This class will apply insights from behavioral economics and consumer behavior research to teach you how advertisers and marketers manipulate consumers into making irrational decisions. We will focus on human biases and tendencies that businesses use to their advantage as well as offer some strategies on how to be a smart, rational consumer. Students at the end of the class will have the chance to design their own advertisement.

This course is a brief introduction to the exciting field of game theory, which is used in all facets of life such as politics, biology, business and computer science. We will cover the idea of expected utility and show how it can be used to maximize your profits and minimize your loses when playing blackjack, the popular card game made famous in movies like “21” and “Rain Man”. Basic algebra is all that’s needed to learn about this exciting field!