|
David Allbritton |
Time: Tuesday 3:00-6:15pm Required Texts: |
Blackboard | Coglab | Memory Models
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Week |
Dates |
Readings |
Topics |
Assignments |
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Week 1 |
01-09 |
Chapter 1 |
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Week 2 |
01-16 |
Chapter 2, 3 |
Sensation (ppt) and |
Coglab: Signal Detection |
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Week 3 |
01-23 |
Chapter 4, 5 |
Coglab: Stroop
Effect |
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Week 4 |
01-30 |
Chapter 6, 7 |
Coglab: False Memory |
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Week 5 |
02-06 |
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Midterm Exam |
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Week 6 |
02-13 |
Chapter 9 |
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Week 7 |
02-20 |
Chapter 10 |
Coglab: Categorical
Perception (one of the two; flip a coin to choose one) |
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Week 8 |
02-27 |
Chapter 8 |
Coglab: Prototypes |
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Week 9 |
03-06 |
Chapter 12 |
Coglab: Risky
Decisions |
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Week 10 |
03-13 |
Chapter 11 |
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Tuesday |
Final Exam |
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Same time and location as class meetings |
Psychology 360 is a survey course covering primarily cognitive psychology and, to a lesser extent, associationist theories of learning (behaviorist theories). The course will begin with a brief survey of associationist theories of learning, noting both the strengths of such theories (e.g., parsimony, methodological rigor, generalizability, practical applicability) and their weaknesses (e.g., inability to adequately explain rule-based and symbolic systems such as language, ignoring internal mental processes and representations). Most of the rest of the course will then be devoted to the Information Processing approach to the study of learning and behavior, in which theories attempt to specify the mental processes and mental representations involved in cognition. We will examine key theories in perception, memory, language, decision-making, and other domains from an information processing perspective. Along the way, we will also consider some alternative perspectives such as evolutionary psychology, connectionist theories, and neurocognition, and discuss how these approaches differ from traditional information processing theories.
The course will be primarily lecture and discussion. Assigned readings should be completed before the associated class meeting, except for the first week and the week of the midterm. Readings will be primarily from the textbook, and any supplemental readings will be posted on the course syllabus on the web. Material will sometimes be covered in the lecture that is not in the book and vice-versa. Although there is no formal attendance policy, unscheduled quizzes and unannounced in-class assignments will count towards your final grade, and they can not be made up in the event of absence. Any changes to the syllabus will be posted to the Announcements page on the course Blackboard web site. It is your responsibility to check the Announcements on Blackboard before class for changes and updates.
Blackboard will be used primarily only for posting announcements and reporting grades. Your blackboard account for the course is created automatically when you enroll, and can be accessed using your Campus Connect username and password. The syllabus as posted on the instructor's home page will serve as the gateway to all web-based course materials.
Coglab is a web-based set of demonstration experiments that we will be using in the course. Assigned Coglab experiments should be completed before the associated class meeting on the schedule - preferably a day or so in advance so that we can use the data in class. You will need to purchase a Coglab user license if one was not included with your new textbook. The bookstore may have a supply of Coglab Manuals, each of which includes a Coglab license. The manual is not really necessary, but it costs the same as a license alone (without the manual) purchased over the web. The easiest thing to do is just purchase a license over the web without the manual.
To use Coglab in this course, you will need the course ID, which is available through the course Blackboard page. The first time you use Coglab you will also need the registration code from the Coglab license you purchased, to set up your account. Thereafter you will only need your ID and password. Be sure to put your last name in your Coglab user information, so that I can give you credit for doing the assignments. Always follow the link from the schedule on the syllabus for each assigned Coglab experiment. If I have any special instructions for an experiment beyond those given on the Coglab site, I will link them from the listing of that experiment on the syllabus.
The background and instructions Coglab provides for each assigned experiment are also required readings.
Two grading options are available, depending on whether you choose to do an optional project/presentation.
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Grading Options for Psychology 360: |
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Option 1: Without
Project |
Option 2: with
Project |
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Brief Reports |
15% |
15% |
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Assignments and Quizzes |
20% |
20% |
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Midterm Exam |
30% |
20% |
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Final Exam |
35% |
25% |
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Project |
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20% |
Three brief reports, from 1 to 2 pages each, are due on the dates indicated on the course schedule on the syllabus. There are three types of brief reports you may write. You may do any combination of 0 to 3 of each type for a grand total of 3 reports - you do not have to do one of each type. The three types are:
1. Position Paper. Take a position on some topic we have discussed and offer evidence in support of your position. Your position paper should have four headings:
o Summary. Summarize the topic as it was covered in class and/or in the text.
o Opinion. State your position on the topic, even if it does not agree with what was said in class or in the text.
o Evidence. Offer empirical evidence in support of your opinion. You can use scientific evidence (published research results such as those cited in class or in the text) or informal sources of evidence (such as your own experience). The evidence must be empirical though - it must be based on experience rather than intuition, authority, or pure reasoning.
o Evaluation. Evaluate the strength of the evidence you offered. Is the evidence you offered an accepted scientific fact (repeatedly demonstrated by valid empirical studies)? Is it an isolated scientific observation (demonstrated by just one study so far)? Is it merely anecdotal (not demonstrated by any controlled scientific study)? Is the evidence objective (does not depend on who is observing) or subjective (different observers could have different experiences)? How strongly does your evidence support your opinion? Proof? Strong evidence? Merely suggestive?
