Psychology 3185G-001

Research in 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

Cognitive theorists face a unique problem: the understanding of mental structures and processes that are not directly observable. A variety of methods used to address this problem will be surveyed, by introducing research questions of enduring interest. Students will be expected to use the techniques learned. Cognitive domains to be examined include attention, memory, problem-solving, and thinking.

Prerequisites: Psychology 2800E & 2810, AND one of Psychology 2115A/B, 2134A/B OR 2135A/B, 2220A/B, 2221A/B, or Neuroscience 2000, PLUS registration in third or fourth year Honours Specialization in Psychology, Honours Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, or Honours Specialization in Neuroscience.

Third or fourth year Psychology Majors and Psychology Special Students who receive 70% or higher in Psychology 2820E (or 60% or higher in Psychology 2800E and 2810), PLUS 60% or higher in one of Psychology 2115A/B, 2134A/B, 2135A/B, 2220A/B, 2221A/B, or Neuroscience 2000 also may enroll in this course 

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.

 

2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course

 

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

       Instructor: Giacomo Spinelli                                   

       Office: SSC 7306                                        

       Office Hours: Tuesday 3:00-5:00

       Email: gspinel@uwo.ca                                                      

 

       Teaching Assistant: Joseph Choi                  

       Office: TBA

       Office Hours: TBA                                       

       Email: jchoi254@uwo.ca                              

 

            Time and Location of Classes: Monday & Wednesday 4:30 – 6:30, SSC 3120                                                                                   

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

In lieu of a textbook we’ll read recent papers from the cognitive psychology literature (see below)

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

The aim of the course is to bridge what is learned in the second-year Research Methods course (2800E) and what is required of students in the fourth-year Honors Thesis course (4185E).

By the end of the course students should have:

  • Knowledge of fundamental concepts and paradigms in research in human cognition.
  • Ability to access, interpret, and critically evaluate research in human cognition.
•   Hands-on experience in conducting a research project in human cognition, including experiment design, data analysis, and preparation of oral and written reports.

   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Outcome

Activity

Assessment

Articulate the concepts and current states of knowledge in relevant aspects of cognitive psychology

Weekly readings, literature review for research project

Midterm, lab assignments (particularly research summary), final paper

Access, interpret, and critically evaluate appropriate research in human cognition

Weekly readings, literature review for research project

Midterm, lab assignments (particularly research summary), final paper

Evaluate the appropriateness of different methodological approaches to address a specific question in cognitive psychology

Weekly readings, proposing the research project

Midterm, lab assignments (particularly research proposal), final paper

Formulate a research hypothesis to address a psychological question and design a research project to test that hypothesis

Proposing the research project

Lab assignments (particularly research proposal), final paper

Apply relevant quantitative skills to the analysis and interpretation of psychological phenomena

Data analysis for the proposed project

Final paper

Engage in a critical scholarly discussion or debate on a psychological topic

Proposing the research project and interpreting and discussing the results

Lab assignments (particularly research proposal), final paper

Apply ethical standards to the practice of their own research

Completing an Ethics form

Ethics form assignment

Communicate in writing accurately, clearly, and logically, using the discourse of cognitive psychology

Reporting the research project in writing as the project is being developed and in completed form

Lab assignments (except for Ethics form and presentation), final paper

Communicate orally accurately, clearly, and logically, using the discourse of cognitive psychology

Reporting the completed research project orally

Presentation assignment

 

 

5.0     EVALUATION

Assignment               

% of the grade

Research summary* (min. 500 words)

10                   

Research proposal* (min. 500 words)

15                   

Ethics

5

Midterm

25

Presentation

15                   

Final paper* (min. 1500 words)

30                   

 

*These assignments represent the essay component of the course.

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 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

Assignment               

Due date

Research summary

Jan 27

Research proposal & ethics

Feb 10

Midterm

Feb 24 (in class)

Presentation

Mar 16 (for turning in the slides; presentations done in class on Mar 16, 18, or 23, depending on group assigned)

Final paper

Apr 17

 

Students who miss the midterm exam because of extenuating circumstances (which must be demonstrated in a timely fashion, as per Western's relevant policy reported below) will be allowed one opportunity to write a make-up exam (students who miss the midterm exam for any other reason will not be allowed another opportunity and will be assigned a grade of zero for that exam). The midterm exam will take place on March 13 2pm-4pm (location TBA). 

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Date

Component

Topic

Readings

Due assignments

Jan 6

Lab

Overview of the lab

-

 

Jan 8

Lecture

Why skepticism is good for you: Introduction

Engber (2017)

 

Jan 13

Lab

Finding a topic and reviewing the literature

-

 

Jan 15

Lecture

You’re doing it on purpose: Mind wandering with and without intention

McVay & Kane (2009)

Seli et al. (2016)

 

Jan 20

Lab

Formulating a research question and designing an experiment

-

 

Jan 22

Lecture

You were distracted, remember?: Desirable difficulties for memory encoding

Rosner et al. (2015)

Ortiz-Tudela et al. (2018)

 

Jan 27

Lab

Defining the experimental procedure, materials, and variables

-

Research summary

Jan 29

Lecture

Bilingualism, what a deal: The bilingual advantage hypothesis

Paap et al. (2015)

Bialystok (2016)

 

Feb 3

Lab

Power analysis and ethics

-

 

Feb 5

Lecture

Now what is this?: Categorizing novel objects

Ashby et al. (2003)

Nosofsky et al. (2005)

 

Feb 10

Lab

Statistical analysis (theory)

 

-

Research proposal & ethics

Feb 12

Lecture

The Cambridge e-mail & Co.: Flexibility in language processing

Perea & Lupker (2003)

Mirault et al. (2018)

 

Feb 17

No class – Reading week

-

-

-

Feb 19

No class – Reading week

-

-

-

Feb 24

Lecture

Midterm

-

Midterm (in class)

Feb 26

Lab

Data treatment and statistical analysis (practice)

-

 

Mar 2

Lab

Consultation; writing up and interpreting the results

-

 

Mar 4

Lecture

OK, but why should we care?: Broader significance of your research

-

 

Mar 9

Lab

Preparing an oral research report

-

 

Mar 11

Lecture

Be your own reviewer

-

 

Mar 16

Lab

Presentations

-

Presentation

Mar 18

Lab

Presentations

-

 

Mar 23

Lab

Presentations

-

 

Mar 25

Lecture

Preparing a written research report

-

 

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:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. 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.