Psychology 741 (15438):

Advanced Topics: Cognitive Psychology

 

John Sparrow, Ph.D.

Fall 2009

Office: University Center Rm. 351

Phone: 641-4151    (E-mail:  john.sparrow@unh.edu;   Web: pubpages.unh.edu/~jes1)

Office hours:

 

                        Tuesday           -           3:00 – 4:00; 5:00 – 5:45

                        Thursday         -           3:00 – 4:00

                        Friday              -           1:00 – 2:00

 

If you are not available at these times, please see me after class to schedule an appointment.

 

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS

 

Balota, D. A., & Marsh, E. J. (2004). Cognitive Psychology: Key Readings. New York, NY: Psychology Press. (ISBN: 1841690651)

 

Martindale, C. (1991). Cognitive Psychology: A Neural-Network Approach. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.  (ISBN: 0534141307)

 

REQUIRED SUPPLIES

 

PsychMate experimental software package along with accompanying student manual.

 

            The Balota and Marsh (2004) book is available at the UNHM Bookstore.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

            This course will examine some of the qualities associated with cognition -- the study of humans and how they acquire, store, retrieve, and use information collected from the surrounding environment.  Topics to be covered include perceptual processing of stimuli, attention, models and analyses of human memory, imagery, language processing, problem solving, and artificial intelligence, in addition to some other related cognitive abilities.  While there are many potential models that one can use to describe such processes, we will focus on connectionism, a contemporary scientific approach to human cognition. 

 

            Please note that PSYC 401 (Introduction to Psychology), 402 (Statistics in Psychology), 502 (Research Methods in Psychology), and 513 (Cognitive Psychology) are prerequisites for this course.  Hence, as a senior-level offering, it is assumed that students have a general background in psychology and a thorough grounding in research methodology and the nature of psychological inquiry.  PSYC 713 is very much a research oriented course, so it is imperative that you have an understanding of how experimental psychologists conduct their research.  Further note that much of the material we will discuss is very theoretical in nature; hence, if you are looking for an applied cognition course, or a course in developmental cognition as it relates to education, etc., PSYC 741 is probably not a good choice for you.  My plan is to make this offering more of a senior-level seminar, as opposed to the traditional lecture-style course.  Therefore, while I will need to do some lecturing on various topics, I am assuming that each student is keeping up with the assigned readings and approaching the material in a mature and responsible fashion.  Please get involved and be proactive in your approach!

 

WRITING-INTENSIVE COURSE DESIGNATION

 

            PSYC 741 has been designated as a Writing-Intensive Course  by the Department of Psychology in Durham.  In accordance with the Academic Senate legislation (Guidelines for Writing-Intensive Courses), students enrolled in this course will be involved extensively in the process  of writing.  Hence, substantial writing (including "prewriting, drafting, revision, editing") will form the foundation for much of the learning taking place in this course.  While not required, I will provide feedback to students who wish to submit drafts of papers at least five full weekdays prior to the specified due dates (so that I may document your progress, please resubmit annotated draft when you hand in the finished version of the paper).

 

EXAMINATIONS

 

            There will be two examinations in this course (i.e., a midterm and a final examination).  The final exam will not be cumulative, per se, but students will need to know some concepts presented earlier in the semester.  The exams may be a mixture of short answer and/or essay questions along with some compare/contrast items.  Exams will cover material presented in the books as well as the information presented in class.  Examination dates appear on the course calendar. Please note that, as a general rule, THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS!  If missing an exam is unavoidable, please let me know at least five days in advance.  Any exam that is missed may have to be approved by the Dean of the College.

 

APA LABORATORY REPORTS

 

            In addition to the two exams, students are expected to write three 6-8 page APA-format laboratory reports dealing with topics covered in class.  The papers will be based on data collected via the use of the PsychMate experimental software package.  Students will be expected to generate complete laboratory reports, including literature reviews based on the information from the assigned readings.  Recall that complete APA lab reports include a review of the scientific literature, description of the methodology, report of the experiment's results (including graphic summaries and/or tables), and a statement of interpretation (discussion).  These reports will be evaluated based on content (obviously) and APA format (hence, it might be a good time to dig out your PSYC 502 class notes and the APA Publication Manual!).

 

            Please note that all papers should be typed or word-processed (I would strongly encourage the use of word-processors)!  No handwritten papers will be accepted!  I will be giving you more information about these assignments in a later class meeting.  Please stop by during office hours, or during other prearranged times if you wish to discuss these papers.  I would be more than happy to give you some feedback.  Note that FOR EVERY WEEKDAY THAT PAPERS ARE HANDED IN LATE, GRADES WILL BE LOWERED BY ONE LEVEL (E.G., A GRADE OF "B-" WILL BE DROPPED TO A "C+" ON THE FIRST DAY, A "C" ON THE SECOND DAY, A "D" ON THE FOURTH DAY, ETC.).

