Psychology 3139B 001 FW25
Cognitive Science
Western University
London Canada
Department of Psychology
Fall/Winter 2025
Psychology 3139B Section 001
COGNITIVE SCIENCE
1 Calendar Description
Cognitive Science combines psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, neuropsychology, linguistics, philosophy, and anthropology to study how people think. Students will learn about how cognitive scientists approach problems in a diverse, integrated manner to help us understand how people learn and process, for example, concepts and language.
Antirequisites: n/a
Prerequisites: Both Psychology 2801F/G (or one of Health Sciences 2801A/B, Psychology 2840F/G, Psychology 2855F/G) and Psychology 2811A/B (or one of Biology 2244A/B, Economics 2122A/B, Economics 2222A/B, Geography 2210A/B, Health Sciences 3801A/B, MOS 2242A/B, Psychology 2830A/B, Psychology 2850A/B, Sociology 2205A/B, Statistical Sciences 2035, Statistical Sciences 2141A/B, Statistical Sciences 2143A/B, Statistical Sciences 2244A/B, Statistical Sciences 2858A/B, the former Social Work 2207A/B), or the former Psychology 2820E, or both the former Psychology 2800E and the former Psychology 2810, and one of Psychology 2115A/B, Psychology 2134A/B, Psychology 2135A/B, Psychology 2220A/B, Psychology 2221A/B, Neuroscience 2000.
3 lecture hours;
Course Weight: 0.5
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2 Course Information
Instructor: Marieke Mur
Office & Phone: see Brightspace for location
Office Hours: By appointment only
Email: mmur@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Ashley Tran
Office: see Brightspace for location
Office Hours: By appointment only
Email: atran329@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: see Timetable on Student Centre
For courses that include an online component, students must have a reliable internet connection and computer that are compatible with online learning system requirements.
3 Course Materials
This course will not use a textbook. Assigned readings will be journal articles, which will be posted on the course website.
4 Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
The primary objective of this course is to provide students with an introduction to Cognitive Science, an exciting approach to studying how people think that combines psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, linguistics, philosophy, and anthropology. This course will emphasize the following three fields: neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence.
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Identify the major disciplines that make up cognitive science and their unique contributions to cognitive science. |
Lectures Readings Class discussion
|
Midterm exam Final exam In-class participation |
|
Evaluate the methodologies and interpretations of evidence in cognitive science.
|
Lectures Readings Writing independent paper Class discussion
|
Midterm exam Final exam Independent paper In-class participation |
|
Apply concepts and methodologies from cognitive science to everyday problems.
|
Lectures Readings Class discussion
|
Midterm exam Final exam In-class participation |
|
Develop critical thinking and writing skills that are applicable across academic and non-academic settings. |
Writing independent paper Class discussion
|
Independent paper In-class participation |
5 Evaluation
Students will be evaluated in the following manner:
In-class participation: 5%
Independent paper: 25%
Midterm exam: 30%
Final exam: 40%
In-class participation (5%)
In-class participation is intended to encourage active engagement with the course material and with each other. Each week, the class meets for three hours: roughly half of this time is devoted to lecture and half to discussion of assigned readings.
Your participation grade reflects your overall presence, preparation, and contribution across both lecture and discussion. Strong participation involves coming to class prepared to discuss the readings, asking thoughtful questions, responding constructively to others’ ideas, and helping advance the conversation. Contributions during lecture, such as posing questions or connecting material to broader topics, are also valued. Listening attentively and engaging respectfully are essential components of participation.
You do not need to speak in every class to earn a strong grade, but you should show consistent, informed engagement throughout the term.
Independent paper (25%)
The goal of this assignment is to practice and improve your critical thinking and writing skills. You will select a research question in cognitive science and address this question using scientific literature. In writing the paper, you are required to integrate evidence across two of the following disciplines: neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence.
In accordance with the Psychology Department’s policy on responsible AI use, you may use generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) in preparing your paper. You are fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of your work, and any AI-generated content must be verified and properly referenced where relevant. If you use AI, include a brief AI Usage Statement indicating which tool you used and for what purpose.
The paper should be approximately 1,500 words in length (excluding the abstract and references) and formatted according to APA style.
Midterm and final exams (30% and 40%, respectively)
The midterm and final exams will consist of multiple choice, short answer, and short essay questions. Exam questions will be based on lecture materials and course readings. The final exam is cumulative, in that it will include questions about material from across the course.
