For your final project in OML 313, you will create a multimedia presentation that investigates a real-world event, behavioral policy experiment, or decision-making failure rooted in psychological bias, heuristics, or irrational economic behavior. Your mission is to tell the story of how individuals, companies, or institutions made key decisions—right or wrong—because of bounded rationality, emotion, bias, or poor choice architecture.
You will deliver your project using a creative, storytelling-based multimedia format—such as a documentary video, narrated slide deck, podcast-style breakdown, interactive decision map, or behavioral debrief. The goal is to translate complex behavioral theories into vivid, real-life narratives that show why people don’t always act in their best interest—and how nudges, defaults, or behavioral insights could have made a difference.
This is your opportunity to connect course concepts like loss aversion, social norms, time inconsistency, or behavioral game theory to high-impact decisions in business, government, health, public policy, or consumer behavior.
Objectives
- Apply behavioral economics concepts such as cognitive biases, heuristics, and choice architecture to a real-world context
- Analyze how decision errors influenced outcomes in business, policy, marketing, or society
- Evaluate how behavioral tools (nudges, framing, social proof, defaults) could prevent future mistakes
- Use storytelling and multimedia to bring behavioral theory to life.
Requirements
1. Select a Real-World Behavioral Decision-Making Case
Choose a real-world case involving:- A flawed decision due to heuristics or bias (e.g., overconfidence in investment, anchoring in hiring, availability bias in policy)
- A failed or successful behavioral intervention (e.g., organ donor defaults, savings plan opt-ins, COVID-19 behavior nudges)
- A corporate, governmental, or consumer behavior misstep (e.g., Boeing safety decision bias, panic buying, voting behavior)
- A large-scale irrational pattern (e.g., crypto bubbles, housing market crashes, diet fads, groupthink in finance)
Select from one of the following (or propose your own):- Video explainer or documentary
- Behavioral podcast or expert interview
- Narrated digital presentation or infographic
- Interactive timeline or behavioral map
- “What Went Wrong” decision breakdown
- Behavioral policy pitch or reform strategy
You must reference at least two of the following behavioral economics concepts:- Heuristics and Cognitive Biases
- Prospect Theory and Loss Aversion
- Mental Accounting and Framing
- Time Inconsistency and Present Bias
- Choice Architecture and Nudging
- Social Norms, Reciprocity, or Fairness
- Bounded Rationality or Decision Fatigue
Content and Analysis Guidelines
- Clearly explain the decision or event and the individuals, institutions, or groups involved
- Analyze how behavioral biases shaped decisions and outcomes
- Reference at least two assigned readings and one external article from Modules 4–8
- Include 2–3 additional credible sources (e.g., psychology journals, HBR, TED Talks, academic case studies)
- Use data visuals, timelines, interview clips, or design elements (e.g., policy posters, mock ads, choice architecture blueprints)
Conclusion and Implications
Your project should address:- What psychological or behavioral insights explain the decisions made?
- What alternative design, policy, or intervention might have changed the outcome?
- What does this reveal about human decision-making in economic, social, or organizational contexts?
Reflection Paper (1–2 Pages, APA Format)
Submit a written reflection that includes:- Why you chose this case and format
- What you learned about human decision-making and behavior
- How this course shaped your thinking about economic models, rationality, and real-world strategy.
Evaluation Criteria (100 Points)
Category Points Criteria Behavioral Theory & Conceptual Depth 20 pts Clear application of behavioral models and psychological frameworks Strategic and Psychological Insight 25 pts In-depth breakdown of decisions, biases, and implications Storytelling Medium & Creativity 25 pts Engaging, professional, and well-structured multimedia narrative Conclusion & Application 15 pts Clear recommendations and insights into future behavioral improvements Reflection on Learning 10 pts Thoughtful self-analysis and course integration Presentation Quality 5 pts Polished, accessible, and well-organized multimedia product