Psychology 247 Cognitive Psychology

Psychology 247 Cognitive Psychology Spring 2000: Registration #: 192589 Tues.-Thurs. 3:30-4:50, Knox 109 Syllabus         This syllabus can be found at http://cas-courses.buffalo.edu/classes/psy/segal/2472000/247syl2000.htm
Instructor: Erwin Segal, office: 361 Park; phone 645-3650 ext. 361,email: segal@acsu.buffalo.edu
T.A.: Susan Nichols, office 311 Park; phone 645-3650 ext. 311, email snichols@acsu.buffalo.edu
Office Hrs.: Segal, Wed. 10:00-11:50, and by appointment
                   Nichols, Tues 2:00-3:00, Wed.12:00-1:00, and by appointment. Text: John R. Anderson (2000). Cognitive Psychology and its Implications, Fifth Edition, Worth Publishers, ISBN 0-7167-3678-0
In addition to the text, there are likely to be irregular assignments of articles or other presentations that are available on the Internet. Clicking here will guide you to a page on which there are links to connect you to sources on the Internet         Cognition is the study of perception, memory, attention, comprehension, expertise and other activities and experiences that are behind your basic abilities to function in the world. In this course we will study some of the concepts that have been developed to talk about human cognition, some of the things that we have learned about human cognition, and some of the methods by which this knowledge has been acquired.

The goal of this class is to have the students become reasonably familiar with many of the concepts which are used in understanding human cognition, to have some knowledge of the properties of human cognition, and also have some understanding of the methods by which this knowledge is attained. How much each student has learned will be evaluated primarily, if not entirely, by two midterm examinations and a final. It is possible that there will be one or two short assignments in addition to the exams. If there are no additional assignments the midterm exams will each count for about 30%, and the final exam 40% of the course grade. There is no expectation of giving any makeup exams. If a student cannot take an exam when it is scheduled he or she may under some circumstances be given an exam prior to its schedule. If there are additional assignments their worth will not affect the proportional weightings of the midterms and final. Under such circumstances the exams will count for somewhat less than 100% of the course grade.

We meet twice a week for fourteen weeks. Classes will last about an hour and twenty minutes each. Classtime in this course will primarily consist of three activities: 1) Presentation of material that is available neither in the text nor in other assigned readings. 2) Discussion of the course content, whatever its original source. 3) Demonstrations or experiments illustrating some of the facts of human cognition.

Note: As the instructor of this class and as a person knowledgeable about human cognition and the processes of the acquisition of knowledge, I strongly urge each student to read the material associated with each class prior to the class, and to work at understanding the material as much as possible. Facts without a conceptual system to put them in are almost impossible to learn. The ideas presented in this course will often be new to you, so you have to learn conceptual systems as well as the specific information. This requires investing quality time into the process of learning. Classroom activities are primarily designed to aid in that process, not simply to present unknown facts.

Note: "If you have a disability (physical or psychological) and require reasonable accommodations to enable you to participate in this course, such as note takers, readers, or extended time on exams and assignments, please contact the Office of Disability services, 25 Capen Hall, 645-2608, and also me during the first two weeks of class. ODS will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations."

CALENDAR

January 18	Introduction, History, Information Processing	Chapter 1
January 20	Neural Processing and the Nervous System	Chapter 1
January 25-27	Perceptual Processes	Chapter 2
February 1	Selective Attention	Chapter 3
February 3-8	Imagery	Chapter 4
February 10-15	Representation of Knowledge	Chapter 5
February 17 Study for Exam 1	EXAM 1 Exam 1 and Key	Chapters 1-5
February 22-24	Memory 1: Encoding	Chapter 6
February 29-March 2	Memory 2: Retrieval	Chapter 7
March 7-9	SPRING RECESS NO CLASS
March 14-16	Problem Solving	Chapter 8
March 21-23	Expertise	Chapter 9
March 28 Study for Exam 2	EXAM 2 Exam 2 and key	Chapters 6-9
March 30-April 4-6	Reasoning	Chapter 10
April 11-13	Language 1: Structure	Chapter 11
April 18-20	Language 2: Comprehension	Chapter 12
April 25-27	Individual Differences and Intelligence	Chapter 13
EXAM WEEK Study for final	FINAL EXAM Thurs, May 4 11:45-2:45 Knox 110	Chapters 1-13

Classes should be both educational and enjoyable. In order to maximize the value of classroom activity, the student should come to the class prepared. This means looking at the notes for the class prior to attending it. It also means doing the readings for each class prior to the class. You will get much more out of a discussion if you have some knowledge of what is discussed rather than hearing about it for the first time. If you have some questions about the material you could discuss them with others, with the TA, with me, or even in general class discussion.