Learning, Cognition & Behavior (PSYC 104) Fall 2012

Learning, Cognition & Behavior syllabus, page 1
Learning, Cognition & Behavior (PSYC 104)
Fall 2012
Professor:
Hugh Garavan
Department of Psychiatry, Room 6436, Arnold Wing, UHC
E-mail: [email protected] (SUBJECT LINE: Psych 104)
Office hours: Wednesdays 11 am or by appointment
Graduate Teaching Assistants:
Olga Lipatova
Address: John Dewey Hall
E-mail: [email protected] (SUBJECT LINE: Psych 104)
Office hours: By appointment
Mollie Patrick
Address: John Dewey Hall
E-mail: [email protected] (SUBJECT LINE: Psych 104)
Office hours: By appointment
Meeting Time & Location:
105 Votey Building
Mondays and Wednesdays, 4.05pm – 5.20pm
Prerequisite: General Psychology (PSYC 001)
Course Description: Cognition refers to thinking processes and includes a wide range of topics including
attention, memory, problem solving and language. In this course, we will describe these different aspects of
cognition and will present the dominant theories and empirical data for each. The focus will be primarily, but
not exclusively, on human cognition. In addition, the content of the course will draw heavily from the field
of cognitive neuroscience in which our explanations of cognitive abilities are guided by what is known about
brain function.
Learning Goals: By the end of the course, students should understand the core concepts, theoretical
perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in the experimental psychology of learning, memory,
and cognition. Achievement of these goals will be demonstrated by performance on 4 exams.
Textbook: A textbook is not required for this course. However, additional reading is recommended. Many
of the lectures will be based on the contents of the following book:
Cognitive Psychology: Applying The Science of the Mind, 3/E
Robinson-Riegler & Robinson-Riegler
©2012 | Pearson | Published: 01/23/2011
ISBN-10: 0205033644 | ISBN-13: 9780205033645
Blackboard information: I will be using Blackboard to manage the course. Just point your browser to:
bb.uvm.edu and log in using your UVM NetID and password. The syllabus and basic information regarding
Learning, Cognition & Behavior syllabus, page 2
the semester plan will be available online.
Attendance: Attendance of lectures is highly encouraged as the exams will be based on the materials
covered in class (as well as additional readings that will be made available throughout the course. Please be
on time!
Religious Holidays: Students have the right to practice the religion of their choice. Each semester students
should submit in writing to their instructors by the end of the second full week of classes their documented
religious holiday schedule for the semester. Faculty must permit students who miss work for the purpose of
religious observance to make up this work.
Important Dates: The Add/Drop deadline is Monday, September 10th. If you drop the course before this
deadline, it will be removed from your transcript. The Withdrawal deadline is Monday, October 29th. If
you withdraw from the course before this deadline, it will remain on your transcript with a “W” grade.
Special Needs & Health: For special needs, you can get information at www.uvm.edu/~access. For healthrelated issues, you can get information at www.uvm.edu/health.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability for which you are or may be
requesting accommodations, please contact UVM’s ACCESS Office (Accommodation, Consultation,
Collaboration & Educational Support Services) by phone (656-7753) or email ([email protected]). That
office will guide you through the processes which are required for accommodations to be made.
University of Vermont Code of Academic Integrity
All academic work (e.g., homework assignments, written and oral reports, use of library materials, creative
projects, performances, in-class and take-home exams, extra-credit projects, research, theses and
dissertations) must satisfy the following four standards of academic integrity:
1. All ideas, arguments, and phrases, submitted without attribution to other sources, must be the creative product of the
student. Thus, all text passages taken from the works of other authors must be properly cited. The same applies to
paraphrased text, opinions, data, examples, illustrations, and all other creative work. Violations of this standard
constitute plagiarism.
2. All experimental data, observations, interviews, statistical surveys, and other information collected and reported as
part of academic work must be authentic. Any alteration, e.g., the removal of statistical outliers, must be clearly
documented. Data must not be falsified in any way. Violations of this standard constitute fabrication.
3. Students may only collaborate within the limits prescribed by their instructors. Students may not complete any
portion of an assignment, report, project, experiment or exam for another student. Students may not claim as their own
work any portion of an assignment, report, project, experiment or exam that was completed by another student, even
with that other student’s knowledge and consent. Students may not provide information about an exam (or portions of
an exam) to another student without the authorization of the instructor. Students may not seek or accept information
provided about an exam (or portions of an exam) from another student without the authorization of the instructor.
Violations of this standard constitute collusion.
