Focus on Philosophy: Game Theory

Overview

Often in life we need to make decisions, and most of these decisions aren't made in a vacuum. During this course, we will talk about strategies, big and small. Some examples include: when to leave home to beat the traffic; when to show rock, paper or scissors; whether to ask someone out; or when to launch a surprise attack on enemy headquarters.

We will also explore the concept of cooperation: whether someone uses the recycling bins properly; turns off their high beams at night when another car is approaching or gets up and goes to vote when the day comes (even if it is raining outside). Cooperative behaviour - or the lack of - comes about as a result of the many games we, humans, play every day without giving it much thought. By studying game theory, we understand both society and ourselves a little bit better. Game theory offers a framework to understand and map decisions in a useful and actionable way.

This self-paced online course will enable students to study from home and participate in an online community of other students. The module is delivered through Blackboard, our online learning environment, and can be studied as a stand-alone course.

Programme

Delivered as units and tasks as part of an online learning framework.

• Unit 1 – Introduction
  Panopto Video - aims of the module, topics covered, assessments, how to navigate Blackboard.
  Panopto Video – how to convert stories and situations into numbers and tables; the payoff matrix. Introduction to game theory through a classic game: the Prisoner's Dilemma.
  Activity: converting a story into a payoff matrix
  Discussion board topic: Games and payoff matrices around us
• Unit 2 – Dominant strategies – the Nash equilibrium
  Panopto video – Call them by their name: recap of key concepts: player, payoff, decision, strategy, zero-sum games.
  Panopto video – Introduction to further classic games with dominant strategies.
  Activity: playing versions of classic games against the computer, strangers, each other.
  Discussion board topic: Game theory applied to the individuals’ and government’s Covid response
• Unit 3 – Sequential games – tit for tat
  Panopto video – Explanation of further game theory concepts, focussing on sequential games. Decision trees, extensive-form games with examples
  Activity: playing interactive sequential games with each other
  Assessment 1:Transcribing real-life situations into models of game theory
  Discussion board topic: Sequential games in higher education, and how to win them
• Unit 4 – Cooperative and non-cooperative games
  Panopto video – Introduction to cooperative game theory. Coalitions and joint actions. Collective payoffs
  Activity: Testing out cooperative games in virtual environments
  Discussion board topic: What are the best ways to change payoff matrices to foster better collaboration?
• Unit 5 – Global Games
  Panopto video: Game theory with a very high number of players: How to fix littering, speeding or global warming. Altering payoff matrices: the carrot and the stick of changing payoffs
  Assessment 2:Transcribing real-life situations into models of game theory
  Discussion board: re-visiting topics in previous discussion boards
  Schelling points in the world around us. How many can you find?
• Unit 6 – Applying Game Theory to your Life and Research
  Panopto: case studies of research utilising models of game theory. From cold war to evolutionary biology.
  Activity: critically reflecting on one's own research and personal life through the lens of game theory.
  Live Teams Meeting – At the end of the module the tutor will hold a live webinar to bring all the strands of the module together and students can submit questions to be answered.
  
  Multiple choice tests embedded in videos and short open fields
  After each unit, a short multiple choice test is presented to the students in order to check if the concepts that were covered are understood (not assessed).

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:  

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the core concepts of game theory including mixed strategies, Nash equilibrium, maximin strategy and dominance as well as illustrate the core concepts above through examples.
2. Analyse payoff matrices in both symmetric and asymmetric, and simultaneous and sequential games.
3. Identify real-life applications of game theory concepts applied to a variety of academic fields ranging from political science to psychology.

Assessments

1. Transcribing real-life situations into models of game theory - 70%
2. Discussion board contributions - 30%

Reading Suggestions

Reading suggestions will be offered throughout the course. 

Entry Requirements

This course is for everyone. No previous experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements.

What Do I Need?

As this is an online course, you would need the following:

• Internet access
• Access to a laptop or computer with a web camera and microphone; the use of headphones might also be of benefit
• Use of the Chrome web-browser where possible.