Courses

Modern psychology may be dated from the first successful attempts to bring the mind from the philosopher’s den into the laboratory, where the preferred method of the physical sciences, the experimental method, could be applied to discover the functional relations governing mind and behavior. Its development can be charted by the dates of the founding of experimental psychology laboratories at universities and colleges throughout the world. Subsequently, laboratory methods have dominated the study of sensation, perception, memory, learning, motivation, and thinking for more than one hundred years. The success of the experimental approach is marked by the fact that it is still a fundamental area of psychology today. However, the contemporary experimentalist must attempt to straddle the boundaries between physiology, psychology, computer science, and mathematical modeling of neural processes.

· Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Psychology 228
· Cognitive Psychology and Psychophysiology Psychology 361
· Human Memory Psychology 248

· Independent Research: Cognitive Psychology Psychology COG

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Psychology 228
This course is about how people perceive, remember, and think about information. Major topics include object recognition, memory, concept formation, language, visual knowledge, judgment, reasoning, problem solving, and conscious and unconscious thought. The neural underpinnings of these topics are also considered where possible. Prerequisite: one introductory psychology course.

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Cognitive Psychology and Psychophysiology
Psychology 361
In this course we examine the processes of perception, attention, learning, memory, emotion, language processing and decision making. Our focus is to examine closely the methods used to investigate cognition, including how the physiology of the body can reflect concurrent cognitive processes. We will study the interaction of the mind and the body using measures such as skin conductance, respiration, and electroencephalography (EEG) (methods that may be familiar to people from studies of lie detection or sleep research).  We will also investigate other methods in cognitive neuroscience such as eye-tracking and magnetic resonance imaging.  In addition to lectures and discussions, a significant component of the course will include supervised laboratory research work, and each student will conduct an independent research project.  Prerequisites:  Moderated students or consent of instructor.

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Human Memory
Psychology 248
Memory is fundamental to all aspects of learning and behavior in all animal species.  However, the study of human memory presents a special case because humans use language.  Language provides a unique mechanism for encoding and retrieving memories, but language also biases memory.  This course is an overview of classic theories and current research in human learning and memory.  We will evaluate models of memory, including debates on the cognitive representations of knowledge. We will also examine the role of awareness in memory, false memory, the biological bases of memory, diseases and disorders of memory, and methods for brain imaging.  Prerequisite: 100 level course in Psychology or Biology or permission of the instructor.

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Independent Research: Cognitive Psychology

Psychology COG

This course provides an opportunity for guided research in psycholinguistics. You will contribute to ongoing studies of language comprehension, including preparing stimuli, working with participants, analyzing collected data, reviewing recently published empirical papers, and developing your independent project. Requirements include consistent participation in weekly lab meetings and two short papers (a literature review and a summary of your empirical project). Open to first-year, second-year and junior students with consent of the instructor.   

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