Remember that either type of paper should be only 1-2 pages, double-spaced. Use paragraph-initial headings: an underlined heading followed by a period at the beginning of a paragraph, as shown above. Each section will probably be only a paragraph long, perhaps only a sentence or two in some cases. Exceeding the page limit (or using a font smaller than 10 point, margins less than one inch, or line spacing less than double) will cause you to lose points on the assignment.
Brief Reports must be submitted using the Blackboard Dropbox. Acceptable file formats are PDF, postscript (.ps), OpenDocument format (.odt), MsWord (.doc), and Rich Text Format (.rtf). A hard copy must also be submitted at the beginning of class.
Full credit will be awarded if you do all of the assigned Coglab experiments on time.
Exams will consist of both multiple-choice and essay / short answer questions. The emphasis will be on material presented in class, but some material from assigned readings may appear on exams even if not covered in lectures. Assigned readings include not only the textbook chapters, but also the assigned Coglab experiments and any additional readings listed on the syllabus. Essay questions will focus on material covered in lecture.
The final exam will be partially cumulative: Some questions may ask you to integrate general themes across topics from the entire course. Specific detailed information from before the midterm will not be re-tested on the final, however.
Makeup exams will not be given without written documentation of a serious illness or emergency. If you know in advance of a legitimate commitment that prevents you from taking the midterm or final on time, you must notify me by email well in advance and request rescheduling. Vacations, pre-purchased plane tickets home for the holidays, and having more than one final on the same day are NOT legitimate reasons, by the way.
The optional project can be either a paper (8-12 pages double spaced excluding references and figures) or a class presentation (10-15 minutes with PowerPoint or web-based slides). The topic can be any subject related to cognitive psychology (with the instructor's approval), and can deal with theoretical, empirical, methodological, or applied issues.
A good presentation will typically support one main thesis and consider one or more alternatives to the thesis. Ideas should be supported with empirical evidence and clear reasoning. You should cite at least 4 or 5 journal articles that bear on the main idea of your presentation.
Papers or presentations may be done either individually or in a group. If you choose to work with a group, you must turn in a summary of what each group member contributed to the project along with the finished project.
A proposal for the project must be emailed to the instructor with the words "Psy 360 Project Proposal" in the subject line. Proposals are due the week after the midterm exam. The proposal should indicate whether you intend to do a paper or a class presentation, and the names of all the group members for the project you are working in a group.
Paper proposals should state the issue you will address, and include a brief paragraph describing what you anticipate will be the main points of the paper.
Papers are due at the last regular class meeting. Both a hard copy and an electronic version submitted through the Blackboard Dropbox are required. Acceptable file formats for the emailed paper are the same as those listed for Brief Reports above.
Presentation proposals should state the issue you will address, provide a paragraph describing the main points you anticipate making, and briefly describe the way the presentation will be conducted (e.g., PowerPoint presentation, interactive demonstration, etc.). You must also include your first and second choices for dates to present your project in class. Class time will be allocated for projects on a first-come, first-serve basis.
If you work with a group, each group member must be involved in presenting the project to the class.
A hard copy of the presentation (such as a handouts printout from a PowerPoint presentation) and an electronic (Blackboard Dropbox) copy must be submitted no later than the day of your presentation. If you develop a web site for your project, please email me the URL for the site and attach to your email message an archive file (zip or tar) of all the pages on your project site.
In addition, an abstract of the presentation and a list of discussion questions must be emailed to all class members no later than the day before the presentation. These questions should be addressed in the presentation. Non-presenting class members should come prepared to discuss these questions and to ask questions of their own about the presentation that they have prepared based on the abstract.
Late assignments can not be accepted. Exceptions will be made only for genuine emergencies upon the presentation of written documentation.
Cheating or other forms of academic dishonesty will be dealt with according to university policy and may result in at a minimum a zero on the exam or assignment in question. Plagiarism (using the words or ideas of someone else as if they were your own) is also a form of academic dishonesty, and carries the same penalties as other forms of cheating. Plagiarism can occur as a blatant attempt to cheat (buying a term paper over the internet and turning it in as if you wrote it), but it can also occur through careless writing (failing to provide a reference for an idea that you found in a book or article). A good rule of thumb is to always provide a reference for any idea that came from someone else's writing, and if more than a few words in a row are repeated exactly either put it in quotes or rephrase it. It is also possible to plagiarize yourself -- by turning in a paper from a previous class as if it were original work, for example.
Students should consult the Academic Integrity Policy in the DePaul Student Handbook for more information on what constitutes plagiarism and other violations of academic integrity. Contact the instructor if you have questions about how to properly acknowledge source materials and the works of others.