Module POL2097 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL2097: Behavioural Public Policy and the Nudge Agenda
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Group discussions of research protocol & essay plans | 1 page summary of each brought to class | 3,4 (essay) 1,2,5,6 (protocol) | Oral (peers) |
Small group assessment preparation activity, presented to class or small groups in class | 4-6 hours preparation time (mix of individual & group preparation) | 1, 4-7 | Oral (peers & tutor) |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essay | 50 | 2000 words | 1,3,4,6,7 | Written |
Research protocol (i.e. a written description of a design for a research experiment to evaluate the effects of a behavioural change intervention in an area of the students own choosing) | 50 | 2000 words | 1-2, 4-7 | Written |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Essay | Essay (2000 words) | 1,3,4,6,7 | August/September reassessment period |
Research protocol | IndResearch protocol (2000 words)ividual powerpoint presentation emailed to course convenor with follow up q&a by email | 1-2, 4-7 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Ariely, D. 2008. Predictably irrational: the hidden forces that shape our decisions. London, Harper Collins.
Conly, S. 2013. Against Autonomy: Justifying Coercive Paternalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
John, P. et al. 2011. Nudge, Nudge, Think, Think: Experimenting with Ways to Change Civic Behaviour. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
John, P. 2018. How Far to Nudge: Assessing Behavioural Public Policy, Edward Elgar.
Kahneman, D. 2013. Thinking, Fast and Slow Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Oliver, A. 2017. The origins of behavioural public policy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Oliver, A. 2013. Ed. Behavioural Public Policy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Shafir, E (Ed). 2012. The Behavioural Foundations of Public Policy. Princetown University Press.
Sunstein, C. 2016. The Ethics of Influence: Government in the Age of Behavioral Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sunstein, C. 2015. Why Nudge? The Politics of Libertarian Paternalism. Yale University Press.
Sunstein, C. 2015. Choosing Not to Choose: Understanding the Value of Choice. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Thaler, R. and C. Sunstein. 2008. Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. New Haven, Yale University Press.
Thaler, R. 2015. Misbehaving: the Making of Behavioural Economics. London: Allen Lane.