Psychology 333 Fall, 1996 R.L. Terry, Ph.D.

SH 303; Tel: 7316

Introduction

Psychology students learn early in their introductory courses that some of the very first people who were systematically concerned with (human) behavior were theologians (or "priests"). Then persons dissatisfied with the primacy of theistic and other spiritual explanations broke from the theological camp and developed ideas that we might call philosophical. Finally, in the Nineteenth Century, behavioral scientists emerged and tried to replace philosophical speculation with empirical verification. On this historical evolution of psychology, some wag commented that when psychology left theology, it lost its soul; when psychology left philosophy, it lost its mind.

Modern psychology is said to have begun in 1879 with Wilhelm Wundt's setting up his laboratory in Leipzig. Wundt was interested in applying the method of introspection to illuminate the structure of the mind. Wundt said that people have minds and engage in mental activities. But just a few years later, Sigmund Freud began to show that the great bulk of mental activity was unconscious and inaccessible to introspection. Freud said that because of unconscious mental forces, people are doomed to be irrational, much in the same way that non human animals are. In the early Twentieth Century, John B. Watson argued that "mind" was a fiction--the only thing we can know of another person is what the person does or says. Watson left us with the popular definition of psychology: "The scientific study of the behavior of individuals." So we have gone from a mind that is knowable (Wundt) to a mind that is unknowable (Freud) to no mind at all (Watson).

For the next half century, psychologists tended to see (human) behaviors as measurable effects of identifiable causes. This S-R model of behavior dominated American psychology during these years. Humans no longer thought; they responded. Also at this time, however, dissidents were arguing that humans were not just "bigger and better" than rats and pigeons. People, they argued, are active (not passive); they act as well as react; they perceive, interpret, and reason. In short, people have minds and engage in mental activities. These dissidents are called cognitive psychologists, who have tried to bring the scientific methodology of the behaviorists to the study of covert, mental processes. Cognitive psychologists have apparently won the day (if only for the time being) in showing that the traditional S-R model does not describe the complexities of human behavior.

Course Objectives

This course is an advanced introduction to the field of cognitive psychology. Our concern is with understanding human endeavor, as distinct from animal behavior. Humans have minds or at least humans engage in mental (i.e., covert) activities. We select and attend to stimuli; we perceive them; we remember and forget them. We abstract and generalize and symbolize; we conceptualize. We think; we reason; we solve problems, sometimes creatively. How we do all these wonderful things is the content of this course.

There are a number of valuable goals that can be achieved by a diligent study of cognitive psychology. We will learn about some behavioral capabilities that seem to distinguish humans from other animals; we transcend our animal heritage through the use of our cognitive capabilities. If there is a "new look" in psychology today, it is the entrenchment of cognitive psychology prin-ciples; again, the S-R model is at best incomplete. Moreover, perhaps by studying such phenomena as memory and problem solving we can improve our own cognitive skills or gain insight into how to improve the cognitive skills of other people. Thus, this course should help us to understand better human behavior in the abstract, general psychology, and ourselves and other people.

Several skills will be tapped in this course--critical thinking, spontaneous oral argument; laboratory methods, research report writing, poster and formal lecture presentation. In short, students will engage in a variety of passive and active learning and teaching activities.

Reading Assignment

We will read the following book in its entirety:

Solso, R. L. (1995). Cognitive Psychology (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

This is a readable introduction to many of the important topics in the field. The book is available in the Bookstore, and used copies are available.

Course Expectations

Enrollment in the course indicates that you have completed the GDR two-course sequence in a science other than psychology and that you have had Basic Principles of Psychology (Psy 111) (many students will have had more psychological background to their advantage). Also note that this is a 300-level course, and the expected level of scholarship will be that of talented college juniors.

This course is structured more along the lines of a seminar/laboratory class than a traditional lecture class. An intent is to have greater student participation than is usual. First, besides engaging in active class discussion of materials, students will participate in class and laboratory demonstrations of cognitive psychological principles. Many of the notions of cognitive psychology are quite abstract and complicated (we are dealing with extremely complicated behavior); the demonstrations are meant to clarify some of them.

