Psychology 2135A-650
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 (formerly 130a/b), Psychology 2180e (formerly 227e).
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.
0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Graeme Haynes
Office: SSC 7440
Office Hours: TBA
Email: ghaynes@uwo.ca
Given that the university is closed during the current pandemic, I will not be holding office hours in person for the time being. E-mail is the best way to contact me, and if need be, I can be available to meet with you over Skype or Zoom. Should the restrictions be lifted before the end of the course, I will post an announcement about in-person office hours.
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
Required
Reisberg, D. (2018). Cognition: Exploring the science of the mind, 7th ed. New York, NY: Norton.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
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.
4.1 SUPPLEMENTARY COURSE MATERIAL
Supplementary material is intended to complement the textbook. Thus, I will present some slideshows on OWL containing material that is not in the textbook and/or additional examples of concepts described in the textbook, and this will also be tested on the exams.
4.2 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Explain the challenges faced by cognitive scientists in the attempt to understand the human mind (This outcome will be assessed by multiple choice exams.)
- Describe the methods that cognitive scientists use to understand the mind (This outcome will be assessed by multiple choice exams.)
- Demonstrate knowledge of the vocabulary, research, theories, and concepts in cognitive science (This outcome will be assessed by multiple choice exams.)
- Think critically about the theories, methods, and findings in cognitive science (This outcome will be encouraged and developed via supplementary course material.)
- Identify, and (hopefully) avoid falling prey to, common myths about how the mind works (This outcome will be encouraged and developed via supplementary course material.)
• Apply findings from cognitive science to better understand themselves and others (This outcome will be encouraged and developed via supplementary course material and assessed by mini-assignments.)
5.0 EVALUATION
To ensure fairness, please be aware that final grades in this course are based exclusively on students’ performance on the three exams and the chapter assignments. Exams may not be rewritten, nor will the exams be reweighted in calculating final grades. Grades will not be adjusted on the basis of need or a subjective evaluation of effort, and students will not be able to improve their marks by completing additional assignments.
Students are responsible for material assigned in the textbook, as well as material covered in supplementary online modules.
Given the current pandemic situation, all exams will be written online. It is expected that all students will complete the exams independently with no communication between classmates. Although you will have open access to your notes and the textbook, we advise you to study ahead of time to ensure you will be able to adequately answer all questions within the time allotted.
For each of the three exams, you will be given a 60-hour period of time within which to write the exam. You will have 90 minutes to complete the exam from start to finish (plus additional time for students who have documented accommodations which allow for extra time). Once you start, you cannot stop or pause. Therefore, you should prepare to finish the exam within 90 minutes of starting. You will access this exam and submit your answers through the Tests and Quizzes tab on our OWL site.
Each exam is non-cumulative, will consist of multiple choice questions, and will be worth 30% of your final grade.
The first midterm exam will need to be completed between Sunday, June 7th at 12:00 P.M. and Tuesday, June 9th at 11:59 P.M.
The second midterm exam will need to be completed between Saturday, July 4th at 12:00 P.M. and Monday, July 6th at 11:59 P.M.
The final examination will take place during the Summer exam period (Aug. 4 – 7, specific hours TBA).
***Please refer to Section 9.0 for the policy regarding make-up exams.***
Chapter Assignments:
For selected chapters, there will be a question posted on OWL that you will need to answer by the end of the week (Friday at 5:00 P.M.). These questions might ask you to give an example from your life, or to answer a question related to course material. Each of the 10 questions will be worth 1% of your final course grade. If you don’t answer a question by the specified deadline, you will NOT receive the 1%.
Because this is an on-line class, I recommend setting aside a specific block of time each week that is dedicated to reading the assigned textbook chapters and supplementary material I post on OWL, and answering the question of the week. It is your responsibility to keep up with the readings so that you don’t end up having to cram the night before the exam.
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
|
Date |
Value |
|
|
Midterm #1 |
Sun. June 7 @12:00 P.M. – Tues. June 9 @ 11:59 P.M. |
30% |
|
Midterm #2 |
Sat. July 4 @ 12:00 P.M. – Mon. July 6 @ 11:59 P.M. |
30% |
|
Final Exam |
Aug. 4 – 7 |
30% |
|
Chapter assignments |
Throughout term |
10% |
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Note: exam dates will not change, except under unusual circumstances such as further developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
|
Date |
Topic |
Read |
|
Week of May 4 |
Introduction |
Chapter 1 |
|
Week of May 11 |
Cognitive Neuroscience; Research Methods in Cognitive Psychology |
Chapter 2 |
|
Week of May 18 |
Visual Perception; Object & Word Recognition |
Chapter 3 & 4 |
|
Week of May 25 |
Attention |
Chapter 5 |
|
Week of June 1 |
No module |
|
|
Sun. June 7 – Tues. June 9 |
Midterm 1 |
Chapter 1-5 |
|
Week of June 8 |
Memory Part I |
Chapter 6 |
|
Week of June 15 |
Memory Part II |
Chapter 7 |
|
Week of June 22 |
Memory Part III |
Chapter 8 |
|
Week of June 29 |
Concepts |
Chapter 9 |
|
Sat. July 4 – Mon. July 6 |
Midterm 2 |
Chapter 6-9 |
|
Week of July 6 |
Language |
Chapter 10 |
|
Week of July 13 |
Judgment & Reasoning |
Chapter 12 |
|
Week of July 20 |
Judgment & Reasoning; Problem Solving & Intelligence |
Chapter 12 & 13 |
|
Week of July 27 |
Problem Solving & Intelligence; Conscious & Unconscious Thought |
Chapter 13 & 14 |
|
Aug. 4 – 7 |
FINAL EXAM |
Chapter 10, 11-14 |
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.
