Political Science 304
Game Theory in Political Science

Course Syllabus
Fall 2022
MW 2:00 - 3:15 p.m. in 280 KMBL

Instructor: Jay Goodliffe
Office: 722 KMBL
Office Hours: M 4-5, T 12-1, or by appointment
Phone: 422-9136
e-mail: goodliffe@byu.edu
Teaching Assistant: Ethan Gillett
Office: 849 KMBL
Office Hours: T 2-4, F 12-2, or by appointment
e-mail: ethansg@student.byu.edu

Contents:

Announcements
Office Hours
Prerequisites
Learning Outcomes
Approach
Requirements
How to Succeed in this Course
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
Policies
Readings
Schedule

Announcements

I regularly make announcements, clarifications, further instructions, etc., in class and by email and Learning Suite. You are responsible for all of these, even if you do not attend class. You are also responsible for keeping your email up to date at my.byu.edu. (You should let me know if your email changes during the semester.) I suggest that you exchange phone numbers and/or e-mail addresses with other students in the class.

I will use Learning Suite to post assignments and grades.


Office Hours

I will hold office hours on Mondays 12-1 and Tuesdays 12-1. I am also available at other times if you make arrangements with me. I encourage you to come by to talk about assignments in the class, suggestions for improving the class, politics and current events, the perils of student life, or for any other reason.


Prerequisites

I expect that students will have a working knowledge of politics and basic political science, and know how to organize and write. This can easily be fulfilled by taking core courses in the department (Political Science 110, 150, 170, 200).


Learning Outcomes

This course is an introduction to game theory, concentrating on applications in politics. Game theory is the formal method of examining interdependent decisions. An interdependent decision is one where what you do will depend on what someone else does. For example, a politician running for office may consider how voters will react to an issue stance. The leader of a country may consider how other countries will react to an invasion of another country. A citizen may consider how a government will react if the citizen protests (peacefully or not).

Game theory provides tools for evaluating these situations. By the end of the course, you should be able to:

This will be useful for your studies in other classes and for interactions after you graduate.

The BYU Department of Political Science has developed a set of expected student learning outcomes. These will help you understand the objectives of the curriculum in the program, including this class. In the parlance of the Political Science department's learning outcomes, this course helps you:


Approach

This is a problem-based course. Students learn principles by reading the text. Thus, you should read the material to be discussed prior to the class. Students learn how to apply the principles by solving problems with the instructor using those principles in class. Then students test their understanding by solving problems on their own. Students will all have the opportunity/obligation to present their answers to various problems to the rest of class. You should anticipate that I will call on you to contribute your opinion.

I actively encourage questions, interruptions, cries for help, protests of disbelief, etc. You will never be penalized for participating--even when this takes the form of vague complaints like, "I've got no clue why we are reading this stuff!" I urge--indeed, I expect--you to take advantage of the chance to talk with me during office hours.


Requirements

A Chinese proverb (supposedly) says, "I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand." This philosophy drives the requirements of the class.

Problem Sets 35%
Application Poster 15%
Midterm Exam

15%

Final Exam 35%

Problem Sets

To understand game theory, you must use game theory. We will have weekly problem sets to practice using game theory.

All problem sets are due on Learning Suite at the beginning of class on the day designated in the course schedule. If there is some problem with Learning Suite, email it to me. If the internet crashes, bring a paper copy at the beginning of class. I will not accept late problem sets. The primary reason for no late problem sets is so that we can discuss the problem set in class immediately after it is turned in. If you anticipate a problem with submitting an problem set when it is due, speak to me before the problem set is due so that we can try to work out an alternative arrangement. A doctor's note is required for any extensions for illness.

On the days that problem sets are due, we will spend the first part of class going over the problem set. I will choose students to go to the board and present their solutions to problems. (If you have a problem with this, or need an accommodation, please let me know in the first week of class.) To facilitate this, I suggest that you bring a paper copy of your problem set.

You may work together on these problem sets in groups of two or at most three, but you must write up your answers separately. I give more detailed instructions on how to report your work together in the Academic Honesty section below. Generally, if you use other persons' work, or make changes to your own work without inquiring or understanding what you did incorrectly, then you are trying to get a grade using someone else's knowledge. Giving or receiving answers in this manner is not permitted in this course. If you do not learn how to analyze or solve problems on your own, you will have difficulty on the exams. As a regular practice, on each problem, state with whom you worked. If you worked alone, state that you worked alone.