 

READING RESPONSE JOURNAL

 

            Throughout the semester, I will ask you to respond to the readings from the Balota & Marsh book.  After reading through each assigned article, please focus, in writing, on the points that the authors raise.  Specifically, in your writing, I would like you to address two elements: 1) summarize and respond to the main points of each article, and 2) relate the article's ideas to the theoretical framework of connectionism.  Please note that some of the articles that you will be reading were never intended to be interpreted within the context of connectionism -- that's your challenge -- so be creative!  I would like you to keep a separate notebook or composition book for this purpose; hence, these responses do not need to be typed or word-processed -- handwritten journals are fine.  Periodically throughout the course I will ask you to submit your journal to me so that I may catalog your progress.  Dates for journal submissions are listed on the course calendar.

 

MINI-LABS

 

            Outside of the three labs that you will be completing for the APA reports, you will also be running other experiments from the PsychMate package.  For these projects, you will not be required to complete APA written reports.  You may, however, be required to answer several questions, calculate simple analyses, or respond to issues outlined in the student lab manual.  Again, I will let you know more about the "mini-labs" as we progress through the course.  The PsychMate software requires that you have access to an IBM-compatible computer (nothing too fancy – as long as itÕs running Windows 98/ME/2000/XP (not too sure about VistaÉ); color monitor; CD-drive).  At UNHM, we have such machines located in the computer laboratory (Rm. 114).  I will be showing you how to operate the software in an upcoming class meeting.  If you are computer-phobic, don't worry -- the software is very user-friendly! 

 

CLASS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

 

            It is expected that students will be in attendance for every class meeting.  In addition, if you want to get the most out of this experience, you should strive to be an active participant.  I have seen small seminar-style classes achieve great success;  I have also seen courses such as this fail miserably due to the lack of student interest and input.  Please, please, please, make an effort to get involved in the material being discussed.  If you do, I can guarantee that the experience will be much more enjoyable for everyone!

 

SUMMARY OF STUDENT EVALUATION 

            Course grades will be calculated based on the criteria explained above.  Overall, then, grades will be broken down as follows:

 

                        Midterm Exam                                                            -           20%

                        Final Exam                                                                  -           20%

                        APA Lab Report 1                                                       -           12%

                        APA Lab Report 2                                                       -           12%

                        APA Lab Report 3                                                       -           12%

                        Reading Response Journal (combined)                       -           12%

                        Mini-Labs (combined)                                                -              8%

                        Attendance/Participation                                              -              4%

            -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                                                   Total =          100%

 

 

            Final grades will be based on the following percentage cutoff points:

 

                        A = 93 - 100%                        A- = 90 - 92               

                        B+ = 87 – 89              B = 83 - 86                  B- = 80 - 82               

                        C+ = 77 – 79              C = 73 - 76                  C- = 70 – 72

                        D+ = 67 – 69              D = 63 - 66                 D- = 60 - 62

                        F =  0 - 59

 

CHEATING

 

            Cheating will not be tolerated in this class.  A student caught cheating on exams, papers, or class projects will automatically receive a course grade of "F" and his/her name will be forwarded to the Dean's office in accordance with University policy. Hopefully, this information goes without saying.  Please note that "cheating" can take on many forms, including the explicit copying of another student's answer on an exam as well as citing another author's idea as representing that of your own (i.e., plagiarism).  Be sure to properly cite the work of others when referencing material in your paper.

 

PLAGIARISM

 

ÒPlagiarism is a form of cheating, punishable (at the discretion of the instructor) by failure in the course in which it occurs and possibly (at the discretion of the dean) by suspension or dismissal from the University.

 

            Plagiarism can take a number of forms, including the re-use of your own written work without appropriate modifications and/or without the permission of your instructor.

 

            Plagiarism most commonly occurs when material is taken from a source without proper citation.  Whenever material is directly quoted it must appear in quotation marks and be properly cited either in the text or in a footnote.  A citation without quotation marks is not adequate since it implies that the material quoted is your wording.  It is even less acceptable to simply put the source of material in a bibliography at the end of your paper, with neither quotation marks nor references made in the text or notes.

 

            Indirect quotations – that is, points taken from some source but restated in your own words – should not appear in quotation marks, but the source from which they come should be cited in the text or in a footnote, depending on the reference style your instructor prefers.

