to understand how humans think and act within their environments and how policies can shape that behavior. For example, research showing the power of default options on decision making has led to the introduction of “opt-out” policies for decisions like becoming an organ donor or contributing to one’s retirement account, leading to marked increases in participation (e.g., millions of newly eligible organ donors). Across many institutions – governmental, educational, and corporate – effective interventions rely on an understanding of human behavior. Behavioral science has been commonly applied to problems in marketing, health science, financial investing, charitable giving, human factors and environmental design, and education.
The twin goals of behavioral science – understanding mechanisms of individual behavior and developing policies that shape that behavior – require students to develop a knowledge base drawn from several disciplines. Empirical behavioral science research draws upon the methods of psychology (and, more recently, neuroscience) to create well-designed experiments and measures. Computational modeling and statistics have become increasingly important for isolating the variables that shape behavior, especially when examining the consequences of large-scale interventions. Applications to policy often require disciplinary knowledge in behavioral economics, political psychology, marketing, or another field. And, consideration of the implications of new policies benefits from expertise in philosophy and ethics. In summary, an integrated course of study in behavioral science will combine disciplinary knowledge with the abilities to evaluate experimental designs, to draw conclusions from experimental data, and to link concepts across levels of analysis from individual behavior to societal policies.
Behavioral science will provide a distinct program of study for DKU undergraduates – one that integrates research approaches and theories currently spread across the social sciences (and some of the natural sciences). Because the most common empirical approaches in sociology, economics, and political science all involve analysis of population-level data (e.g., large panel surveys, census records), students in those majors typically gain expertise working with and evaluating datasets collected by others. Behavioral science provides a complementary approach that develops expertise in experimental methods.
To identify the difference between these approaches, consider a student interested in how demography predicts voting behavior. Through a traditional social science major – say, political science or sociology – that student could learn to analyze census data, voting records, and economic variables to create models at the societal level. Or, by choosing to major in Behavioral Science, that same student could conduct laboratory experiments that test predictions about group identity and political affiliation – and then use their findings to design field experiments that manipulate self-identity and measure real-world political preferences. This latter skillset has become increasingly valued by policymakers, who use the methods of behavioral science to guide their social interventions.
Through its interdisciplinary component, students will gain core skills that have broad relevance for modern societal challenges, while retaining a grounding in a traditional academic discipline like psychology or neuroscience. Moreover, it could be readily integrated with other social science disciplines (e.g., economics, political science, sociology) based on student demand. Because of its focus on how an individual interacts with their environment, it will attract interest from students who think globally or cross-culturally. For example, encouraging pro-environmental behaviors may require somewhat different policies in the US, China, or another country, depending on cultural and economic factors. Students exploring a behavioral science major at DKU will not only receive a broad-based liberal arts education, but also gain highly marketable skills in experimental design, data analysis, and implementing research into policy.
(Not every course listed is offered every term, and the course list will be updated periodically. Please refer to the online Course Catalog for Courses offered in 2023-2024.)
Divisional Foundation Courses
|
Course Code |
Course Name |
Course Credit |
|
BIOL 110 |
Integrated Science – Biology |
4 |
|
SOSC 101 |
Foundational Questions in Social Science |
4 |
|
STATS 101* |
Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods |
4 |
|
And choose one from the following two courses |
||
|
MATH 101 |
Introductory Calculus |
4 |
|
MATH 105 |
Calculus |
4 |
|
* Students who are more interested in computational modeling can complete MATH 205 or MATH 206 as a substitute for STATS 101. |
||
Interdisciplinary Courses
|
Course Code |
Course Name |
Course Credit |
|
BEHAVSCI 101 |
Introduction to Behavioral Science |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 102 |
Mechanisms of Human Behavior |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 201 |
