This course examines how ethical decision-making unfolds at the intersection of law and psychology. Drawing on real-life legal casesand a host of classic psychological experiments, we explore how cognitive biases such as loss aversion, status quo bias, and framing effects can complicate even the most straightforward moral choices. You’ll explore how our natural tendency to focus on what is most salient in any given situation can skew risk assessments, and how motivated reasoning and self-serving biases may subtly warp our judgments, whether in the boardroom, the courtroom, or everyday life. Finally, we round out our investigation with practical tools—like decision matrices—that empower you to break down complex decisions into their component parts, ensuring that your choices not only reflect your core values but also withstand rigorous, objective scrutiny.

Cultivate your career with expert-led programs, job-ready certificates, and 10,000 ways to grow. All for $25/month, billed annually. Save now


Money, Risk, and Ethics: The Psychology of Decision-Making

Instructor: Tess Wilkinson-Ryan
Included with
Details to know

Add to your LinkedIn profile
March 2025
1 assignment
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills


Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV
Share it on social media and in your performance review

There are 4 modules in this course
In this module, students will learn the foundational concepts at the intersection of ethical decision-making and psychology. Through analysis of real-life legal cases and controlled experiments, learners will discover how cognitive biases and framing effects—such as loss aversion, status quo bias, and the endowment effect—influence moral reasoning and judgment. The lectures unpack the complexities of ethical dilemmas by examining how contextual factors, numerical framing, and underlying psychological mechanisms shape our decisions in both personal and professional settings. By engaging with classic studies like the dictator game, the bully game, and landmark legal cases, students will gain a nuanced understanding of how ethical and moral choices are systematically influenced by human psychology.
What's included
9 videos3 discussion prompts
In Module 2, we introduce the role of salience and cognitive biases in ethical decision-making. We will examine how our attention is involuntarily drawn to specific stimuli, ranging from sensory cutes to vivid memories, and how this selective focus shapes our judgments. We will explore concepts such as the availability heuristic, hindsight bias, and anchoring effects, as well as how motivated reasoning and confirmation bias can distort our evaluation of risks and moral choices. By analyzing classic developmental tests like the Sally-Anne task alongside real-world examples in legal, financial, and everyday contexts, learners will gain insight into how salience influences what we notice, remember, and ultimately decide.
What's included
9 videos3 discussion prompts
Module 3 focuses on the pervasive influence of motivated reasoning and self-serving biases in ethical decision-making. We will examine how preexisting beliefs shape the intake of new evidence and how individuals tend to favor information that confirms their desired conclusions. Through a series of experiments and real-world examples, learners will explore phenomena such as the self-serving bias, confirmation bias, and the just world hypothesis. The module culminates with practical strategies, such as “consider the opposite” and accountability interventions, that help mitigate these biases and promote more objective, value-aligned decision-making.
What's included
5 videos3 discussion prompts
Module 4 introduces the decision matrix as a systematic tool for multi-attribute decision making. By breaking down complex, holistic judgments into discrete, measurable components, this module demonstrates how to disaggregate factors such as teamwork, sales performance, reliability, and leadership potential in managerial and hiring contexts. Students will learn how to assign appropriate weights to different attributes, aggregate granular judgments mechanically, and reduce the influence of salience and bias. Ultimately, the module equips learners with strategies to align decisions more closely with their organizational values and ethical priorities.
What's included
3 videos1 assignment1 discussion prompt
Instructor

Offered by
Why people choose Coursera for their career




New to Leadership and Management? Start here.

Open new doors with Coursera Plus
Unlimited access to 10,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription
Advance your career with an online degree
Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online
Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business
Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy
Frequently asked questions
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
You will be eligible for a full refund until two weeks after your payment date, or (for courses that have just launched) until two weeks after the first session of the course begins, whichever is later. You cannot receive a refund once you’ve earned a Course Certificate, even if you complete the course within the two-week refund period. See our full refund policy.
More questions
Financial aid available,