Assignment 1
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School
Simon Fraser University *
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Course
221
Subject
Geography
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
2
Uploaded by anniesun9876
1) What surprised you while playing the game?
I was surprised with the role of “all cooperate”, people who are very empathetic
and kind, always willing to risk their loss in consideration of others despite having very
low chances of succeeding. Whereas on the other hand, there were “all cheaters”,
pursuers of desires and greed.This game demonstrates an example to the Homo
Homoeconomicus topic discussed in week 2, where humans naturally pursue self-
desires without the regard of others’ wellbeing.
2) Neoclassical economic theory claims that all human beings are inherently selfish,
rational decision-makers ('homo economicus').
What kinds of human geography factors do you think might impact the kind of
decisions - or: kind of decision-making (e.g. constant cooperator) - people make?
Human geography factors include: population size, cultural norms, laws and rules
regulating business and trade, climate, historical events, political systems and wars.
In
your response, be sure to provide at least
two
hypothetical or real examples of how
human geography factors might impact decision-making.
I think all geography factors are somewhat intertwined so when one factor
affects an individuals’ decision, the other factors act as a trigger as well, so I think it’s
difficult to isolate the factors separately and say that decision processes are solely
affected by this one factor or that this single factor is the main cause. For example,
during the outbreak of covid-19, almost everyone assumed that the disease was
spread by Asians, especially people of Chinese ethnicity because they eat “all kinds of
species”. This stereotype led to random lashouts of people who were Chinese around
the world, hate crimes, and an increase of racism. Some of the instigating factors
include cultural norms (ie: traditional herbal medicine), historical events (ie: illegal
wildlife trade), and immigration (anti-immigrants). There’s still an existing stereotype
that all Chinese people capture and eat wildlife and consequently, with one false news
article, the news was easily deemed appropriate for accusation, ultimately leading to
anti-asian crimes.
Another example, the increase of anti-vaccine movement during the pandemic
can be explained to be caused by the human geography factors of regulations and law,
cultural norms, political systems, and the regulation of business. In the beginning of the
outbreak, everyone was seeking a vaccination, yet, ironically, when the vaccine
mandate was approved, people began to protest. Additionally, a popular message that
anti-vaccination protesters convey is that they want to feel free in the public, instead of
feeling trapped like in prison. But if we think about it, once everyone is vaccinated,
there is more freedom following in public areas. I believe this relates to the political
system (democracy) and cultural norms (value of freedom) that there should be
democratic opinions towards a health regulation, especially the freedom of choice of
whether people want to get vaccinated or not.
3) What did you realize about what constitutes the 'most rational' decision in the
different scenarios in the game (e.g. repeated games, miscommunication)?
What
human geography factors might impact these different scenarios?
The most rational decisions in different scenarios in the game are constituted by the
frailty of trust. For example, in the scenario of repeated interactions, the player must build trust
consecutively, which suggests how trust and relationships are equally fragile and need to be
built and maintained. Thus, the lack of trust stimulates the rational thought of not taking the risk
to lose anything. The human geographic factors can include all of them since trust is one of the
essential aspects for anyone to have and be able to build in any relationship or business. In the
miscommunication scenario, human geography factors like cultural norms, population size
(messages change from person to person), and climate (false/inaccurate climate predictions)
can impact decision making.
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