1:00-2:15P  TR  SY004

This section meets with HON H228

In families, work organizations, churches and communities, people can
achieve great gains by pooling resources and working together. Yet
people often fail to sustain cooperative ventures, thereby forfeiting
the benefits they could have attained by trusting each other. This
course will seek answers to two questions: WHY do people fail to
cooperate? HOW can people build ties of trust and cooperation?

We will begin by reviewing social situations in which "perverse"
incentives drive people to withhold cooperation, especially
"prisoners' dilemmas" and social dilemmas, including "free-rider"
situations. Then we will analyze conditions under which people can
find ways to escape from these "social traps," trust each other, and
work for their common welfare. This part of the course will include an
examination of "social capital" and how it supports democratic
governance and economic prosperity.

The course will emphasize empirical research (especially sample
surveys, social-psychological experiments, and field studies.) Classes
will involve lecture, discussion, small-group work, and in-class
writing assignments. Students will be asked to reflect on the reading
in (very short) weekly papers. Two midterm exams will include
short-answer and essay questions. The final exam will be
comprehensive, asking students to link up ideas from all
parts of the course.

Elton F. Jackson
Department of Sociology
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405

Internet: JACKSONE@INDIANA.EDU
Telephone: (812) 855-2847
FAX: (812) 855-0781