First, there will be a classroom component of the class. This is when, for the most part, the sub-stantive content of the course will be discussed. On the whole, the discussion will only parallel the readings, so it is important that you do the readings before the class sessions in which the materials are scheduled. Students are expected to participate in the class discussions. The general topics are listed below as Classroom Assignments. These classroom assignments will form the basis of periodic examinations. There are three hour-examinations scheduled during class on Sep-tember 20, October 11, and November 8, and a three-hour final examination during Exam Week. Each of these will be essay exams, and, by necessity, they will have to be cumulative.

Second, there will be explicitly scheduled laboratory meetings. The laboratory projects will be partly demonstrational and partly experimental. Lab Projects A and B will form the basis of the first Lab Report to be handed in on September 24. Lab Project C is self-contained; you will not write it up. Lab Project D will be written up as Lab Report #2 to be handed in on October 8. Lab Project E is self-contained, and you will not write it up. Lab Project F is dedicated to discussing your proposal for your individualized research projects; that is, this is not really a laboratory session, but we will use the lab time to listen to your proposal and provide feedback to you. Lab Projects G and H will be devoted to collecting data for your individualized projects; you may have to schedule research participants at other times. Project I will be devoted to a demonstration of artificial intelligence. There will also be time for the preparation of your poster. Your indivi-dualized research will be written up as a poster presentation, scheduled as Project K for the November 19 lab session.

Third, in lieu of a usual term paper, you will make a 20-minute formal presentation to the class expanding on the topic of your poster presentation, complete with theoretical and research background, methods (perhaps with a demonstration), results, and implications. The presentation will resemble a lecture or conference presentation. It will also be written out in APA format and handed in.

Classroom Assignments

Date Topic Reading

Sep 2 Introduction Syllabus

Sep 4, 6, 9 Basic Conceptions & History Solso: Chapter 1

Sep 11 Neurocognition Solso: Chapters 2 & 5

Sep 13, 16, 18 Consciousness & Attention Solso: Chapters 3 & 4

September 20 FIRST EXAMINATION

Sep 23, 25, 27 Short-Term Memory Solso: Chapter 6

Sep 30, Oct 2, 4 Long-Term Memory Solso: Chapters 7 & 8

Oct 7, 9 Forgetting Solso: Chapters 9 & 10

October 11 SECOND EXAMINATION

October 14 Midterm Recess (no class)

Oct 16, 18 Language & Comprehension Solso: Chapters 11 & 12

Oct 21, 23, 25, 28 Cognitive Development Solso: Chapter 13

Oct 30, Nov 1, 4, 6 Social Cognition Solso: Chapter 14

November 8 THIRD EXAMINATION

Nov 11, 13, 15, 18 Intelligence & Problem Solving Solso: Chapters 15 & 16

November 27, 29 Thanksgiving Recess (no classes)

Nov 20, 22, 25, Dec 2, 4 Student Presentations

Dec 6 Summary & Conclusions

Exam Week FOURTH EXAMINATION

Evaluations

The hour-exams will each contribute 10% toward the final grade; the final exam will contribute another 20%. The two lab reports will each be worth 10%; the poster presentation will be worth 10%, and the class presentation will count 10%. Attendance and participation will contribute to the remaining 10%.

Laboratory Assignments

Date Topic

Sep 3 Project A--Atlas of CNS Correlates of Cognitive Functions

Create an atlas of (sub)cortical loci of cognitive abilities

Sep 10 Project B--Lateralization of Linguistic Functions

Experimental study of cerebral processing of linguistic material

Sep 17 Project C--Signal Detection: Theory and Measurement

A study of the effects of signal strength and decision criterion

Sep 24 Lab Report #1 Due--CNS Localization of Cognitive Functions with Special Emphasis on the Lateralization of Linguistic Ability

Sep 24 Project D--Serial Position Effect: An experiment on the effects of rate of presentation and delay of measurement

Oct 1 Project E--Mood Congruence and Memory

Demonstration of the state dependence effect on memory

Oct 8 Lab Report #2 Due--Factors Affecting the Serial Position Effect

Oct 8 Project F--Discussion of Students' Proposed Term Projects

Oct 15 Midterm Recess (no lab)

Oct 22 Project G--Data Collection for Term Projects

Oct 29 Project H--Data Collection for Term Projects

Nov 5 Project I--Facial Identification

Demonstration of the identification of computer generated faces

Nov 12 Project J--Demonstration of artificial intelligence

Poster preparation

Nov 19 Project K--Poster Presentations of Term Projects