This course presents the most current evidence on the biological and cultural foundations of human behavior, its affective psychological system and cognition, deeply rooted in the study of Evolutionary Psychology. It addresses human biological development, the configuration of the individual in terms of the social environment and its phylogenetic inheritance, as well as the configuration of behavior based on all these elements and emotions as regulators of social cognition and behavior in general.

This course reviews the current principles of Evolutionary Theory to understand in depth the phylogenetic origin and the ultimate reason for the existence of psychological mechanisms at the base of human behavior, with a strong emphasis on affective development as the motivational basis of behavior human It begins with the study of the evolutionary bases of the affective processes in social species, which inspired the work with comparative, ethological, psychophysiological and neuroscientific evidence about heuristics to the base of behavior, which converge in the evolutionary approach of emotions as articulators of human motivation or cognition. The main theoretical-empirical sources of Evolutionary Psychology will be reviewed in a general way, updating the doctoral students in the evidence that sustains the specialization of the mind for social exchange and the prevalent models of emotions and social brain, integrating adaptationist principles to explain the evolution of the structures that make up the human affective and cognitive systems. Particularly, the understanding of the role of the human emotional system for the regulation of the motivational mechanisms of sexual selection that differentiate and model the affect and aggression (adolescent and adult), based on the achievement of the conformation of the reproductive partner, will be deepened.

This course will address the study of institutions in the social sciences. The focus will be on the origin and effects of different economic, political and social institutions. To the extent that the study of institutions requires consideration of the problem of development in the long term, this course will pay attention to historical processes.

This course covers the fundamental problems of the philosophy of political economy and the different alternative approaches proposed by the main philosophers who have worked on them. The program focuses on two main issues: the distribution of material goods, rights and freedoms and the location of political power. The course places special emphasis on the work of the most important thinkers of political philosophy and political economy in the twentieth century: Friedrich Havek, Robert Nozick, John Rawls and Michael Sandel.

This course offers students an analysis of the most relevant topics in the field of social neuroscience. The course begins with a general introduction to fundamental techniques and the most significant findings of behavioral neuroscience. After this, the course explores a wide range of social phenomena that can be examined at multiple levels: the social level (experiences and behaviors), the level of information processing (cognitive and affective processes) and the neural level (brain processes).

In this course the student is introduced to the formal analysis of political processes. The course makes intensive use of quantitative techniques of empirical analysis and formal modeling. It aims to familiarize the student with modeling techniques based on microeconomic theory and game theory and introduce the student to the study of the relationship between political institutions, the incentives faced by public representatives and the collective decision-making process.

In the workshops of deepening methods, students will be introduced to the use of a modeling technique or empirical analysis, illustrating through applications, its scope and limitations. In accordance with the research interests, the student will develop their skills in a method through a tutorial work and a practical exercise.