Psychology 2135B-001

Cognitive Psychology

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

An introduction to empirical, computational, and theoretical approaches to the study of human cognitive processes. The topics surveyed will include: perception, attention, memory, concepts, language and problem-solving. The course will show how these diverse psychological processes are related to and influence one another.

Antirequisites: Psychology 2010A/B, 2180E

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.

Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 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 enroll 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. John Campbell                        
Office and Phone Number:  SSC 7440        
Office Hours:    TBA, by appointment    
Email:  jcampb7@uwo.ca        

Time and Location of Classes:   Tuesdays & Thursdays  9:30-11:30am HSB – 35

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

1.    Galotti, K. M., Fernandes, M. A., Fugelsang, J., & Stolz, J. A. (2010). Cognitive Psychology: In and Out of the Laboratory, First Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson.
 
This text has been used a number of times across the UWO system and should be available both in the UWO bookstore and used.
 
2.    Online subscription to CogLab 5 research participation software, via an access code included with the textbook when purchased at the UWO bookstore. CogLab access may also be purchased on its own at the Nelson website
http://www.nelsonbrain.com/shop/isbn/9781285461083 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the methods used to investigate cognitive processes by researchers in psychology
  • Explain how experimental methods in cognitive psychology can be used to infer mental processing
  • Relate individual cognitive processes to each other and the broader function of thinking • Apply basic research findings in cognitive psychology to everyday life

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


Exams
The exams are not cumulative and will consist of multiple-choice questions drawn from material in the text and lectures. Exams 1 and 2 will take place during class time. Exam 3 will be 2 hours long but will take place during the April exam period. Note that some chapters are not listed on the schedule below, and you will not be responsible for the material in them.
 
Also note that make-up exams may consist, in part or exclusively, of essay, short-answer, fill-in-the blank, and/or multiple-choice items.   
 
CogLab participation
CogLab is an online suite of sample experiments based on research in cognitive psychology. As such, it offers hands-on experience with the methods scientists use to test cognitive processes. Understanding how behavioural responses can be used to interpret mental processes is a fundamental objective of this course, and this will allow students to directly experience this process.
 
Information about how to log in to the CogLab site will be provided in class. When you participate in an experiment, your data will be coded anonymously and aggregated with the rest of our class. That aggregated data will then be presented in class to illustrate various cognitive phenomena. I will be able to track whether you have participated in each experiment in order to assign credit appropriately.  
 
Each experiment takes from 15 – 30 minutes to complete. To replicate real research conditions as much as possible, try to complete the experiments in a quiet area with no interruptions. Undivided attention is important for the outcome of most of the experiments.
 
In order to have data from the class to include in the appropriate lecture, each experiment has a deadline a few days before the pertinent lecture. To earn credit for participating in an experiment (1% for each experiment for a maximum of 10%), you must complete the experiment before the deadline. There are 11 experiments listed but you will only gain credit for participating in 10. Experiments may be completed at any time before the deadline, and may be completed after the deadline, although no credit will be earned in the latter case. Since participation is time-sensitive, no make-ups will be offered.


6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

•    Exam 1 (30%) in class on February 2
•    Exam 2 (30%) in class on March 11
•    Exam 3 (30%) in the April finals period
•    CogLab participation (10%) throughout the semester 

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

                                                                                                                                               CogLab                                 CogLab

Day            Date          Topic                                                      Text                 Experiment                     participation

                                                                                                                                            Discussed                   deadline for credit

Mon             Jan 5          Welcome/History 

1

--

 

Wed            Jan 7 

Cognitive Neuroscience        Mon       Jan 12

2

--

 

Brain Asymmetry

Fri, Jan 9, 5pm

Wed        Jan 14   Sensation and Perception

3

Muller-Lyer

Thurs, Jan 14, 5pm

Mon              Jan 19   Object perception/Pattern

Wed              Jan 21    recognition

--

 

--

 

Mon             Jan 26

Attention   Wed                  Jan 28

4

Stroop

Fri, Jan 22, 5pm

  Change Detection

Thurs, Jan 28, 5pm

Mon           Feb 2         Exam 1 (30%) Chapters 1 – 4 + lectu

res

 

Wed            Feb 4          Memory: Structures 

5, 6

--

 

Mon             Feb 9          Memory: Processes 1

Memory Span

Fri, Feb 6, 5pm

No class today; instead, complete thre

Wed            Feb 11

Memory, and Sternberg Search.

e CogLab experiments: All three due Wed.

Serial Position, False Feb 24 at noon.

Feb 15 & 19:  break week

 

Mon               Feb 23   Memory: Processes 2

5, 6

Sternberg Search

Mon Feb 23, noon

Memory: Forgetting &

Wed            Feb 25  

Distortions

Serial Position & False Memory

Mon Feb 23, noon

Mon            Mar 3          Exceptional memory

--

 

Wed           Mar 5          Semantic memory

6

--

 

Mon                 Mar 9   Consciousness

--

--

 

Wed Mar 11                 Exam 2 (30%) Chapters 5 & 6 + lect

ures

 

Mon             Mar 15      Visual Imagery 

8

Mental Rotation

Fri, Mar 13, 5pm

Wed               Mar 17   Spatial Cognition

8

--

 

Mon            Mar 22  

Language   Wed         Mar 24  

9

Categorical Perception - Discrimination

Fri, Mar 20, 5pm

--

 

Mon    Mar 29   Thinking: problem solving, reasoning, making

Weds  Mar 31                 decisions

10,11

Typical Reasoning

Fri, Mar 27, 5pm

--

 

Special topic: Sleep and

Mon            Apr 5  

Cognition /Course wrap-up

--

--

 

Finals Period

Exam 3 (30%) Chapters 8 – 11 + lectures



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.