The problem sets will be posted on Learning Suite. You may type up your answers or write them neatly by hand. Most students find it easiest to write problem sets by hand, and scan and upload them to Learning Suite. I strongly suggest that you start working early on the problem sets.

Application Poster

(I have taken this idea from Harrington and modified it.) For the project, you are to use game theory to model and make predictive statements about the behavior of people for either a real-world, current or historical political situation. A real-world political situation is one that routinely occurs in politics. (If you wish to model a fictional political situation, please see me. A fictional political situation may be drawn from a story, poem, play, television show, movie, or computer software program but it is not to be a product of your imagination. It must still occur routinely.) Your imagination may be used to model a situation but not in creating the situation. Most critically, the situation cannot be one that we have gone over in class. The project is meant to be original work and will be graded on: i) how creative, sophisticated, and accurate is your model; ii) how compelling, insightful, and correct is your analysis; and iii) how clear are your poster graphics and presentation.

Preliminary work for your poster will be assigned as parts of problems sets.

Instead of presenting your work as a research paper, you will present it as a research poster at the Fulton Conference, details of which can be found here and here. (Other suggestions for posters are here.) You submit your poster here. The submission deadline is Tuesday, November 29, 12:00 noon. (After you upload your poster to conference site, upload it to Learning Suite.) The poster session takes place Thursday, December 8, 9:00 - 11:45 a.m. in Ballroom of the Wilkinson Student Center.

Exams

There will be one midterm exam taken in the Testing Center that covers about 7 weeks' material, and a final examination that will be comprehensive. The final exam will be administered on Wednesday, December 14, in our classroom from 2:30-5:30 p.m. Do not ask to take the final examination early. It is against university policy to give final examinations outside of the scheduled time. You should not make any plans that interfere with the final exam schedule. Please do not ask for exceptions. I am not authorized to grant them.

You may use calculators (but not other electronic devices) for the exams. You may not use notes (yours or others'), texts, or other students' exams. The exams will consist of questions similar to those of the problem sets.

The final exams may be picked up in the Political Science office (745 KMBL) after they are graded.


How to Succeed in this Course

The course is graded on a modified curve, using principles that will be explained in more detail in the course. The basic idea is that I will look for natural breaks between students and assign grades accordingly. Thus, I do not assign a set number or percentage of As, Bs, and Cs.

Unlike many other classes at BYU, the points you receive do not correspond to percentage of the material learned, or to particular letter grades. In other words, a 75 (out of 100) does not mean that you understand 75% of the material, nor does it mean you have a C. It means you scored higher than anyone that received a 74 or lower, and scored lower than anyone that received a 76 or higher.

I include the following information from the BYU 2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog, which guides how I grade and determine workload:

"The grade given in a course is the teacher's evaluation of the student's performance, achievement, and understanding in that subject as covered in the class." The following adjectives indicate the meaning of the letter grades:
A Excellent
B Good
C Satisfactory
D Minimum passing
E Unacceptable
"Hence, the grade A means that the student's performance, achievement, and understanding were excellent in the portion of the subject covered in the class.
"There are prerequisites that qualify students to be admitted to the more advanced classes offered by a department. A senior has added experience, understanding, and preparation. Consequently, a senior progresses in courses that would have been impossible as a freshman. The level of performance, achievement, and understanding required to qualify for each grade that carries credit is higher in a more advanced class than in those classes that precede it, and the student is prepared to work at this higher level." (cite).
"The expectation for undergraduate courses is three hours of work per week per credit hour for the average student who is appropriately prepared; much more time may be required to achieve excellence." (cite).

Putting these statements together, the university expects an "average student" to work "much more" than 9 hours a week to receive an 'A' (= "excellence") in a 3 credit-hour course. This is my expectation as well.

Students who succeed in this course have the following characteristics. They


Academic Honesty and Plagiarism

In keeping with the principles of the BYU Honor Code, students are expected to be honest in all of their academic work. Academic honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work you present as your own must in fact be your own work and not that of another. Violations of this principle may result in a failing grade in the course and additional disciplinary action by the university. Students are also expected to adhere to the Dress and Grooming Standards. Adherence demonstrates respect for yourself and others and ensures an effective learning and working environment. It is the university's expectation, and every instructor's expectation in class, that each student will abide by all Honor Code standards. Please call the Honor Code Office at 422-2847 if you have questions about those standards.