Students must work independently on exams and papers. Evidence of working with others, sharing test items, etc., will be formally pursued as academic misconduct.
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives
Policy on Missing Coursework
Requests for academic consideration for any course component will be handled in accordance with university policy: https://registrar.uwo.ca/academics/academic_considerations/index.html
Because participation grades reflect your overall presence and engagement throughout class sessions, you may miss up to two classes (out of eleven) without any impact on your participation grade. Additional absences may reduce your participation grade.
The course paper must be submitted by the posted deadline. Submissions received after the deadline will incur a 10% per-day penalty, including weekends. However, a 24-hour no-penalty period is automatically built in after the paper deadline to provide limited flexibility for unexpected circumstances. Work submitted within this 24-hour window will not be penalized. After that window, the standard late penalty applies.
The final exam is cumulative and is designated as the one assessment for which an undocumented absence cannot be used. Students who miss the final exam must contact Academic Counselling and provide appropriate documentation to request formal accommodation. If the request is approved, a make-up exam will be scheduled, consisting of new questions of comparable difficulty and format.
If you miss the midterm and have an approved accommodation or undocumented absence, the weight of the midterm (30%) will be transferred to the corresponding section of the final exam, which will then count for 70% of your final grade. The transferred portion will be based on performance on final-exam questions covering the same material as the midterm.
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses
72% 2100-2999-level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
In the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.
Policy on Grade Rounding
Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered.
6 Assessment/Evaluation Schedule
Midterm exam: Thursday, February 26, 2026
Independent paper: Friday, March 13, 2026
Final exam: TBA (April 12 - 30, 2026)
7 Class Schedule
Updates to the schedule and course readings will be announced in class and posted to the course website.
|
Date |
Topic |
|
Jan 8, 2026 |
Introduction History of cognitive science Disciplines contributing to cognitive science
|
|
Jan 15, 2026 |
Representation and computation Building models of the mind
|
|
Jan 22, 2026 |
Perception
|
|
Jan 29, 2026 |
How to write a scientific paper?
|
|
Feb 5, 2026 |
Concepts and categories
|
|
Feb 12, 2026 |
Language
|
|
Feb 19, 2026 |
Reading week – no class
|
|
Feb 26, 2026 |
Midterm exam
|
|
Mar 5, 2026 |
Executive function: attention
|
|
Mar 12, 2026 |
Executive function: working memory * Independent paper due on Mar 13, 11:59 pm EDT
|
|
Mar 19, 2026 |
Action
|
|
Mar 26, 2026 |
Learning and memory
|
|
Apr 2, 2026 |
Intelligent agents
|
|
Apr 9, 2026 |
Course wrap-up and discussion
|
|
Apr 12 - 30, 2026 |
Final exam
|
8 Academic Integrity
Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
Statement on Use of Electronic Devices
In class
Laptops and tablets may be used for note-taking and to access course materials, but students are expected to stay engaged in class discussions and activities. Please avoid using devices for unrelated purposes (e.g., social media, messaging, or other coursework) as this can distract both you and others.
During exams
Electronic devices of any kind, including laptops, cell phones, smartwatches, and any device with internet connectivity, are not permitted during tests or examinations. All such devices must be turned off and stored out of reach.
Plagiarism Detection Software
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com.
Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.
AI Policy for Psychology:
Responsible use of AI is allowed in Psychology. This includes using AI for brainstorming, improving grammar, or doing preliminary/background research on a topic.
AI is not to be used in place of critical thinking.
The misuse of AI undermines the academic values of this course. Relying on AI to create full drafts or fabricate sources is prohibited. You are ultimately responsible for any work submitted, so it is highly advised that you critically review your Generative AI output before incorporating this information into your assignments.
If you use AI, you must clearly explain its role in your work. All written assignments will require an AI Usage Statement, in which you will indicate what tools you have used, what you have used them for, and (broadly) how you have modified this information. Assignments without an AI Usage Statement will not be accepted.
Violations of this policy will be handled according to Western’s scholastic offense policies.
Multiple Choice Exams
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
Personal Response Systems (“Clickers”)
In classes that involve the use of a personal response system, data collected will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed.
9 Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education
View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link.
Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western.
If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information. Email: aew@uwo.ca Phone: 519 661-2147
10 Absence & Academic Consideration
Academic Considerations: https://registrar.uwo.ca/academics/academic_considerations/index.html
11 Other Information
- Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
- Student Development Services: sdc.uwo.ca
- Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness@Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you.
If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf. Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).
Copyright Statement
Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
