Psychology 253: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Winter, 2002
Instructors: Karen Litkeand Thamarai MoorthyOffice: Arts 25 and 26
Phone: 966-2528or 966-2527Office hours: by request
E-mail: ;
Text:Ashcraft, M.H. (2002). Cognition (3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Other readings: Journal articles for class discussion can be found outside of Arts 26 or downloaded from the course web page.
Course Web Page:
Text Web Page:
General Course Introduction: Have you every wondered how or why we are conscious? Or how it is that we are able to focus our attention on some parts of our environment while ignoring distractions? Maybe you have considered the question of memory; how we take in (i.e., encode) information, store, and, at a later date, reactivate that stored information? Maybe you have wondered about whether hypnosis improves people’s access to lost memories, or whether someone can have a memory of something that never happened. Perhaps you are interested in child development and are curious to know if children are truly born as “blanks slates”. This course is designed to introduce you to a selection of the many fascinating topics that cognitive psychologists study. This will provide you with a general understanding of the area as well as provide you with a foundation for other psychology courses that focus on a specific area of cognition such as Memory or Psycholinguistics. I hope that you enjoy your Introduction to Cognition experience and go on to enjoy more specialized courses in the area of cognitive psychology.
Course Objectives: The objectives of this course are to introduce the student to important concepts, phenomena, experimental techniques, and theoretical issues in the field of cognitive psychology. As cognitive psychology is the study of how people come to know about their world, this course will cover how people attend, encode, represent, and understand that world, as well as solve problems, make decisions, and communicate their thoughts. The course will involve an assessment of current theoretical issues and experimental methodology, and whenever possible, links to real-life situations will be considered. Practical objectives of this course will be to help students improve their academic writing skills, enhance critical thinking skills, and to evaluate and critique published research.
Evaluation: Because not all students learn new material in the same manner, or are able to demonstrate the material they have learned in the same manner (e.g., multiple choice tests), your evaluation will be based upon several types of assessments. Note that because writing is a critical skill both in academia and in your everyday life, the evaluation components are designed to facilitate critical thinking about issues in cognitive psychology and effective communication. The quizzes, midterm and final include several different types of exam questions.
1) Paper: An integrative thought paper based on your assessment of Artificial Intelligence in a movie/TV show/book of your choice. You will be expected to use the content of this course and three supplementary journal articles to critique how AI is presented. A detailed instruction sheet and marking guide will be provided. The paper will be worth 30% of the final grade. Late papers will be penalized 5% per day (weekends are counted as 1 day) in the absence of medical documentation.
2) Exams: There will be one midterm worth 20% and a final exam worth 40% of the final grade. Exams will consist of definitions, multiple choice, and short- and long-answer questions on material from the text, journal articles, and class lectures. The final exam will be comprehensive (i.e., covering the entire course). A detailed description of the midterm and final will be provided before each exam.
3) Quizzes: 2 quizzes, each worth 5%
Grading:
The student should be aware that it is the department policy that grades for 2nd year courses be distributed around a mean that falls between 65%-71%.
Late assignments will be penalized in the absence of documentation.
Missed exams and quizzes can be completed only if documentation is provided.
A note on plagiarism and cheating: Academic dishonesty is a serious offence that may result in “a mark of zero or other appropriate grade be assigned for the entire course, for an assignment or for an examination, or that a credit or mark for the course be modified or cancelled. There is an onus on every student to become informed as to what does or does not constitute plagiarism. Ignorance of applicable standards of ethical writing is not an acceptable excuse” (University of Saskatchewan Calendar, 2000). Refer to the University Calendar for definitions of Academic Dishonesty and additional information (
Schedule for Lecture Topics, Summaries, Paper, and Exams
Lectures:Topic:Readings:
January 7thIntroductions
January 9thIntroduction and HistoryCh. 1 (Guest Lecturer)
Jan. 14th - 16thCognitive Science MethodsCh. 2 (Guest Lecturer)
Jan. 21st-23rd AttentionCh. 4 (Moorthy)
QUIZ #1 Jan 23
Jan. 28th - 30thShort Term MemoryCh. 5(Litke)
Feb. 4th – 6th Long-term MemoryCh. 6(Moorthy)
Feb. 11thConsciousnessLecture Only (Litke)
Feb. 13thMidterm Exam (20% of Final Grade)
Covers chapters 1,2,3,4,5,6 and consciousness lecture
Feb. 25th –27thLong Term MemoryCh. 7 (Litke)
March 4th – 6thLong-term MemoryCh. 8 (Moorthy)
March 11th – 13thLanguageCh. 9 & Ch. 10 (Litke)
QUIZ #2 March 13th
March 18th – 20thProblem SolvingCh. 12 (Moorthy)
March 25th – 27thReasoningCh. 11 (Litke)
Paper Due March 27th
April 1st – 3rdIndividual Differences and AgingLecture Only (Moorthy)
April 8thDebates and ThemesLecture Only (Litke)
Helpful suggestions to ensure your success in this (or any) class:
1.Read the chapter before coming to class. Write down questions about the readings that you would like clarified in class.
2.Look over the lecture semi-notes before coming to class.
3.Take additional notes to supplement the class notes that are provided (note: I often supplement the text and class note materials with examples that will only be provided during lectures).
4.If you have questions, please ask.
5.Be aware of the due dates.
6.After a chapter has been covered, see if you can answer, or at least find the answers to, the key terms and questions provided on the lecture notes.
7.Because the material in cognitive psychology tends to be abstract in nature (e.g., thinking about thinking), it is a good idea to re-read your notes, journal summaries, and text a couple of times prior to the exams.