From the Academic Honesty section of the BYU Honor Code: "The first injunction of the BYU Honor Code is the call to `be honest.' Students come to the university not only to improve their minds, gain knowledge, and develop skills that will assist them in their life's work, but also to build character. `President David O. McKay taught that character is the highest aim of education' (The Aims of a BYU Education, p. 6). It is the purpose of the BYU Academic Honesty Policy to assist in fulfilling that aim."

"BYU students should seek to be totally honest in their dealings with others. They should complete their own work and be evaluated based upon that work. They should avoid academic dishonesty and misconduct in all its forms, including but not limited to plagiarism, fabrication or falsification, cheating, and other academic misconduct" (cite). Read the full version here.

A colleague (Mitch Sanders, former professor at Notre Dame) has already explicated these issues specifically for political science. Please read here.

If you write a paper for another course (past or present) that uses the same topic as the project for this course, you need to approve it with me first, and then you must turn in to me a copy of the paper from your other course.

In this class, you need to acknowledge the contributions of others toward your assignments. I have taken the following guidelines from MIT's Unified Engineering class. I have changed and added various words where appropriate:

"The fundamental principle of academic integrity is that you must fairly represent the source of the intellectual content of the work you submit for credit. In the context of [Poli 304], this means that if you consult other sources (such as fellow students, TA's, faculty, literature) in the process of completing homework, you must acknowledge the sources in any way that reflects true ownership of the ideas and methods you used."

"Doing homework helps to engage with the concepts and material taught in class on a deeper level. To enhance the learning process we strongly suggest that you first try to solve the problems by yourself and then discuss challenges in groups or in office hours if necessary. Discussion among students and in office hours to digest the material and the homework problems or to prepare for [exams] is considered useful in the educational process. COLLABORATION ON HOMEWORK IS ALLOWED UNLESS OTHERWISE DIRECTED AS LONG AS ALL REFERENCES (BOTH LITERATURE AND PEOPLE) USED ARE NAMED CLEARLY AT THE END OF THE ASSIGNMENT. Word-by-word copies of someone else's solution or parts of a solution handed in for credit will be considered cheating unless there is a reference to the source for any part of the work which was copied verbatim. FAILURE TO CITE OTHER STUDENT'S CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR HOMEWORK SOLUTION WILL BE CONSIDERED CHEATING."

"Study Group Guidelines"

"Study groups are considered an educationally beneficial activity. However, at the end of each problem on which you collaborated with other students you must cite the students and the interaction. The purpose of this is to acknowledge their contribution to your work. Some examples follow:

  1. You discuss concepts, approaches and methods that could be applied to a homework problem before either of you start your written solution. This process is encouraged. You are not required to make a written acknowledgment of this type of interaction.
  2. After working on a problem independently, you compare answers with another student, which confirms your solution. You must acknowledge that the other student's solution was used to check your own. No credit will be lost due to this comparison if the acknowledgment is made.
  3. After working on a problem independently, you compare answers with another student, which alerts you to an error in your own work. You must state at the end of the problem that you corrected your error on the basis of checking answers with the other student. No credit will be lost due to this comparison if the acknowledgment is made, and no direct copying of the correct solution is involved.
  4. You and another student work through a problem together, exchanging ideas as the solution progresses. Each of you must state at the end of the problem that you worked jointly. No credit will be lost due to this cooperation if the acknowledgment is made. [You must still write up your solutions individually, not jointly.]
  5. You copy all or part of a solution from a reference such as a textbook. You must cite the reference. Partial credit will be given, since there is some educational value in reading and understanding the solution. However, this practice is strongly discouraged, and should be used only when you are unable to solve the problem without assistance.
  6. You copy verbatim all or part of a solution from another student. This process is not considered academically dishonest if the acknowledgement is made. However, you will receive no credit for verbatim copying from another student as you have not made any intellectual contribution to the work you are both submitting for credit.
  7. VERBATIM COPYING OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH YOU SUBMIT FOR CREDIT WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE SOURCE IS CONSIDERED TO BE ACADEMICALLY DISHONEST."

