Honors 207: Introduction to Cognitive Science

Syllabus and Course Schedule for Winter 2007

Course Description and Objectives

Cognitive Science is an interdisciplinary field that includes work in cognitive psychology, computer science (artificial intelligence), linguistics, philosophy, education, and neuroscience. The goal of cognitive science is to understand the nature and function of "the mind" - to construct and evaluate theories of how people think and reason. Researchers in cognitive science typically assume that the human mind is essentially an information processing device, and as such can be understood through theories that spell out the representations and processes that it uses. Such theories are often refined through the use of mathematical models and computer programs that test a theory's predictions in a detailed and rigorous manner.

In this course you will get a sampling of cognitive science research on a variety of topics, and from a variety of approaches. For some topics, such as the mind-body relationship, we will focus heavily on philosophical approaches. For others, such as artificial intelligence, we will sample more from the work of computer scientists. Our primary focus, however, will be learning to implement and evaluate computational models of human cognition, largely (though not exclusively) drawn from work in cognitive psychology.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Work with formal representations to solve problems.
• Run working models under a variety of conditions.
• Apply a variety of models that instantiate contrasting theories.
• Write articles that describe an experimental procedure, its results and what can be concluded from the experiment.
• Describe theories and models and explain how well they account for human behavior.
• Reflect on their own thinking and articulate their strategies for solving problems.

Class Meetings and Assignments

Each week's class meeting will consist of three segments:

1. Seminar - A discussion of the assigned readings for the week, and of the previous week's lecture and lab assignment on the same topic.
2. Lecture - An introduction to a new topic, to prepare you for the lab assignment and orient you for the readings.
3. Lab - After a break, we will meet in the computer lab and you will begin work on the lab assignment and associated discussion questions, to be turned in before the next class meeting.

Each topic, then, will begin with a lecture and lab one week, and conclude with a seminar discussion of the lecture, lab, and readings at the beginning of the class meeting the following week. To facilitate this seminar meeting, answers to Lab/Discussion Questions based on the lecture, lab, and readings will be due at the beginning of each class meeting.

Lab/Discussion Questions

The Lab/Discussion Questions are embedded in the lab assignment for each topic. You should bring your answers to the seminar meeting for that topic the following class meeting and submit them in the "digital dropbox" on Blackboard before class. Doing so will add a .5% "bonus" to your course grade for each one (a total of 4% for all 8 lab assignments). The assignments will not be graded for accuracy at this point, nor will the hardcopies be collected - but bring them to class to use in discussion. Even if you are unable to answer some of the questions, you should describe what you tried and how it failed to work.

A revised version of your answers must be turned in (hard copy) by the following class meeting. The hard copies will be graded for accuracy, and will constitute 40% of your course grade (5% per lab assignment). Avoid quotations in your answers.

Term Paper

A research term paper is due by the end of the quarter. The purpose of the term paper is to delve into some topic related to the course in more depth, and to go beyond the material covered in the class discussions and readings. Your cited sources must include several non-web sources (journal articles, books, or book chapters), and must include at least some sources beyond the assigned course readings. The paper should be approximately 10 pages double-spaced (including text and references cited, but not including title page, appendices of model code and output, etc.).

Your paper will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Relevance: pose and try to answer an important question in cognitive science.
• Completeness: how well you examined relevant aspects of the topic
• Writing: including clarity, organization, and exposition. Avoid quotations.
• Soundness: providing justification or citations for important claims and conclusions
• Research: using adequate and good quality references related to the topic.
• Length: large deviations from the prescribed length will be penalized (as will failure to use double-spacing and reasonable margins and font sizes).
• Modeling: implementing your own model related to your topic will be rewarded (but is not required).

A paper proposal containing a tentative title, an abstract, and an initial list of references is due by the date listed in the course schedule. You are free to select your own topic as long as it is related to the material covered in the course. Your topic might be inspired by the readings, labs, or class discussions, but it need not be.

Some questions or issues that might lead to good paper topics include (these are just examples):

• Is the connectionist approach to cognition compatible with the symbolic approach? Which is better for what?
• What is consciousness? Is it computational?
• Can machines think? Summarize and evaluate the main arguments in AI and cognitive science regarding machine intelligence.
• Is language governed by rules? Evaluate the arguments of both the pro side and the con side (connectionists).
• In what sense does a cognitive model explain the mental processes it models? If a model can perfectly simulate some aspect of human behavior, does that mean it has completely explained it?
• Can one of the models we implemented in class be adapted to model some other aspect of human cognition, or extended to have a wider applicability?
• Is the nature of the mind-brain relationship to any extent an empirical question, or is it purely in the realm of metaphysics. Are there any empirical data to date that constrain the possibilities?
• Propose your own question or topic for the paper....

Grading

• 50% - Term Paper
• 40% - Lab Assignments / Discussion Questions
• 10% - Attendance and participation

Changes to Syllabus

The readings, lab assignments, and discussion questions may be updated throughout the quarter. Be sure to check the syllabus on the web each week for the current information.

Late Assignments

Late assignments can not be accepted. Exceptions will be made only for genuine emergencies upon the presentation of note from the dean of students' office.

Academic Dishonesty

Cheating, Plagiarism, 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. I will adhere to university policies on academic integrity as described in the DePaul University Student Handbook (http://studentaffairs.depaul.edu/handbook/ or http://studentaffairs.depaul.edu/handbook/code16.html). Students should consult the 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.