Course Overview

Learn how to apply the precepts of game theory to help you make better decisions at work, home, or anywhere with this highly useful course taught by an award-winning professor.

Game theory, the scientific study of interactive decision-making, has profound implications for how we understand human behavior in various fields. In this course, you will explore the principles of game theory through 24 engaging lectures that provide insights into cooperation and competition in areas such as economics, politics, and business. Professor Scott P. Stevens will guide you through a diverse range of real-world applications, making complex ideas accessible and relevant to your everyday decisions.

Video Lectures

1. The World of Game Theory
   • Duration: 33 min
   • Introduction to game theory, including its history and applications.

2. The Nature of the Game
   • Duration: 30 min
   • Examination of players, strategies, and payoffs in games.

3. The Real Life Chessboard-Sequential Games
   • Duration: 31 min
   • Understanding game trees and the concept of Nash equilibrium.

4. Life’s Little Games-The 2 x 2 Classic Games
   • Duration: 31 min
   • Analyzing classic two-player games to derive insights on interactions.

5. Guessing Right-Simultaneous Move Games
   • Duration: 30 min
   • Techniques for solving simultaneous move games.

• Practical Applications of Game Theory
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Real-world applications of game theory in decision-making.

7. A Random Walk-Dealing with Chance Events
   • Duration: 31 min
   • Using probability theory to address uncertainties in games.

• Pure Competition-Constant-Sum Games
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Analyzing competitive scenarios and Nash equilibria in two-person games.

• Mixed Strategies and Nonzero-Sum Games
  • Duration: 30 min
  • Exploring the concepts of mixed strategies in nonzero-sum contexts.

• Threats, Promises, and Commitments
  • Duration: 30 min
  • Strategic moves and their credibility in negotiations and games.

• Credibility, Deterrence, and Compellence
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Understanding strategic moves related to threats and promises.

• Incomplete and Imperfect Information
  • Duration: 30 min
  • Analyzing games where players have asymmetric information.

• Whom Can You Trust?-Signaling and Screening
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Strategies for conveying and eliciting information in games.

• Encouraging Productivity-Incentive Schemes
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Aligning desired behaviors with rewards in various contexts.

15. The Persistence of Memory-Repeated Games
    • Duration: 30 min
    • Impact of repeated interactions on strategy and decision-making.

• Does This Stuff Really Work?
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Assessing the effectiveness of game theory as a predictive tool.

• The Tragedy of the Commons
  • Duration: 30 min
  • Understanding collective dilemmas in resource management.

18. Games in Motion-Evolutionary Game Theory
    • Duration: 31 min
    • Examining strategies through an evolutionary lens.

• Game Theory and Economics-Oligopolies
  • Duration: 30 min
  • Application of game theory to economic competition and monopolies.

20. Voting-Determining the Will of the People
    • Duration: 31 min
    • Evaluating voting systems through game-theoretic analysis.

• Auctions and the Winner’s Curse
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Exploring auction dynamics and implications for buyers and sellers.

• Bargaining and Cooperative Games
  • Duration: 30 min
  • Strategies for effective cooperation and division of payoffs.

• Game Theory and Business-Co-opetition
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Practical applications of game theory to business strategies.

• All the World’s a Game
  • Duration: 31 min
  • Final reflections on the relevance of game theory to everyday life.