UvA

Human behavior is difficult to capture in simple and elegant models. In similarly looking environments different people show opposite behaviors and small changes in these environments can radically change the behavior of some, while huge changes might be completely ignored by others. The explanations for these behaviors have traditionally been approached from two different angles. In economics and (behavioral) game theory an individual is reduced to a set of beliefs, preferences and possible actions, whereby the, not always rational, mind rules over the body. On the other hand, in psychology and neurosciences, hormones, emotions and other direct physical impulses control humans with rationality playing a much smaller part This thesis tries to harmonize both views to a certain extent, as it tries to show that both rational and emotional elements can be modeled together, studies destructive behavior, investigates the role of emotions in leadership and analyses the effect of partner choice, based on only physical characteristics, on the level of cooperation.