PSY 3051: Introduction
to Cognitive Psychology
Course syllabus
Fall 2008
University of Minnesota,
Twin Cities
Instructor: Y. V. Jiang
Psychology 3051: Introduction to
Cognitive Psychology
What,
when, & where
Course number : Psychology
3051, Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
When : Fall
2008, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:45am-11:00am
Where : SciCB 375
Prereq : PSY
1001
Credit : 3
credits; meets Lib Ed req of Social Science Core
Instructor
Info
Professor : Y.V. Jiang (Associate Professor, Dept
of Psychology)
Office : Elliott
Hall S251 (75 East River Road)
Email : Regular
email: cogpsych.jiang@gmail.com;
urgent email: jiang166@umn.edu
Phone : 612-625-7003
(but email is preferred!)
Office hours : immediately
after most classes, or by appointment
Course web page: https://moodle.umn.edu, login with your x500.
Teaching
Assistants
TBA (0.5TA) : cogpsych.jiang@gmail.com (specify: )
Office hours: TBA.
Course
Description
Welcome! This course will provide you with an
overview of the theoretical and empirical approaches which constitute Cognitive
Psychology. Cognitive psychologists explore the nature of cognitive processes
such as attention, memory, concept, reasoning, perception, and language
processing. Our goals are to understand (1) the representations and processes in
our minds that underwrite these capabilities, and (2) how they are implemented
in the underlying hardware, the human brain. Stated more simply, our goal is to
understand how the mind works, and how the brain works to produce such a mind.
Trying to understand our own minds is one of the most ambitious and exciting
projects in all of sciences. This course will introduce you to some of the
major tools, assumptions, and theories from a cognitive and
cognitive-neuroscience perspective, and expose you to some of the more
important results obtained thus far.
Expected work & grading
1. (70%) Three exams
Seventy percent of your course grade will be
determined by three examinations. The first exam will
be on Thursday, October 16th, and will cover materials
from September 2th through October 14th. The second exam will be on Thursday, November 20th,
and will cover materials from October 21rd to November 18th.
The third and final exam will be TBD, and will cover materials from the
entire course. The first two exams each counts 15% and the final exam 40%. The
nature of the exams will be described more fully later. Make-up exams will not
be granted except with signed verification from the DeanÕs office of legitimate
excuse for a missed exam. You should not register for this course if you will
be unavailable during any of the exam dates.
2. (30%) Lab reports
We will conduct in-class labs three times during
the semester. You will divide into subgroups of 3 to conduct some classical
cognitive experiments. Data from the group will be averaged together for you to
write an experimental report. The report will include a brief introduction
about the background of the experiment, method and procedure, results, and
discussion. Each report should be no longer than 2000 words including tables
and references. The report is due on Tuesday at 9:45am,
of the following week. Late submission will cost 1 letter grade per day. Lab
report can be submitted as a paper copy in class or to S251 Elliott. Each lab
report is worth 10% of the grades.
Textbook
Reisberg, Daniel (2005). Cognition:
Exploring the science of the mind. (3rd Edition). New York: Norton. (Note:
2nd Edition acceptable)
Additional readings
Supplemental readings will be drawn from the scientific
literature; the link will be added on the webpage periodically. You may find
the following book useful:
Gazzaniga MS, Ivry RB, & Mangun GR (2002). Cognitive
neuroscience: The biology of the mind (2nd Ed.). New York: Norton. [GIM].
Both the Reisberg book and the GIM can be purchased
at the
University of Minnesota Bookstore or from
the web.
Preliminary Course Outline
Here is a preliminary outline of the materials that
we will cover in this course. Note that weÓll start out with Òcentral cognitive
mechanismsÓ such as attention, memory, categorization, and reasoning, and then
onto special domains such as vision and language. In addition, we will
initially concentrate on the mind as inferred from behavior, and gradually
shift to the mind as inferred from the brain. The exact timing of these
lectures is very
subject to change: We may end up spending more time than is listed here on
topics that strike you as especially interesting or difficult.
Week 1
Tuesday
Sep 2
Introduction
I: Cognitive Psychology.
Reading: Reisberg book Chapter 1
Thursday Sep 4
Introduction II: themes
Reading: Bloom P (2001). Word learning.
Current Biology, 11, R5-R6
Tuesday
Sep 9
Attention
I. Consequence of attention
Reading: Reisberg book Chapter 4.
