Psychology 40: Syllabus (2004-2005)

Psychology 40:
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Winter Quarter, 2004-2005
Stanford University, 4 units

Syllabus (1/4/2005)

Meeting time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:15-2:30 pm (please arrive promptly)

Location: 420-040 (Jordan Hall, lower level)

Instructor: Todd Davies (tdavies@csli.stanford.edu, x3-4091)

Instructor's office hours: Tues, Weds., Thurs. 10:30-12:00 in 460-040C

Course website: http://coursework.stanford.edu

Teaching assistants (office hours TBA):

Deborah Hendersen (djoh@psych.stanford.edu)
Adam November (adn@stanford.edu)
Tristan Thomte (tthomte@psych.stanford.edu)

Textbooks:

Cognitive Psychology and Its Implications (6th Edition) by John R. Anderson, Worth Publishers, 2005 (required)
Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology (7th Edition) by R. Reed Hunt and Henry C. Ellis, McGraw-Hill, 2004 (recommended, not required)
Laboratory in Cognition and Perception v3 - Student's Manual by Sarah Ransdell, J. Pamela Marek, Joseph Lea, Jennifer Flett, and C. Michael Levy, Psychology Software Inc., 2002 (available in computer clusters or via download on a Windows PC at http://www.psychologysoftware.com/CP3_LabManual.exe) (useful for lab assignments)

OVERVIEW:

Cognitive psychology is the study of basic mental processes that are common to adult human beings. This course provides an overview of the main areas of cognitive psychology: perception and attention, learning and memory, language, reasoning and problem solving, and judgment and decision making. The course draws connections between cognition and contemporary research on the brain, and points to other subfields of psychology that illuminate the study of cognition.

The course is organized around textbook readings, lectures, computer "laboratory" assignments, and exams. Our intention is to mix presentation of what cognitive psychologists have learned about the mind with both introspective and hands-on exercises aimed at teaching the process by which claims are tested and knowledge is acquired in this field. Cognitive psychologists apply a number of methods: theorizing, observing, and modeling, but above all it is an experimental discipline. The lectures, readings, lab exercises, and exams will all try to get you thinking like an experimenter.

SCHEDULE:

The schedule below shows approximately what topics will be covered in each session. Topics may sometimes spill over into the next session. Chapter and page numbers refer to the Anderson text. While assigned readings roughly correspond with lecture topics, lectures will cover material that is not in the Anderson text. Some of this additional material is discussed in the Hunt and Ellis text, which is recommended but not required. The three exams, each of which covers approximately one third of the course (the final is not cumulative), will only require knowledge of material covered either in the Anderson text or in lectures.

Jan. 4	Course Overview
Jan. 6	Cognition and the Brain	pp. 1-6, 14-35
Jan. 11	Perception	chapter 2
Jan. 13	Attention	chapter 3
Jan. 18	Behavioral Learning and Cognitivism	pp. 6-14
Jan. 20	Short Term Memories	pp. 171-183
Jan. 25	First Midterm Lab Assignment 1 due
Jan. 27	Verbal Learning and Memory	pp. 106-110, 132-142, 145-147, 183-201
Feb. 1	Visuospatial Learning and Memory	pp. 110-132, 142-145
Feb. 3	Memory Systems and the Implicit/Explicit Distinction	pp. 234-231
Feb. 8	General Knowledge	pp. 147-170
Feb. 10	Episodic Memories	pp. 201-234
Feb. 15	Deliberate Learning and Skill Acquisition	chapter 9
Feb. 17	Second Midterm Lab Assignment 2 due
Feb. 22	Language Structure	chapter 11
Feb. 24	Language Comprehension	chapter 12
Mar. 1	Reasoning and Problem Solving	chapter 8 & pp. 312-328
Mar. 3	Judgment Lab Assignment 3 due	pp. 328-340
Mar. 8	Decision Making	pp. 340-346
Mar. 10	Additional Topics and Summation	chapter 13
Mar. 17 (Thursday)	Final Exam (7-10 pm)

ABOUT THE TEXTS:

Anderson's book is the standard text for Psychology 40, and is in a brand new edition. It covers the field of cognition well and broadly. The Hunt and Ellis book emphasizes more in-depth consideration of particular experiments that have been done, and how experiments provide evidence for and against theories. As such, although not required, the Hunt and Ellis text may help students with a particular interest in experimental psychology to develop their skills as experimental thinkers, and may help in thinking about the lab assignments. Both books will be on reserve in Green Library as of the first week of class.

The student manual for the Laboratory in Cognition and Perception v3 software package will be available in digital form in the same way as the software (see "About the Lab Assignments"). It can also be downloaded individually onto Windows PCs.

ABOUT THE EXAMS:

The two midterms and final will each be written to require about an hour. The format will be a mix of mostly short answer and a few long answer questions. Each exam covers the third of the course that immediately precedes it -- the final will not be cumulative.

ABOUT THE LAB ASSIGNMENTS:

The computer laboratory component of the course is your opportunity to experience cognitive psychology as a participant and an experimenter. The Laboratory in Cognition and Perception v3 will be available on campus machines beginning early in the quarter. In addition, we hope to make available a new translation of the Stanford student-developed cognitive psychology experiment stack into Dreamcard from its original (but now no longer supported) Hypercard format. Doing computer versions of classic experiments in cognition is an excellent way to understand how experiments work, and we recommend that you do as many as possible. More details regarding the three lab assignments will be given in a separate handout. Briefly, the idea behind each assignment is as follows:

Lab Assignment 1 (due January 25) -- Write up method and results of one of the computer experiments for your own data and those of at least one other person who is not enrolled (and has never taken) Psychology 40.
Lab Assignment 2 (due February 17) -- Modify one of the computer experiments and run it on yourself; write up a description of the modification and the reasons for it, as well as your results.
Lab Assignment 3 (due March 3) -- Propose a new experiment to be run; time permitting, we may give those who submit the best designs an opportunity to run their experiments.

GRADES:

Final grades will be assigned based on the following weights:

Three exams (22% each)
First lab assignment (6%)
Second lab assignment (11%)
Third lab assignment (17%)

LATE ASSIGNMENTS AND MISSED EXAMS:

Cognitive Psychology 40 Cognitive Psychology 40 Points will be taken off for late papers unless there is a medical emergency. This is in fairness to the over-burdened students who do manage to get their work in on time. Papers will be accepted until 5 o'clock on the day they are due -- if turned in after class, put it in Todd Davies' mailbox in Suite 127, Margaret Jacks Hall (Building 460). Serious health or other issues that interfere with exam and assignment dates should be addressed by contacting Todd Davies as far in advance as possible.