The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with how the mind works and is organized. The course will place emphasis on mental processes and the experimental methods and designs used to investigate them. Particular attention will be devoted to the neurological bases of cognition.

The course will mainly focus on how information is collected, attended to and interpreted (perception and attention), how it is organized in the mind (representation of knowledge), and how this information is stored and retrieved (memory). Furthermore, the course will deal with higher cognitive functions, such as language and spatial abilities.

Discussion will focus on the relationship between theoretical problems and empirical discoveries on the one hand, and aspects of everyday life on the other.

The students are expected to: learn the central issues of cognitive psychology and how they apply to everyday life; understand the experimental methods used in the field; be able to critically evaluate potential cognitive problems and possess the tools to experimentally address them.

Exams: 300 points (each exam worth 100)

Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades: A, B, C,D, and F.

A:  Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensiveknowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.

B:  This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.

There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluate theory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture and reference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.

C:  This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.

D:  This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.

Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.

F: This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

Attendance is not mandatory. However, if you miss a class or part of a class you will miss some course material (e.g., discussion, lecture, comments, handouts and videos) that will be covered in exams and in the written assignment. Therefore, it is in your interest to always be present and, if you miss a class, it is your responsibility to be updated on course material from your classmates. It is also your responsibility to routinely check MyJCU for important announcements.

Please behave in class in a respectful way towards your classmates and your instructor. In particular, please do not come in late or leave early as it disrupts the whole class. Also, please silence your cell phones and avoid texting and other forms of distracting cell phone use.

Laptops in class are considered a source of potential distraction. Therefore, students are strongly discouraged to use their laptops, even if just for taking notes. If you have a condition that requires the use of a laptop, please contact me privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible.

Please refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy.

This is a TENTATIVE schedule. Keep in mind that dates are flexible, as each topic may be covered for more or less time, depending on how difficult it is and how much discussion it generates.

Jan. 17 – 19                 Introduction and methods

                                                Chapter 1                                           

Jan. 24 – 26                 Perception

                                                Chapter 2

Jan. 31 – Feb. 2           Attention

                                                Chapter 3

Feb. 7 – 9                    Representation of Knowledge

                                                 Chapter 5

Feb. 14 – 16                Feb. 16: EXAM 1

Feb. 21 – 23                Memory: Encoding and Storage                                

Chapter 6

Feb. 28 – Mar. 1          Memory: Retention and Retrieval

                                                Chapter 7       

Mar. 6 – 8                    Language

                                                Chapter 12

Mar. 13 – 15                Problem Solving; Mar. 15: EXAM 2                                   

                                                Chapter 8

SPRING BREAK (Mar. 19 – 23)

Mar. 27 – 29                Expertise and Reasoning; Mar. 29: PAPER DUE

                                                Chapter 9 and 10

Apr. 3 – 5                     Judgment and Decision Making 

                                                Chapter 11                                                                 

Apr. 10 – 12                Spatial Cognition

                                                Chapter 4 (p.95-98, and p.106-111)

Apr. 17 – 19                Cognition, Aging, and Alzheimer’s disease; Apr. 19: EXAM 3

                                                Chapter 14 (p.404 – 407)

Apr. 24 – 26                Review for final

FINAL EXAM