Thursday Sep 11
Attention II. Object-based attention
Reading:
Scholl
B (2001). Objects and attention: The state of the art. Cognition, 80, 1-46.
Tuesday
Sep 16
Lab
1: Visual search
Lab
reports due Sep 23th at 9:45am. Lecture on Sep 18 will provide
useful information.
Thursday Sep 18
Attention
III. Visual search
Reading: Wolfe JM
et al. (2005). Rare items often missed in visual searches. Nature, 435,I
439-440.
Tuesday
Sep 23
Attention IV. Divided attention & Frontal lobe syndrome
Reading: Green
CS, Bavelier D (2003). Action video game modifies visual attention. Nature,
423, 534-537.
Thursday Sep 25
Memory I. Amnesia, memory types by time
Reading:
Reisberg book, Chapter 5.
Tuesday
Sep 30
Lab
2: Serial position curve
Lab
reports due Oct 7th at 9:45am. Lecture on Sep 25 will have provided
useful information.
Thursday Oct
2
Memory
II. Amnesia, memory types by content
Reading: Corkin S (2002). WhatÕs
new with the amnesic patient H.M.? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3, 153-160.
Tuesday
Oct 7
Memory III. Declarative memory: Encoding, retrieval, forgetting
Reading: Reisberg book, Chapters 6, 7,
& 8
Thursday Oct 9
Memory IV. Memory as reconstruction
Reading: Loftus
E (2003). Make-believe memories. American Psychologist, Nov 03.
Tuesday
Oct 14 Emotion and
Cognition
Reading:
Forgetting
Fear (ScienCentral News)
Thursday Oct 16
EXAM
1
Week 8
Tuesday
Oct 21
Knowledge I. Concept and categorization
Reading: Reisberg Chapter 9
Thursday
Oct 23 Knowledge II. Number
concept
Reading: Feigenson
L et al. (2004). Core systems of number. Trends in Cognitive Sciences,
8(7), 307-314.
Week 9
Tuesday
Oct 28 Knowledge
III. Reasoning and decision-making
Reading: Reisberg Chapters 12, 13, 14
Thursday Oct 30
Knowledge IV. Theory of Mind
Reading: Saxe R (2004). Reading
your mind. Boston Review.
Week 10
Tuesday
Nov 4
Vision I. Introduction: Vision as reconstruction (election day)
Reading: Reisberg Chapter 3
Thursday Nov
6
Vision II. Face perception
Reading: CNN
(Feb 2007) Face
blindness not just skin deep
.
Tuesday
Nov 11 Lab 3: Face
perception
Lab reports due Nov 18th at 9:45am.
Lecture on Nov 6 will have provided useful information
Thursday Nov 13
Vision
III. What, where, and how
Reading:
Goodale
MA, Westwood DA (2004). An evolving view of duplex vision. Current
Opinion in Neurobiology, 14(2), 203-211.
Week 12
Tuesday
Nov 18 Research
Methods; Review for Exam 2
Reading:
Reisberg book, Chapter 2
Thursday Nov 20 EXAM 2
Week 13
Tuesday
Nov 25
Language
I. Language acquisition
Reading:
Reisberg book, Chapter 10
Thursday Nov 27
Thanksgiving
holiday; no class.
Thursday Nov 29
Language II. Language and the brain
Reading:
Hickok et
al. (2002). Sign language in the brain. Scientific American.
Tuesday Dec
2 Language II.
Language and the brain; in-class lab demo
Reading:
Hickok et
al. (2002). Sign language in the brain. Scientific American.
Thursday Dec 4
Language III. Language and thought
Reading:
Dehaene
S et al. (2006). Core knowledge of geometry in an Amazonian indigene group.
Science, 311, 381-384.
Tuesday
Dec 9
Finale: Consciousness & wrap-up
Reading:
Reisberg book, Chapter 15
The
final exam is scheduled for TBA. Have a good winter break!
Policies
Make-up exam policy: There are no makeup exams.
In case of signed verification from the DeanÕss office of legitimate excuse for
a missed exam, see Instructor.
Score dispute policy: If you have dispute about
grading on an exam or homework, do not argue with the TAs. Talk to Prof. Jiang.
Your entire exam or homework will be re-graded, including the questions/parts
where you do not have disputes. The corrected score could be lower than the
original score you received, because you might lose points on some questions
and gain points on others.
