Psychology 3138G-001
Human Memory
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
A review of data and theories from cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience that bear on how people form, retain, and retrieve memory representations. Emphasis will be placed on studies that address cognitive processes, but some research on brain mechanisms will be covered as well.
Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and Psychology 2810, AND one of Psychology 2115A/B, 2134A/B, 2135A/B, 2220A/B, 2221A/B or Neuroscience 2000. A minimum grade of 60% is required in all prerequisite courses.
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.
3 lecture/discussion hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Stefan Köhler
Office and Phone Number: WIRB 5138; 519-661-2111 ext. 86364
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: stefank@uwo.ca
Course Coordinator: n/a
Teaching Assistant: Haopei Yang (HY)
Office: by appointment
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: hyang336@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Thurs 9:30am – 12:30pm; SSC-3024
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
Schwartz, B.L. (2018). Memory. Foundations and Applications (3rd Edition). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Additional required readings will be posted on OWL (see Schedule). These readings are mandatory and will also be covered in the exams.
Reading Guidelines and Lecture Notes will be posted on OWL
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
- To provide a comprehensive research-oriented overview of the history, methodology, theories, and contentious issues in the study of human memory in psychology and cognitive neuroscience.
- To encourage reading and writing about primary source material in memory research; to encourage critical thinking about memory research; to explore and appreciate the limits of current scientific knowledge in the field.
- To provide training for public (in-class) presentations on a specific research question and its empirical study; to encourage discussion of contentious issues in memory research.
Any course of this sort contains material that must be learned from both lectures and readings. Some material from the text will not be covered in lectures; similarly, some material from the lectures will not be covered in the readings. Therefore, it is imperative that students attend the lectures and do the readings regularly for successful completion of the course.
An important component of the present course relates to the in-class discussion of the content covered. Students will be asked to participate actively in this exchange of thoughts and ideas. The in class-presentations will serve to stimulate this discussion.
For the in-class presentations, students are expected to work in groups of two individuals. It is the responsibility of each group to obtain the reference for the primary research article to be presented prior to starting any work on it. Students are required to request this information from the instructor at least one week prior to the date of presentation.
To familiarize students with writing (academic and for the broader public) in this field of psychology, the course also requires the completion of a scholarly essay on primary research and several mini-reviews of presentations. Students are expected to choose their own topic (which must be directly relevant to the course) for this essay.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activities |
How Assessed |
|
Knowledge and Understanding |
||
|
Describe and explain key concepts and research findings that address how human memory works
Describe applications of memory research to everyday experiences and to memory disorders
|
Reading Participation in class discussion Preparing class presentations Writing mini-reviews Writing quiz exam Writing final exam
|
Class presentations Mini-reviews Quiz exam Final exam
|
|
Critical Thinking |
||
|
Summarize and synthesize research findings
Identify and describe limits of current knowledge in memory research
|
Preparing class presentations Participation in class discussion Writing quiz exam Writing final exam Writing mini-reviews Writing final essay |
Class presentations
Quiz exam Final exam Mini-reviews Final essay |
|
Communication |
||
|
Communicate ideas, methods, and findings from memory research in oral form
Communicate ideas, methods, and findings from memory research in written form
|
Participation in class discussion Preparing class presentations
Writing mini-reviews Writing quiz exam Writing final exam Writing final essay
|
Class presentations
Mini-reviews Quiz exam Final exam Final essay |
5.0 EVALUATION
Course performance will be evaluated based on five different sources:
- Quiz exam 15% of total grade
- Final exam 25% of total grade
- Original scholarly essay 25% of total grade
- Oral in-class presentation 20% of total grade
- 3 Mini-reviews 15% of total grade
PLEASE NOTE: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments (Original scholarly essay and Mini-reviews) must be at least 50%.
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.
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
Quiz Exam: Thursday February 13, 2020; 9:30 am – 10:30 am. This quiz will address the materials from the lectures and readings covered up until that point. Mixed format: multiple choice and short answers.
In-class Presentation: Dates (one per student) will be determined in first two weeks of classes.
Mini-Reviews: Due one week (Thursday 9:30 am) after the reviewed presentation. Dates (three per student) will be determined in first two weeks of classes. Late submissions will not be accepted. Each Mini-Review consists of a discussion of strengths and weaknesses of the research reviewed in one of the in-class presentations. Length per Mini-Review: maximum 500 words.
Essay: Complete essay due April 2, 2020, 9:30 am (last week of class) in hardcopy and electronic submission to TurnItIn via OWL. There will be a penalty for late submissions. Length: 8 double-spaced pages, 12-point font (i.e., roughly between 1800 and 2300 words).
Final Exam: During final exam period (April 6-26). This test will cover the materials from the entire course; it is a cumulative exam. Mixed format: multiple choice and short answers.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
|
|
Topic |
Presentations |
Assigned Readings |
|
Jan 9 |
General course introduction |
No |
-- |
|
Jan 16 |
Historical overview |
No |
Textbook Ch. 1 |
|
Jan 23 |
Memory and the brain |
No |
Textbook Ch. 2 |
|
Jan 30 |
Working memory |
Yes |
Textbook Ch. 3 |
|
Feb 6 |
Learning |
Yes |
Textbook Ch. 4, 13 |
|
Feb 13 |
Quiz Exam; Semantic memory |
No |
Textbook Ch. 5 |
|
Feb 20 |
Reading week -- no class |
No |
-- |
|
Feb 27 |
Episodic memory |
Yes |
Textbook Ch. 4 |
|
March 5 |
Amnesia and related memory disorders |
Yes |
Textbook Ch. 10 |
|
March 12 |
Autobiographical memory |
Yes |
Textbook Ch. 7 |
|
March 19 |
Memory and emotion |
Yes |
reading provided online at OWL |
|
March 26 |
Memory distortions and memory illusions |
Yes |
Textbook Ch. 8 |
|
April 2 |
To be selected by class |
Yes |
reading provided online at OWL |
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
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
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.