Individuals and Their Decisions |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 202 |
Institutions, Groups, and Society |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 401 |
Moving Beyond Nudges |
4 |
Disciplinary Courses
|
Course Code |
Course Name |
Course Credit |
|
PSYCH 101 |
Introductory Psychology |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 402 |
Judgement and Decision Making |
4 |
|
And choose three courses total from Course Clusters I and II, with at least one course from each cluster |
||
|
Course Cluster I |
||
|
PSYCH 202[1] |
Cognitive Psychology |
4 |
|
PSYCH 203[2] |
Developmental Psychology |
4 |
|
PSYCH 204[3] |
Social Psychology |
4 |
|
Course Cluster II |
||
|
NEUROSCI 102 |
Biological Basis of Behavior |
4 |
|
PSYCH 205[4] |
Abnormal Psychology |
4 |
|
NEUROSCI 212 |
Cognitive Neuroscience |
4 |
Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year. (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)
|
Course Code |
Course Name |
Course Credit |
|
Applied Behavioral Science Electives |
||
|
SOSC 204 |
Business Ethics |
4 |
|
ECON 309 |
Behavioral Finance |
4 |
|
ECON 333/ SOSC 333 |
Social and Economic Networks |
4 |
|
PUBPOL 303 |
Policy Choice as Value Conflict |
4 |
|
ETHLDR 303/ BEHAVSCI 303 |
Organizational Behavior |
4 |
|
ETHLDR 301 |
Ethics of Nudging |
4 |
|
Psychology Electives |
||
|
POLSCI 313 /PSYCH 313 |
Political Psychology |
4 |
|
PSYCH 110 |
Mindfulness, Stress, and Health: Eastern and Western Perspectives |
4 |
|
PSYCH 405 |
Conceptual Issues & Critical Debates in Psychology |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 203 |
Comparative Analysis of Behavior |
4 |
|
POLSCI 317/ SOSC 317 |
Politics of Organization |
4 |
|
Neuroscience Electives |
||
|
NEUROSCI 202 |
Medical Neuroscience |
4 |
|
NEUROSCI 402 |
Cognitive Neuroscience, the Brain and Society |
4 |
|
Methodology Electives |
||
|
GLHLTH 301 |
Global Health Research Methods |
4 |
|
PSYCH 304 |
Quantitative Research Methods and Statistics for Psychological Science |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 204 |
Experimental Philosophy |
4 |
|
INTGSCI 205 |
Integrated Science – Research Methods and Science Communication |
4 |
Divisional Foundation Courses
|
Course Code |
Course Name |
Course Credit |
|
BIOL 110 |
Integrated Science – Biology |
4 |
|
SOSC 101 |
Foundational Questions in Social Science |
4 |
|
STATS 101* |
Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods |
4 |
|
And choose one from the following two courses |
||
|
MATH 101 |
Introductory Calculus |
4 |
|
MATH 105 |
Calculus |
4 |
|
* Students who are more interested in computational modeling can choose MATH 205 or MATH 206 as a substitute for STATS 101. |
||
Interdisciplinary Courses
|
Course Code |
Course Name |
Course Credit |
|
BEHAVSCI 101 |
Introduction to Behavioral Science |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 102 |
Mechanisms of Human Behavior |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 201 |
Individuals and Their Decisions |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 202 |
Institutions, Groups, and Society |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 401 |
Moving Beyond Nudges |
4 |
Disciplinary Courses
|
Course Code |
Course Name |
Course Credit |
|
NEUROSCI 102 |
Biological Basis of Behavior |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 205 |
Systems and Circuits |
4 |
|
NEUROSCI 212 |
Cognitive Neuroscience |
4 |
|
NEUROSCI 301 |
Research Methods in Neuroscience |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 301 |
Computational Neuroscience |
4 |
Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year. (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)
|
Course Code |
Course Name |
Course Credit |
|
Applied Behavioral Science Electives |
||
|
SOSC 204 |
Business Ethics |
4 |
|
ECON 309 |
Behavioral Finance |
4 |
|
ECON 333/ SOSC 333 |
Social and Economic Networks |
4 |
|
PUBPOL 303 |
Policy Choice as Value Conflict |
4 |
|
ETHLDR 303/ BEHAVSCI 303 |
Organizational Behavior |
4 |
|
ETHLDR 301 |
Ethics of Nudging |
4 |
|
Psychology Electives |
||
|
POLSCI 313 /PSYCH 313 |
Political Psychology |
4 |
|
PSYCH 110 |
Mindfulness, Stress, and Health: Eastern and Western Perspectives |
4 |
|
PSYCH 405 |
Conceptual Issues & Critical Debates in Psychology |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 203 |
Comparative Analysis of Behavior |
2 |
|
Neuroscience Electives |
||
|
NEUROSCI 202 |
Medical Neuroscience |
4 |
|
NEUROSCI 402 |
Cognitive Neuroscience, the Brain and Society |
4 |
|
Methodology Electives |
||
|
GLHLTH 301 |
Global Health Research Methods |
4 |
|
PSYCH 304 |
Quantitative Research Methods and Statistics for Psychological Science |
4 |
|
BEHAVSCI 204 |
Experimental Philosophy |
4 |
|
INTGSCI 205 |
Integrated Science – Research Methods and Science Communication |
4 |
[1] This course was numbered PSYCH 102 prior to fall term 2022.
[2] This course was numbered PSYCH 103 prior to fall term 2022.
[3] This course was numbered PSYCH 104 prior to fall term 2022.
[4] This course was numbered PSYCH 105 prior to fall term 2022.