Psychology 2010A
Mind Matters: Thought, Memory & Language
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTIONS
A survey of recent findings, theories and applications concerning information-processing approaches to human cognition. A selection of topics from areas such as memory, thinking and language will be considered.
Antirequisites: Psychology 2135A/B (235A/B)
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. TC Biggs
Office: SSC 7440
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: tbiggs@uwo.ca – THIS IS THE BEST METHOD TO CONTACT ME OUTSIDE OF CLASS
Teaching Assistant: Gloria Cho
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email - hcho88@uwo.ca
You MUST e-mail to set up appointments – NO DROP IN HOURS
Time and Location of Lectures: Wednesdays 2:30pm – 5:30pm, SH 3345
If your or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
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. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Smilek, D., Sinnett, S., and Kingstone, A. (2013) Cognition, 5th Edition. Belmont, Don Mills ON. Oxford University Press
Note: The book you need to purchase comes with an access key for OUP web resources. Do NOT lose this access key as you will need it for access to the experiment participation portion of the course.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed, using both lectures and participatory hands on applications, to give participants a basic introduction to the stages involved in information processing such as how we recognize patterns and use attention to select information as well as providing an understanding of how knowledge is organized and represented in the mind to be used in the performance of complex cognitive activities such as language and problem solving. The Discovery Lab experiments are designed to give you a hands-on aspect of experimental designs and tasks used to make inferences about information processing in the Human Mind. These labs will count for 7.5% of your final grade. In the lecture outline I have suggested what I feel is a relevant experiment for you to do in the area of investigation relevant to that lecture. You should bring a copy of the results of your performance to class to hand in.
5.0 EVALUATION
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
In this course evaluation will consist of three tests. Tests 1 and 2 are each worth 20% of the final grade, the final exam is also worth 20% of the final grade. There will also be one small written assignment, Discovery Labs, in class participation and forum postings corresponding to each segment of the course. The written assignment is approx 5 typed double spaced pages and is worth 10% of the final grade. Discovery, Labs are worth 10% of the final grade. In class participation is also worth 10% of the final grade as are the Forum postings. For each Discovery Lab there will be a question posted on the course Web site. You should submit a copy of your lab results (with the typical results included) along with the answer to the question.
Evaluation Summary
Item Value
Midterm Test 1: 20%
Midterm Test 2: 20%
Final Exam: 20%
Assign 1: 10%
Discovery Labs: 10%
In-class Participation: 10%
Forums: 10%
Total: 100%
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Midterm Test 1: Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6– October 14 (see Note 1 below)
Assignment on Serial Position Curve – DUE October 28 (see NOTE 2 below)
Midterm Test 2: Chapters 6 through 9 – November 18
Discovery Labs: Due at the lecture following the date they are indicated as relevant.
Each Forum’s postings must be completed prior to the dates set for midterm exams (Discussion 1 before Oct. 14, Discussion 2 before Nov.18 and Discussion 3 before Dec., 11.)
Final Exam: Chapters 10 through 12 – To be set buy Registrar in Exam period Dec 11-22.
All tests may be a combination of multiple choice (MC) and short answer (SA) questions.
NOTE 1 : No electronic devices, including cell phones, are permitted during examinations
NOTE 2 : All items to be handed in will have a late penalty applied of 10% of the value of the item for each day they are past due. Forum postings will NOT be accepted after postings are closed.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Date, Topic, Readings. Discovery Lab Activity
Part I: Information Processing
Sept., 16 Introduction to the course & Pattern Recognition Chp. 1, 3
Sept., 23 Perception & Attention Chp. 3, Ponzo Illusion
Chp. 4 Change Blindness
Sept., 30 Short Term Memory Chp. 5 Brown-Peterson
pp 128, 130-142, 151-160
Chp 6 pp 182-186
Oct., 7 Long Term Memory Chp. 6 Serial Position
pp 176-177, 188-197
Assignment – Explaining the Serial Position Curve
Oct., 14 Midterm Test 1 All Lecture material and readings to date (MC & SA)
Discussion 1 Posting Closed
Part II: Representing and Organizing Knowledge
Oct., 21 Levels of Processing & Encoding Specificity Chp. 5 Encoding Specificity
pp 148-151
Chp 6 pp 165-175
Oct., 28 Dual Coding and the use of images in cognition Chp. 7 Mental Rotation
Oct., 28 Assignment 1 DUE – Explaining the Serial Position Curve
Nov., 4 Organizing Knowledge in Categories Chp. 8
Nov., 11 Networks and Schemas in Knowledge organization and Recall Chp. 5 Lexical Decision
pp 129, 142-147
Chp. 6 pp 178-182
Chp. 8
Nov., 18 Midterm Test 2 All Lectures and readings assigned since Midterm 1(MC & SA)
Discussion 2 Posting Closed
Part III: Complex Cognitive Skills
Nov., 25 Problem Solving Chp. 10, 11
Dec., 2 Language / Discourse processing Chp 2 pp 30-33,
Chp5 pp 145-147
Chp. 9 Word Frequency
Dec., 9 Discourse processing / Intelligence Chp. 9
Chp 12 Word Superiority
Dec., 10 Discussion 3 Posting Closed
Final Exam will be scheduled by the Registrar’s Office to be held during the December examination period from Dec., 11 through Dec., 22. (MC & SA)
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. 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 http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2015 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