4. Students must adhere to the guidelines provided by their instructors for completing coursework. For example,
students must only use materials approved by their instructor when completing an assignment or exam. Students may
not present the same (or substantially the same) work for more than one course without obtaining approval from the
instructor of each course. Students must adhere to all course reserves regulations, including library course reserves,
which are designed to allow students access to all course materials. Students will not intentionally deny others free and
Learning, Cognition & Behavior syllabus, page 3
open access to any materials reserved for a course. Violations of this standard constitute cheating.
Clicker: There is no textbook required to be purchased so students are expected to purchase an iClicker
for in-class experiments and question-and-answer periods. For details on this hardware see:
http://www.uvm.edu/ctl/?Page=resources-teaching/iclickers/index.php
Blackboard information: We will be using Blackboard to manage the course and to provide
powerpoint files of the lectures, additional readings, and articles. Just point your browser to:
bb.uvm.edu and log in using your UVM NetID and password.
Evaluation:
Exams (80%): There will be three in-term exams with each covering the lecture material covered since the
preceding exam and there will be a final exam in exam week that is based on the entire course’s material.
The in-term exams 1, 2 and 3 are each worth 15% of the final grade while the final exam is 35% of the final
grade. To offset a one-off poor performance on an exam, we will replace the lowest grade from exams 1-3
with your grade on the final exam (but only if this increases your total grade). The exam format will be
multiple-choice (50 questions per exam). Exams will cover lectures and and assigned additional readings
and we will review material in the last 30 minutes of the class that precedes each exam. In the event of an
illness, make-up exams will be administered only if a medical excuse is provided. If you have a medical
condition that may interfere with taking an exam sometime in the semester, you *must* contact me in the
first two weeks of class to discuss it. You must let me know at least one week in advance if you will be
taking an exam in the Exam Proctoring Center. You must have an ACCESS letter to take an exam in the
EPC.
Article Reports (10%): Reports will be required of two Cognitive Psychology articles that will be made
available to you through blackboard. We will post two articles for each deadline and you can choose the one
that is of most interest to you. The first two articles will be posted at the start of term (report due on Friday,
5pm, Oct 5th) and the second two will be posted on Monday Oct8th with the report due on Friday, 5pm,
Nov 16th). Your reports should have the following format:
1. Summarize the article (1-2 pages):
a. Describe the study’s background and hypotheses
b. Describe the research methods and results
2. Critique the article (1-2 pages):
a. Discuss strengths and weaknesses of the article
b. Suggest future possible directions
c. Relate to class topics/discussions
The page limits given above are a guide so some fluctuation is allowed but all reports must be less than four
pages in total. The reports are to be submitted through blackboard. Each review is worth 5% of the course
grade.
Blackboard Questions (10%): We will post occasional questions/quizzes throughout the year using
blackboard on topics relevant to the course material. You will be notified of these quizzes and their due
dates in class and by e-mail through blackboard. Responses are intended to be brief, yet thoughtful (i.e. a
paragraph - 1/2 page) and will be graded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory?
Learning, Cognition & Behavior syllabus, page 4
Learning, Cognition & Behavior syllabus, page 5
Class Schedule: Every effort will be made to stay on schedule. While there may be minor changes in the syllabus,
the examination schedule will almost certainly not be changed.
Week
1
Dates
Aug 27
Aug 29
Topic
2
Sep 3
Sep 5
No Class – Labor Day
20th century emergence of Cognitive Psychology.
3
Sep 10
Sep 12
Sensation and Perception
Attention
4
Sep 17
Sep 19
Short Term Memory and the Modal Model
Working Memory and Executive Functions
5
Sep 24
Sep 26
EXAM 1
Object Recognition and Face Recognition
6
Oct 1
Oct 3
7
Oct 8
Oct 10
Making and Retrieving Memories: Long-Term Memory
Autobiographical Memory
First Article Report due (Friday, 5pm, Oct 5th)
Memory Failures
Varieties of Memory
8
Oct 15
Oct 17
Functional Brain Imaging - 1
Functional Brain Imaging - 2
9
Oct 22
Oct 24
EXAM 2
Categorization and Meaning
10
Oct 29
Oct 31
Artificial Neural Networks
Language - 1
11
Nov 5
Nov 7
Language - 2
Problem Solving - 1
12
Nov 12
Nov 14
Problem Solving - 2
Intelligence
13
Nov 19
Nov 21
Second Article Report due (Friday, 5pm, Nov 16th)
No Class – Thanksgiving
No Class – Thanksgiving
14
Nov 26
Nov 28
Creativity
EXAM3
Class Cancelled
Syllabus and Preliminaries. Historical Antecedents
Learning, Cognition & Behavior syllabus, page 6
15
Dec 3
Dec 5
Cognitive Training
Course Review