771A13 · 7.5 credits · Advanced level (A1N) · Computational Social Science
Behavioural Mechanisms in the Social Sciences
Active · next start HT 2026
76%
passed the latest ordinary exam
EXA2 · 28 Nov 2025 · 21 students
92%
passed the ordinary exams, all sittings over the last 5 years
EXA2 · 64 students
31%
Harder than 31% of courses at advanced level
Compared with 285 courses at the same level, ordinary exams over the last three academic years. 64 students.
Part of 1 programme
Exam
EXA2 Written exam
- A
- B
- C
- D
- F
Ordinary exams
92% passed · 64 students
- 76%21
- 100%43
Re-exams
100% passed · 10 students
- 100%5
- 100%5
- Pass the re-exam: 100% (10 students), compared with 92% (64 students) on the ordinary exam
- Get B or A: 55% (74 students)
Other modules
Partial exams, hand-ins and labs. They are not part of the figures at the top.
Exam
EXA1 Final assignment
- A
- B
- C
- FX
- F
Ordinary exams
98% passed · 89 students
- 90%21
- 100%49
- 100%19
Re-exams
No sittings with at least 5 students.
- Get B or A: 92% (89 students)
Show small sittings (2)
Sittings with fewer than 5 students, often credit transfers or special sittings. They are not part of any figure on this page.
- 100%1
- 100%1
Exam
HEM1 Take home exam
- B
No sittings with at least 5 students.
Show small sittings (1)
Sittings with fewer than 5 students, often credit transfers or special sittings. They are not part of any figure on this page.
- 100%1
Hand-in or lab
SEM1 Seminars
- A
- B
- C
- P
Main rounds
100% passed · 71 students
- 100%49
- 100%22
Later rounds
100% passed · 19 students
- 100%19
- Pass a later round: 100% (19 students), compared with 100% (71 students) on the ordinary exam
- Get B or A: 73% (90 students)
Show small sittings (1)
Sittings with fewer than 5 students, often credit transfers or special sittings. They are not part of any figure on this page.
- 100%1
Hand-in or lab
UPG1 Personal journal
- P
Main rounds
100% passed · 22 students
- 100%22
Later rounds
No sittings with at least 5 students.
Other module
GRP3 Group work
- A
- B
Main rounds
100% passed · 70 students
- 100%21
- 100%49
Later rounds
No sittings with at least 5 students.
- Get B or A: 100% (70 students)
Other module
ESS3 Essay
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- FX
- F
Main rounds
87% passed · 53 students
- 93%27
- 81%26
Later rounds
No sittings with at least 5 students.
- Get B or A: 40% (53 students)
Show small sittings (3)
Sittings with fewer than 5 students, often credit transfers or special sittings. They are not part of any figure on this page.
- 100%1
- 100%1
- 100%1
Other module
RES1 Responentship
- P
- F
Main rounds
93% passed · 27 students
- 93%27
Later rounds
No sittings with at least 5 students.
Other module
OPP1 Opponentship
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
Main rounds
96% passed · 23 students
- 96%23
Later rounds
No sittings with at least 5 students.
- Get B or A: 35% (23 students)
Other module
GRP2 Group work
- A
- B
Main rounds
100% passed · 22 students
- 100%22
Later rounds
No sittings with at least 5 students.
- Get B or A: 100% (22 students)
Other module
SPRO Final project
- E
- F
No sittings with at least 5 students.
Show small sittings (2)
Sittings with fewer than 5 students, often credit transfers or special sittings. They are not part of any figure on this page.
- 0%1
- 100%1
About the course
Aim
After completion of the course, the student should at an advanced level be able to:
- formulate explanations of behavior based on the underlying cognitive mechanisms;
- evaluate compatibilities and incompatibilities between various mechanistic explanations of behavior;
- generalize specific behaviors into larger theoretical frameworks to explain social action;
- draw from various theoretical approaches to hypothesize specific behaviors under various social conditions;
- construct theoretical models that link micro-level behaviors to macro-level outcomes.
Content
This course will explore a broad range of mechanisms to explain human behavior at the individual level. It covers rational choice explanations of action, heuristic decision-making, such as satisficing, and cognitive biases that influence behavior. The material is interdisciplinary and may draw from fields such as sociology, economics, psychology, and neuroscience. The focus is placed on the micro foundations of behavior, but presented within the context of linking the micro-actions of social actors to macro-social outcomes.
- Examiner
- Laura Fürsich
- Main field of study
- Computational Social Science