Unfortunately, some students still profess ignorance of or attempt to find loopholes in the previous guidelines. As a result of sad experience, I repeat the following guidelines and add clarifications:


Policies

Preventing & Responding to Sexual Misconduct

Brigham Young University prohibits all forms of sexual harassment—including sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking on the basis of sex—by its personnel and students and in all its education programs or activities. University policy requires all faculty members to promptly report incidents of sexual harassment that come to their attention in any way and encourages reports by students who experience or become aware of sexual harassment. Incidents should be reported to the Title IX Coordinator at t9coordinator@byu.edu or (801) 422-8692 or 1085 WSC. Reports may also be submitted online at https://titleix.byu.edu/report or 1-888-238-1062 (24-hours a day). BYU offers a number of resources and services for those affected by sexual harassment, including the university's confidential Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate. Additional information about sexual harassment, the university's Sexual Harassment Policy, reporting requirements, and resources can be found in the University Catalog, by visiting http://titleix.byu.edu, or by contacting the university's Title IX Coordinator.

Student Disability

Brigham Young University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Whether an impairment is substantially limiting depends on its nature and severity, its duration or expected duration, and its permanent or expected permanent or long-term impact. Examples include vision or hearing impairments, physical disabilities, chronic illnesses, emotional disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety), learning disorders, and attention disorders (e.g., ADHD). If you have a disability which impairs your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the University Accessibility Center (UAC), 2170 WSC or 801-422-2767 to request a reasonable accommodation. The UAC can also assess students for learning, attention, and emotional concerns. If you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, please contact the Equal Opportunity Office at 801-422-5895, eo_manager@byu.edu, or visit https://hrs.byu.edu/equal-opportunity for help.

Mental Health

Mental health concerns and stressful life events can affect students' academic performance and quality of life. BYU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS, 1500 WSC, 801-422-3035, caps.byu.edu) provides individual, couples, and group counseling, as well as stress management services. These services are confidential and are provided by the university at no cost for full-time students. For general information please visit https://caps.byu.edu; for more immediate concerns please visit http://help.byu.edu.

Inappropriate Use of Course Materials

All course materials (e.g., outlines, handouts, syllabi, exams, quizzes, PowerPoint presentations, lectures, audio and video recordings, etc.) are proprietary. Students are prohibited from posting or selling any such course materials without the express written permission of the professor teaching this course. To do so is a violation of the Brigham Young University Honor Code. It is also unethical to post your own work (study sheets, papers) from the course on file sharing websites as you are encouraging others to engage in plagiarism. These policies continue indefinitely (not limited to the duration of the semester or term you take this course).

Respectful Environment

"Sadly, from time to time, we do hear reports of those who are at best insensitive and at worst insulting in their comments to and about others... We hear derogatory and sometimes even defamatory comments about those with different political, athletic, or ethnic views or experiences. Such behavior is completely out of place at BYU, and I enlist the aid of all to monitor carefully and, if necessary, correct any such that might occur here, however inadvertent or unintentional. "I worry particularly about demeaning comments made about the career or major choices of women or men either directly or about members of the BYU community generally. We must remember that personal agency is a fundamental principle and that none of us has the right or option to criticize the lawful choices of another." President Cecil O. Samuelson, Annual University Conference, August 24, 2010 "Occasionally, we ... hear reports that our female faculty feel disrespected, especially by students, for choosing to work at BYU, even though each one has been approved by the BYU Board of Trustees. Brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be. Not here. Not at a university that shares a constitution with the School of the Prophets." Vice President John S. Tanner, Annual University Conference, August 24, 2010