Materials responsible: Reisberg textbook and
lecture materials. The latter is the primary basis for exam questions.
Section grading and late policy: Each lab report will be
graded on a 10-point scale. Lab report turned in after the deadline will
receive no more than 8 points, and each late day means 1 fewer points (from a
perfect score of 8). Complete lab report will receive at least 5 points. A
perfect 10 is reserved for a perfect lab report only.
Communication policy: Students
are encouraged to discuss among themselves the results and interpretation of
the results during the in-class lab. Once that class is dismissed,
students should not discuss the lab results. Students must independently work
on the lab reports. You may consult with the TAs or the professor, but not with
other students. Do not copy from another studentsÕ lab report word-by-word, and
do not paraphrase another studentÕs lab report.
Attendance: You should come to lectures even if you are
late sometimes. Exams will be based on lecture materials, which can depart
significantly from the Reisberg textbook.
Detailed info about Lab report: Lab
report should include: (1) a brief introduction, including background
information and the purpose of the study; (2) method: this section should be
detailed enough for someone else to be able to set up an experiment and
replicate your study based on what you described; (3) results: You should
report the average across subjects, in each experimental condition, as well as
a graph or table listing data from individual subjects. You should describe
your results in common English, and back up your statement by data. For
example, you might say ÒAccuracy in condition 1 is higher than in condition 2,
Mean for condition 1 is 95%, mean for condition 2 is 60%. Most subjects (8 of
9) showed such an effect. Table 1 lists each subjectÕs score as well as the
average of the entire group.Ó (4) Discussion: discuss the significant
conclusion from the study, and any other relevant points. The entire report
should not exceed 2000 words. A sample lab report can be found on the course
webpage.
Grades: A:
88+; A-: 84+;
B+: 80+; B: 75+; B-: 70+;
C+: 65+; C: 60+; C-: 55+;
D: 50+;
F: 50-;
S: must be 55+;
Standards: The official University grading standards
are as follows:
A: Achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet
course requirements.
B: Achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course
requirements.
C: Achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect.
D: Achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the
course requirements.
S: achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better
(achievement required for an S is at the discretion of the instruction but may
be no lower than a C-).
F (or N): Represents failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was
either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit
or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and
the student that the student would be awarded an I.
I (Incomplete): Assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to
extraordinary circumstances, e.g., hospitalization, a student is prevented from
completing the work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between
instructor and student.
Misconduct:
Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course shall be
grounds for awarding a grade of F or N for the entire course. The College
of Liberal Arts has broadly defined scholastic dishonesty as any act violating
the rights of another student in academic work or involving misrepresentation
of your own work. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not necessarily
limited to, cheating on assignments or examinations; plagiarizing, which is
misrepresenting as your own work any part of work done by another; submitting
the same work, or substantially similar works, to meet the requirements of more
than one course without the approval and consent of all instructors concerned;
depriving another student of necessary course materials; or interfering with
another student's work.
Board of Regents policy includes: ÒScholastic dishonesty means
plagiarizing; cheating on assignments or examinations; engaging in
unauthorized collaboration on academic work; taking, acquiring, or using
test materials without faculty permission; submitting false or incomplete
records of academic achievement; acting alone or in cooperation with another to
falsify records or to obtain dishonestly grades, honors, awards, or
professional endorsement; or altering, forging, or misusing a University
academic record; or fabricating or falsifying of data, research procedures, or
data analysis.Ó (see http://www1.umn.edu/regents/policies/academic/StudentConductCode.html)
Miscellaneous:
Students are responsible for all information disseminated in class and all
course requirements, including deadlines and examinations.
A student is not permitted to submit extra work in an attempt to raise his or
her grade.
Students with disabilities that affect their ability to participate fully in
class or to meet all course requirements are encouraged to bring this to the
attention of the instructor so that appropriate accommodations can be
arranged. Further information is available from Disabilities Services(180
McNamara Alumni Center, 612-626-1333).
University policy prohibits sexual harassment as defined in the December 1998
policy statement, available at the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative
Action. Questions or concerns about sexual harassment should be directed
to this office, located in 419 Morrill Hall.
Workload:
For undergraduate courses, one credit is defined as equivalent to an average of
three hours of learning effort per week (over a full semester) necessary for an
average student to achieve an average grade in the course. For example, a
student taking a three credit course that meets for three hours a week should
expect to spend an additional six hours a week on coursework outside the
classroom.