Psychology 2135A-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.
Prerequisite: A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level
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.
Antirequisites: Psychology 2010A/B, Psychology 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.
4 lecture hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Stephen Lupker
Office and Phone Number: 7324 SSC; 519 661-2111 x84700
Office Hours: 11:00-12:00 (T), 11:00-12:00 (W)
Email: lupker@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Christine Moreau
Office: WIRB 5108
Office Hours: 12:00-2:00 (W)
Email: cmoreau5@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: 2:30-4:20 p.m. Mondays, 2:30-4:20 p.m. Wednesdays, 3022 SSC
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ 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. You may also wish to contact Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Radwinsky, G. A. & Ashcraft, M. H. Cognition (7th edition), Pearson
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is a survey of most of the basic issues in Cognition. Any student who successfully completes it should have learned enough about cognitive processes to be able to take any other undergraduate course in this area.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
The goal of this course is to enable students to demonstrate that they know:
- how to explain theories about cognitive processes
- how to evaluate data in assessing the proposed theories of cognitive processes
- how to describe the experimental techniques involved in data collection when examining cognitive processes
- how to communicate the results of the important experiments
The ways in which students will be assessed in order to evaluate the extent to which they have achieved these goals will include quizzes, a mid-term exam and a final exam and these will need to be completed within the times specified by the instructor.
5.0 EVALUATION
There will be 2 quizzes, one mid-term exam and a final exam. All will have a short answer format. The topics in this course fit reasonably well into four main areas: perception/attention, immediate memory, long-term memory and language/thinking. The first quiz will come at the end of the section on perception/attention and the second quiz will come at the end of the section on immediate memory. Both quizzes will cover material only from that section of the course. The mid-term exam will come at the end of the third section on long-term memory and it will cover only that section of the course. The final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar’s Office and will be held during the final examination period (December 8-19). The material on the final exam will be drawn mainly from the final section of the course, however, there will be a few questions from earlier sections as well. The weighting of these tests in determining your final mark will be as follows:
Each quiz 15%
Mid-term exam 30%
Final exam 40%
The purpose of the quizzes and exams is to evaluate your ability to accurately answer specific questions about topics covered in the lectures and the text book and to integrate information across topics. They are not intended to be speeded exams. Thus, although students will have 2 hours for each quiz and for the mid-term and 3 hours for the final exam, the expectation is that most of you will finish before the time limit has expired.
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 Western's 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
6.0 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE
The two quizzes will be on September 25 and October 16. The mid-term exam will be on November 18. The final exam will be held at some point during the final exam period (December 8-19).
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Sequence of Topics Readings
Introduction Chapter 1
Visual Perception Pages 50-62
Auditory Perception and Attention Pages 71-74, 91-97
Visual Attention Pages 78-88, 97-104
September 25 FIRST QUIZ
Short-term Memory Pages 105-114
Working Memory Pages 114-127
October 16 SECOND QUIZ
Episodic Long-term Memory Pages 132-148, 187-190
Semantic Memory Pages 159-167, 171-175, 180-186
Memory in Natural Settings Pages 148-150, 175-180, 195-206
Implicit Versus Explicit Memory Pages 206-211
November 18 MID-TERM EXAM
Language (Phonology) Pages 74-76, 212-226
Language (Syntax & Semantics) Pages 226-234
Word Recognition
Language Comprehension Pages 247-258, 265-271
Language Disorders Pages 239-244
Reasoning Pages 275-2988.0 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
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf
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
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
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
- 2019-2020 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, 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 lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