Deliberation Guidelines

To facilitate productive and open discussions about sensitive topics about which there are differing opinions, members of the BYU community should: (1) Remember that we are each responsible for enabling a productive, respectful dialogue. (2)To enable time for everyone to speak, strive to be concise with your thoughts. (3) Respect all speakers by listening actively. (4) Treat others with the respect that you would like them to treat you with, regardless of your differences. (5) Do not interrupt others. (6) Always try to understand what is being said before you respond. (7) Ask for clarification instead of making assumptions. (8) When countering an idea, or making one initially, demonstrate that you are listening to what is being said by others. Try to validate other positions as you assert your own, which aids in dialogue, versus attack. (9) Under no circumstances should an argument continue out of the classroom when someone does not want it to. Extending these conversations beyond class can be productive, but we must agree to do so respectfully, ethically, and with attention to individuals' requests for confidentiality and discretion. (10) Remember that exposing yourself to different perspectives helps you to evaluate your own beliefs more clearly and learn new information. (11) Remember that just because you do not agree with a person's statements, it does not mean that you cannot get along with that person. (12) Speak with your professor privately if you feel that the classroom environment has become hostile, biased, or intimidating. Adapted from the Deliberation Guidelines published by The Center for Democratic Deliberation. (http://cdd.la.psu.edu/education/The%20CDD%20Deliberation%20Guidelines.pdf/view?searchterm=deliberation%20guidelines)

Diversity and Inclusion

In the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences, our classroom participation and behavior are guided by our mission statement, the BYU honor code, and principles of Christian discipleship. It is imperative that we value and respect every person as a child of Heavenly Parents who has divine worth. Consequently, we need to take steps to listen to, learn from, and love one another by striving to consider thoughtfully the opinions of others and use language that is polite, considerate, and courteous even when we strongly disagree. It is essential to create an educational environment that ensures "the gift of personal dignity for every child of God" (Holland). This includes embracing one another compassionately and "eliminating] any prejudice, including racism, sexism, and nationalism" (Ballard) "regardless of age, personal circumstances, gender, sexual orientation, or other unique challenges" (Nelson). It is vital to delight in individuality and welcome diverse perspectives and experiences as we "work tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than creating walls of segregation" (Nelson). To accomplish these goals we seek unity in higher principles of equity, charity, collaboration, and inclusiveness in order to build an environment in which all students, faculty, and staff can participate in, contribute to, and benefit equally from the academic community.


Readings

All readings should be read before class for full understanding of the subject material.

The text for the course is:

We will cover about one chapter per week of Harrington.


Schedule (subject to change)

Date Topic Chapter Assignments
August 29 Models 1-2  
31 Dominance 3 Problem Set 0
September 5 No class: Labor Day    
7 Nash Equilibria 4 Problem Set 1
12 Nash Equilibria 4  
14 Online: n-player Games 5
Schelling
Problem Set 2
19 Asymmetric Games 5  
21 Continuous Games 6 Problem Set 3
26 Mixed Strategies 7  
28 Mixed Strategies 7 Problem Set 4
October 3 Mixed Strategies 7  
5 Extensive Form 8 Problem Set 5
10 Backwards Induction 8  
12 Review   Problem Set 6
17 No class: Testing Center   Midterm Exam
19 Imperfect Information 9  
24 Incomplete Information 10  
26 Bayesian Games 10 Problem Set 7
31 Signaling 11  
November 2 Costly Signaling 11 Problem Set 8
7 Signaling Equilibria 11  
9 Cheap Talk 12 Problem Set 9
14 Costless Signaling 12  
16 Repeated Games 13 Problem Set 10
21 Repeated Games 13  
23 No class: Thanksgiving    
28 Repeated Games Applications 14  
29     Poster Due
30 Overlapping Generations 15  
December 5 Large Populations 15  
7 Review   Problem Set 11
8 Poster Conference    
9 Exam Preparation Day    
14     Final Exam

Declaration

I often use video clips from popular culture (television programs, movies) to illustrate and emphasize the readings. In this class, I especially use clips from movies. If you consider this to be inappropriate, then do not take this class.


References

I consulted numerous game theory syllabi in designing this course, including syllabi by Scott Ainsworth, Jeff Banks, Paulo Barelli, Kathleen Bawn, Ted Bergstrom, Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, Giacomo Bonanno, Randy Calvert, Vincent Crawford, Eric Dickson, James Fowler, Sean Gailmard, Scott Gelbach, Catherine Hafer, Joseph Harrington, Macartan Humphreys, Tasos Kalandrakis, Kristin Kanthak, Val Lambson, David McAdams, Felix Muñoz-Garcia, Barry O'Neill, Orie Shelef, Ahmer Tarar, Georg Vanberg, and Daniel Verdier.


Jay Goodliffe's home page


This page is http://goodliffe.byu.edu/304/syllabus.htm