Psychology 2134B 650 FW24
Psychology of Language
Western University
London Canada
Department of Psychology
Fall/Winter 2024
Psychology 2134B Section 650
Psychology of Language
1 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.
Antirequisites: n/a
Prerequisites: A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level.
33 lecture hours, online video lectures; Course Weight: 0.5
(4 lecture hours per week)
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 Course Information
Instructor: Nicolette Armstrong
Office Hours: Virtual, by appointment
Email: nnoonan3@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Claudia Valiente Morales
Office Hours: Virtual, by appointment only
Email: cmorale7@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Course material for each week will be posted via OWL on Mondays (virtual/asynchronous)
For courses that include an online component, students must have a reliable internet connection and computer that are compatible with online learning system requirements.
3 Course Materials
Required text: Sedivy, J. (2019). Language in Mind: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics (2nd ed.). Oxford.
Some supplemental online materials will be provided on OWL. Please check the weekly lesson pages for these materials.
4 Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
Psycholinguistics is the study of how people produce and understand language. It is a branch of cognitive science, which is the study of mental processes. This course will cover many areas of research, including: the structure of language; language acquisition; speech perception and production; sentence processing; reading; language and the brain; and language disorders. The goal of the course is to familiarize you with psychological phenomena related to language, theories that try to explain how and why these phenomena occur, and experimental evidence supporting or challenging these theories.
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Learning Outcome
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Learning Activity
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Assessment
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Depth and Breadth of Knowledge · Compare and contrast speech, language and communication. · Identify pathways and structures in the brain important for language functions.
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Textbook reading Written lectures Video lectures
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Multiple choice/Short answer/Essay answer exams, multiple choice quizzes
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Application of Knowledge · Evaluate theories of language processing (e.g., speech perception, sentence comprehension, word retrieval and speech production). · Analyze differences in phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics across global languages.
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Textbook reading Written lectures Video lectures
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Multiple choice/Short answer/Essay answer exams, multiple choice quizzes
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Knowledge of Methodologies · Describe research methods for assessing perception and production of speech and language across the lifespan. |
Textbook reading Written lectures Video lectures |
Multiple choice/Short answer/Essay answer exams, multiple choice quizzes |
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Communication Skills · Initiate and facilitate discussions pursuant to the course content. · Engage in thoughtful communication with course peers. |
Forum discussion |
Online participation |
5 Evaluation
Online Participation 5% of final mark
Weekly Quizzes (10) 20% of final mark (based on student’s best 8 of 10 quiz grades)
Midterm Examination 35% of final mark
Final Examination 40% of final mark
Formats
Online participation will involve participating in online forum discussions. Weekly engagement is not required, however, regular engagement throughout the term will be required. Students’ grades will be based on both initiating discussions (posting questions or discussion topics) and facilitating discussions (answering peers’ questions and continuing discussions)
Quizzes are multiple choice and short answer, timed using universal design to accommodate students requiring extra time to complete assessments
Midterm/Final exams will be mixed format: multiple choice, short answer, and long answer questions. Exams will be open-book. I do not use Proctortrack or similar software for synchronous cheating detection. However, your answers must be your own. I will use offline tools (e.g., answer analysis, plagiarism detection software) to detect collaboration and other types of cheating.
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives
Policy on Missing Coursework
Due dates for all quizzes and assignments are provided on the course syllabus. Missing coursework requires appropriate documentation. Without appropriate documentation, you will receive a mark of zero. Make-up exams for the midterm and final exams will be provided only if appropriate documentation has been approved. No make-up quizzes will be provided. No make-up marks will be provided for the online participation component.
Make-up test format: students requiring a make-up examination will receive a different exam format from the original. These make-up exams cover a similar breadth and depth of the assigned material, but using an alternative format such as essay questions. This is because we cannot assure exam confidentiality when tests are administered online. A make-up exam will be scheduled one week after the scheduled exam.
The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses
72% 2100-2999-level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
In the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.
Policy on Grade Rounding
Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered.
6 Assessment/Evaluation Schedule
Weekly quizzes: There will be 10 weekly quizzes. Quizzes will be posted via OWL on Mondays, and will be due by the following Sunday, at 11:59pm.
Midterm: February 10 (online exam, via OWL)
Final exam: TBA (online exam, via OWL)
7 Class Schedule
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Date |
Week |
Topic |
Reading |
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January 6 |
1 |
Introduction/Course Overview & The Study of Psycholinguistics No quiz this week |
Chapter 1 |
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January 13 |
2 |
The Origins of Human Language Quiz #1 |
Chapter 2, only section 2.1-2.6 (up to pg. 53) |
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January 20 |
3 |
Language and the Brain Quiz #2 |
Chapter 3 |
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January 27 |
4 |
Speech Perception Quiz #3 |
Chapter 7, skip section 7.3 |
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February 3 |
5 |
Speech Production Quiz #4 |
Chapter 10, skip sections 10.3 and 10.4 (pg. 412-429) Read section 4.3 (pg. 127-138, including Box 4.3) |
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February 10 |
6 |
Midterm Covers lecture and reading materials from Weeks 1-5 |
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February 17 |
7 |
Reading Week |
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February 24 |
8 |
Morphology Part I Quiz #5 |
Chapter 5, up to section 5.6 |
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March 3 |
9 |
Morphology Part II Quiz #6 |
Section 5.6 and Chapter 8; skip section 8.4 (pg. 330-342) |
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March 10 |
10 |
Syntax Part I Quiz #7 |
Chapter 6, pg. 203-218, and 237-255 (skip sections 6.2 and 6.3)
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March 17 |
11 |
Syntax Part II Quiz #8 |
Chapter 9, pg. 343-377 (up to section 9.5) |
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March 24 |
12 |
Reading Quiz #9 |
Chapter 7 “Digging Deeper” (pg. 294-297) Chapter 8, only section 8.4 (pg. 330-342) Treiman (2000) |
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March 31 |
13 |
Language Diversity Quiz #10 |
Online supplemental materials |
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April 7-April 30 |
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Final Exam Covers lecture and reading materials from Weeks 8-13 (*non-cumulative*) |
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8 Academic Integrity
Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
Plagiarism Detection Software
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. 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.
Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.
Multiple Choice Exams
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
Exam Proctoring Software
Tests and examinations for online courses may be conducted using a remote proctoring service. More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote
Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca.
Personal Response Systems (“Clickers”)
In classes that involve the use of a personal response system, data collected will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed.
9 Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education
View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link.
Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western.
If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information. Email: aew@uwo.ca Phone: 519 661-2147
10 Absence & Academic Consideration
View Western’s policy on academic consideration for medical illnesses this link
Find your academic counsellor here: https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain academic considerations. Students must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence.
Medical Absences
Submit a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for Academic Consideration.
Nonmedical Absences
Submit appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Religious Consideration
Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term.
11 Other Information
- Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
- Student Development Services: sdc.uwo.ca
- Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness@Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ 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.
If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf. Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).
Copyright Statement
Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos 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 any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
12 Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton. Nations, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. This land continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) whom we recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors of our society.
