Psychology 2134B-650
The Psychology of 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 DESCRIPTION
This course introduces the vocabulary and concepts used by psychologists who study human language. The course covers traditional psycholinguistic topics such as meaning, speech perception, comprehension, production and theories of language acquisition.Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 (020) level Psychology course
4 lecture hours, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the requisites 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.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. TC BiggsOffice: 7440 SSC
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: tbiggs@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: N/A
Time and Location of Lectures: N/A Online course
If you 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
Readings for this course will consist of chapters selected from several different textbooks. The chapters have been compiled in a custom reader The reader is available at the bookstore.The custom reader is titled Psy 2134 A/B: Psychology of Language, Western University
And has my name on it: TC Biggs
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
To gain a basic understanding of what constitutes a language, how language is related to other cognitive functions, how spoken and written words are recognized, how sentences and larger units of discourse are processed, how language is acquired, and evidence for localization of language functions.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/pdf/academic_policies/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
There will be three exams. The first and second will each be worth 25%. The third (FINAL exam) will be worth 35%. They will most likely consist of multiple choice and/or short answer questions. While they will tend to focus on the material that has just been covered, some material in earlier units might still come up in later exams. The exams will be based upon material presented in the power point lectures along with material in the readings. There will also be Three ONLINE Forums. Collectively these Forums will be worth 15% of your final grade. Each Forum will consist of a Discussion topic for which you will post an online response. Your initial two response postings are due at 11:55 PM the day following the midterm exam (i.e., Discussion 1 postings are due following Midterm 1, Discussion 2 postings are due following Midterm 2). The final Discussion postings are due at the start of the April Exam period.
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Midterm 2 Chps 4 through 6 (Whitney) MAR 5
Final Exam – Chp 7 & 8 ( Whitney), Chps 2 (Hoff) 10, (Hoff) & 7 (Fromkin) See Registrar’s Timetable for date & Time of this exam.(Final exams start April 9 and finish April 30).
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Period Topic Readings
Part 1: Language and its Functions
Jan 4 - 11 Overview of Psycholinguistics & Chps 1 Fromkin & 2 Hoff section
Human, nonhuman communication 2 Hoff(pp29-35 & 62-73)
Jan 12 - 19 Grammatical concepts & the Chps 2 & 3 Whitney section
Language-Cognition Interface
Jan 20 - 29 The Language-Cognition Interface con’t & Chps 3 & 4 Whitney section
Language-Thought Relationships
Jan 30 Midterm # 1 – Readings and Power Points to date
Jan 31 DISCUSSION 1 POSTINGS DUE by 11:55 PM
Part 2: Models of Language Processing
Jan 31 – Feb 8 Language Thought Relationships con’t &
Recognizing Spoken Words Chps 4 & 5 Whitney section
Note: Reading Week Feb 15 – 19 No assigned readings (use as you wish)
Feb 9 - 23 Recognizing Spoken words con’t &
Recognizing Visual Words Chps 5 & 6 Whitney section
Feb 24 – Mar 4 Recognizing Visual words con’t &
Sentence Processing Chps 6 & 7 Whitney section
Period Topic Readings
Mar 5 Midterm # 2 – Chapters 4 through 6 Whitney Section
Mar 6 DISCUSSION 2 POSTINGS DUE by 11:55 PM
Mar 6 - 15 Discourse Processing Chp 8 Whitney section
Part 3: Language and Brain
Mar 16 - 29 Language and Brain Chp 2 Hoff (pp 35-61 & 74-79)
Language Acquisition Chp 7 Fromkin
Mar 30 – April 6 Language Acquisition con’t Chp 10 Hoff
FINAL EXAM – Chp 7 & 8 ( Whitney), Chps 2 (Hoff) 10 (Hoff) & 7 (Fromkin) See Registrar’s Timetable for date & Time of this exam
Note: Not everything in the Power points will be in the readings, and not everything in the readings will be discussed in the Power points. However, everything assigned from both sources will be eligible for the exams.
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.
