IML 346 Midterm
a) Title Possibilities: Felicidad, HAPPINE$$, The Stark Reality of Our Decisions, Happy Together-- I don’t really like any of these, so I’ll keep thinking…
b) Abstract:
I am studying how everyday personal and social decisions affect one's happiness because I want to find out how economic principles can explain differences in people's self-reported levels of happiness. By doing so, I am trying to help the average person gain a better understanding of economic theory so that he is better equipped to make more informed decisions that will have a positive effect on his happiness. Hence, my goal is to help the average layman learn about how to use economic analyses to make better decisions. I want my project to be both interactive and informative, and since I want this tool to be accessible to everyone, I may design my project as an online website.
c) Methodology:
I am going about making the argument that the average person does not correctly forecast or backcast his experienced happiness by developing a tool or simulation that mimics the process of making a decision. This may be accomplished by a four-fold method: 1. Have the user complete a questionnaire relating to what is to be learned or decided upon. 2. The user will make an actual decision or complete a simple task similar to those summarized in textbooks. 3. The user will complete a post-task survey. 4. A results section will use economic analysis to explain their decision.
d) Media Presentation & Justification:
This thesis will include an interactive media simulation of classic experiments from the field of economics and social psychology in order to show the user how the principles of economic theory relate to happiness. Such experiences cannot be attained through traditional textbook learning and hence require multimedia.
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1 comment:
I think this works. You may want to refine the abstract to reflect a stand: people DON'T generally or always act in their best interests or correct assess their own happiness or whatever it is you are showing with these experiments. You're not teaching us economic theory (although we might pick up some), you are showing us how (your statement here: our decisions are faulty, our assertions are lacking, our decisions are muddled) and using simulations of economic models to confront us with these insights.
For the record, I like HAPPINE$$, but you should keep trying - titles are hard, but fun - and you'll know when you have it. You can always have a tiered title, something clever, followed by the sober statement (how our perception of happiness is distorted by....)
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