 

            If necessary, ask me for further clarification.  Remember that a course grade or even your undergraduate career could be jeopardized by ignorance in this matter.  Ignorance does not constitute an excuse for plagiarism.Ó

 

From the UNH Department of PsychologyÕs ÒStatement on Plagiarism,Ó September 5, 2001.

 

 

A FEW FINAL WORDS . . .

 

            If you have taken other classes with me in the past you know that I expect a great deal from my students.  You should take your work very seriously and make a strong attempt at keeping up with the reading assignments, papers, group projects, etc.  Keep in mind that the general rule-of-thumb for attending college at UNHM is that for every hour of in-class meeting time, the student ought to be spending 2-3 hours outside of class time preparing for the class meetings.  I do not mean to scare you off by stating this policy, but I do want my students to know this fact up front.  Also, you should be aware that I keep all student examinations on file; hence, you will not be able to keep your examinations after I return them for your perusal.  I will spend some time in class going over the exams after they have been graded.  If you would like to go over your examination in more detail, you are welcome (and encouraged!) to come see me during office hours.  This policy is a strict one and is non-negotiable.  As a final note, please turn off all cell phones during class time!  If you must leave the phone on for critical reasons, please set the ringer to Òvibration mode,Ó if possible, or, at the very least, make sure the phone is easily accessible so that youÕre not digging around trying to find the phone while itÕs disturbing the class.  Please note that all of the information outlined in this syllabus is subject to slight modification throughout the course.  If any substantive changes in the syllabus are warranted, I will let you know well ahead of time.  Let's work on having both an educational and enjoyable semester of "Advanced Topics: Cognitive Psychology"!

 

TENTATIVE COURSE CALENDAR

 

            DATE             TOPIC                                                                      CHAPTER

 

Sep         1                                 What is Cognitive Psychology?                                                       Martindale: Ch. 1

                                                                        Research Strategies                                                                               Balota: pp. 1-17; 723-733

                  8                                 Pattern Recognition                                                                                Martindale: Ch. 2; Balota: #8

 

                                    15                              PsychMate tutorial (bring PsychMate)                                            PsychMate  #1.3

                                                                        PsychMate #1.3 (Due: ____________________)

                                    22                              The Nature of Mental Events                                                            Martindale: Ch. 3

                                                                        Reading Response Journal 1 Due

                                    29                              Neural Networks and Connectionism                                           Martindale: Ch. 4

                                                                                                                                                                                    Balota: #3

              Oct              6                                 #### APA Lab Report 1 [PsychMate #1.3] due ####

                                                                        Models of Attention                                                                                 Martindale: Ch. 5; PsychMate #1.5

                                    13                              PsychMate #1.5 (Due: ____________________)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 

                  20                              ********** Midterm Exam **********                              PsychMate #1.7; Balota: #19

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 

                                    27                              PsychMate #1.7 (Due:_____); The Psychology of Memory  Martindale: Ch. 6

                                                                                                                                                                                                      PsychMate #2.2

              Nov             3                                 PsychMate #2.2 (Due: __________________);                     Balota: #2 (pp. 48-54)

                                                      Reading Response Journal 2 Due

                  10                              Connectionism and Learning/Forgetting                                                     Martindale: Ch. 7

                                                                       

                                    17                              ### APA Lab Report 2 [PsychMate #2.2] due ###

                                                                        Long-Term Memory                                                                                  Martindale: Ch. 8

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Balota: #25; PsychMate #2.7 & 2.10

                                    24                              PsychMate #2.7 & 2.10 (Due: ________________)               Balota: #2 (pp. 54-59; 63-66; 70-71)

                                                      Psycholinguistics                                                                                       Martindale: Ch. 9

               Dec            1                                                                                                                                                               Balota: #32

                                                                        Thinking and Problem Solving                                                         Martindale: Ch. 10; Balota:#41

                  8                                 Reading Response Journal 3 Due                                                     

                                                                        ### APA Lab Report 3 [PsychMate #2.10] due ###

                                                      Conclusions

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

                  15                              *********** Final Exam ***********

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

 

¥       Topics in  This font (Balota & Marsh)  correspond to days where reading response journals from the Balota & Marsh book will be collected:

            ¥Reading Response Journal 1: Balota & Marsh (pp. 1-17; 723-733), #8

            ¥Reading Response Journal 2: Balota & Marsh #3, #19, #2 (pp. 48-54)

            ¥Reading Response Journal 3: Balota & Marsh #25, #2 (pp. 54-59; 63-66; 70-71), #32, #41

 

¥       Topics in  This Font (PsychMate)  correspond to days where PsychMate files should be submitted to me with completed PsychMate data.

 

¥       Topics in  ITALICS   correspond to topic headings from the Martindale text.

 

Within a few days, a copy of this syllabus will appear on my web page (see p. 1)