Cognitive Psychology

PSYC 234 SEC 1 (CRN 11279) 

Instructor: Bryan R. Burnham, PhD

Class Meetings: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:00^PM to 1:50^PM, AMH 211

Office:  206 Alumni Memorial Hall

Phone:  x6687

E-Mail:  burnhamb2@scranton.edu

Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 10:00^AM to 11:30^AM  (sign up for office hours here), or by appointment

Course page: http://sites.google.com/site/psyc234/

Homepage: http://academic.scranton.edu/faculty/BURNHAMB2/

Welcome!

If you are in the correct room, then your mind completed an task a billion times more impressive than any serial-processing computer could hope to accomplish. Was it, understanding Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity? Deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls? Knowing what patriot and liberal really mean? No. Your mind remembered to get you to class (let alone woke you), processed routes you could take to get here, programmed a route into your motor cortex, executed movements, and kept you in line from there to here. What’s amazing? Your mind did this in less than a second and did most of the work while you were unaware! This is the essence of cognitive psychology/science: How do the mind and brain interact to process information and affect behavior? Not sure? Let's find out!

Cognition is perhaps the oldest topic in psychology, dating to 1879 with the introspective studies of Tichener. However, as soon as cognitive studies took hold, a near-sighted, baby-scaring John Watson said the mind should not be studied because we cannot see it; and everyone believed him because he looked like Mr. Peterman from Seinfeld. Luckily, Chomsky, Broadbent, Miller and open-minded (no pun intended) scientists rebelled against behaviorism’s failed attempt to explain complex behavior, by demonstrating that cognitive operations explain behavior better. Thus was born cognitive psychology.

Course Objectives:

Cognitive psychology is the study of how and why individuals attend to, select, monitor, store, retrieve, manipulate, and otherwise process information. By the end of the course, you will be familiar with the information-processing approach and cognitive psychologists' definitions of pattern recognition, attention, memory, concept formation, retrieval, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, automaticity, and comprehension. We will also devote time to techniques used by cognitive neuroscientists to understand the cortical underpinnings of cognitive operations. You will gain knowledge in how scientists study cognitive operations through interactive demonstrations both in and out of class. Although much of this course will be grounded in theory and empirical discovery; by the end of the semester you should be able to identify the concepts and topics covered in class as they occur in the real world. Disclaimer: There will be no discussion of clinical topics, counseling, therapy, etc. in this course and how they may related to cognition. If you are expecting me to talk about these you will be disappointed...take another class.

Academic Honesty:

Show your work, don’t cheat, don’t plagiarize! Any student in violation of the Code of Academic Honesty will receive an immediate and unalterable failing grade for the course and be directed to the proper administrative authority. Unless noted students are to work independently. Students must read, sign, and adhere to my Pledge of Academic Integrity.

Course Description (From Undergraduate Catalog):

(Prerequisite: PSYC 110) Considers a number of approaches to the study of human cognitive processes with an emphasis on the information processing model. Topics include pattern recognition, attention, memory, imagery, concepts and categories, and problem solving.

Required Texts:

Smith, E. E., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2007). Cognitive Psychology: Mind and Brain. Pearson/Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Francis, G. & Neath I. (2007). CogLab Online Version 2.0, 4^th. Wadsworth: Belmont, CA. **Do not purchase used!** 

Attendance:

Is taken but cannot count for you and will not count against you. If you do not attend regularly you will not do well because the concepts require discussion. Students are responsible for all material and announcements made in class, including missed classes.

Expectations:

1. Arrive a few minutes early; we begin right on time.
2. Come prepared and have assigned readings and homework finished prior to lecture.
3. Ask questions and contribute to discussions; it makes time go by easier (not faster).
4. See me immediately if something does not make sense.
5. Do not speak while I am lecturing! If you are annoying I’ll have you make like a tree...and get outta here.
6. Be prepared to spend at least six hours on course material outside of class (e.g., reading, studying, teamwork, exercises)

Evaluation:

Your final grade is based on the following:

1. Nine (9) “read ahead” quizzes            Incorporated into exams
2. Two (2) mid-term exams                   40% of final grade (20% each)
3. One (1) final exam                           30% of final grade
4. Thirteen (13) homework lab exercises  20% of final grade
5. Cog Libs project                              10% of final grade

Quizzes: Used to ensure you keep up with reading to understand basic definitions before we elaborate on them in class. Each quiz is based on the chapter for the topic we are about to cover, is given during the first 5–7 minutes of class (don’t be late), and is worth 5-points. The lowest quiz score covering chapters for each exam will be dropped and the remaining points from the quizzes will incorporated into each exam grade. There are no makeups (even with excuse). If you miss class it counts as the one dropped.

Midterm exams: Consist of multiple-guess, diagrams, and short-answer questions based on material covered since the last test. I do not give makeups unless (i) a valid excuse is provided (ii) with documentation, (iii) before the test. If class is canceled on the day of a test it will be given during the following class. If class is canceled the meeting before a test it will be given as scheduled.

Final exam: Same format as the midterms, but ½ is on material covered during the last section of the semester and the remaining ½ covers important topics from the earlier sections in the semester. Thus, it is cumulative. Cannot be taken early; no exceptions! If postponed due to weather, students must take the final at the University designated rescheduling time. Plan accordingly.

NOTICE ON ALL EXAMS—READ CAREFULLY—Approximately 10% of each exam will include text material (e.g., studies, basic terms) not directly covered in class, but was related to class topics. This suggests that you should read and be prepared to answer questions based on the text. This also suggests that you should not ask me whether it is necessary to buy the book...it is!

Laboratory exercises: You are assigned several exercises to be completed out of class. These are similar to cognitive studies and will help you understand how psychologists use behavior to study cognition. Four of these exercises require you to turn in answers to questions in the CogLab manual and are graded on a 0–10 point scale. The other nine exercises are worth two points each, where 0 = not completed, 1 = completed late, 2 = completed on time. The exercise grade is the percentage of earned points.

Cog Libs: Assignment designed to foster knowledge in a specific area of cognition. Working in small teams you will investigate a cognitive topic and create a Mad Lib type of description called a Cog Lib. A separate handout will be provided.

Final grade:

The weighted average of the Midterms, Final Exam, Laboratory Exercises, and Cog Libs project. This is your final average, which is compared to the distribution below to determine your letter grade and grade points. There is no grading curve.