PSCH 352: COGNITION AND MEMORY
(51288)
Summer, 2003
---Course Information---
Instructor: Michael F. Bunting, MA (mbunting@uic.edu)
Office: 1079 BSB
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday, 12:30 – 1:30 PM, and by appointment
Class Time: Tuesday/Thursday, 10:00 – 12:30 PM
Room: 2057 BSB
Webpage: http://www.uic.edu/classes/psych/psych352
Teaching Assistants:
Marisa Yates (myates1@uic.edu)
Office:
3022A
BSB
Office hours: Tues/Thurs, 9:00 – 10:00 AM, and by appointment
Greg Colflesh (colflesh@uic.edu)
Office:
1029
BSB
Office hour: Thurs, 12:30
– 1:30 PM, and by appointment
---Syllabus---
ABOUT THE COURSE
Required Texts
1. Cognitive Psychology, 3rd
Edition by Robert J. Sternberg (Thomson/Wadsworth)
2. Coglab (http://coglab.wadsworth.com/)
Prerequisites
To take this course you MUST have taken Psychology 100
(Introduction to Psychology) and Psychology 242 (Introduction to Research in
Psychology). Although this is an
introductory course in the sense that you will likely be learning in-depth
about Cognitive Psychology for the first time, it is not meant for the
introductory-level student. This course
will build on your prior learning, and you should bring to class your
understanding of the principles of psychology and experimental design.
Goals/Course Description
Our primary goal is to study how people perceive, learn,
remember, and think. We will briefly
discuss the history of cognitive psychology and its place as a unified movement
in the larger context of experimental psychology. However, the course will primarily focus on research, both
historically significant and contemporary findings, from the core areas of
Cognitive Psychology, including Attention, Perception, and Memory; Language and
Reading; and Thinking and Problem Solving.
You will accomplish the course goals by talking, reading,
and writing about the research presented in your textbook and in class. The course will be structured around the
textbook and CogLab, an online laboratory that permits you to participate
first-hand in cognitive-psychological research.
About Your Text
Your text is an important learning instrument, and I ask
that all students purchase the text.
You will find bringing the text to class to be useful, for I will use
many of the figures from the text in lecture.
The majority of exam questions will be drawn from your text; as such, all material in your text is fair game for
tests, unless otherwise specified. This includes information that I may not
have covered in lecture or information that I covered only briefly. So, it is important that you thoroughly read
and study the assigned chapters.
About Lecture
It is not my objective to cover all of the material in the
text during lecture; rather, I will focus on the major themes of each
chapter. I will use class time to clarify
the theories presented in the text. I
will use in-class demonstrations or videos to help illustrate these
messages. Your questions and participation are always welcome during class.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Grading will be based
on participation in in-class demonstrations and exams. Optional extra-credit is available.
Attendance
Class
attendance is not mandatory but is highly recommended.
CogLab Demonstrations
CogLab
demonstrations are a critical component of this course and provide an integral
learning opportunity. The
demonstrations will be held in-class.
You must complete a corresponding summary report for five (5) CogLab
demonstrations, each corresponding to a different textbook chapter. The format of the reports may vary, but the
typical length is 2 pages each. Each
report must be typed. Two reports are
due are the time of the first exam. Two
more reports are due at the time of the second exam. The fifth and final report is due at the time of the third
exam. Each report is worth 20 points, for a total of 100 points.
Exams
There
will be three exams. The exams may
consist of true/false, matching, and/or multiple choice questions. Additionally, there will be a selection of
short essays from which you will be asked to respond to one or more. Each exam is worth 100 points, for a total of 300
points.
Extra Credit
You
will have the opportunity to participate in a laboratory experiment outside of
class. The experiment takes between 1.5
and 2.0 hours, and a brief survey of your experience must also be
completed. This extra credit
opportunity is directly related to the material discussed in Chapter 11 of your
textbook, and it will give you a first-hand experience with the course material. The experiment can be scheduled anytime
Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The
extra credit must be completed by Tuesday, July 15. Extra credit is worth 15 points for
completing the experiment and survey.
Grading
Exams
are worth 300 points, or 75% of your grade.
CogLab demonstrations are worth 100 points, or 25% of your grade. Grades will be based on a straight
percentage: 90 - 100% = A; 80 - 89% =
B; 70 - 79% = C; 60 - 69% = D; less than 60% = E. A curve will not be applied.
POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS
Plagiarism and Dishonesty
As
defined by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the University's
definition of academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to:
·
Cheating Either intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized
materials, information, people, or study aids in any academic exercise or
extending to or receiving any kind of unauthorized assistance on any
examination or assignment to or from another person.
·
Fabrication
Knowing or
unauthorized falsification, reproduction, lack of attribution, or invention of
any information or citation in any academic exercise.
·
Academic dishonesty/plagiarism Intentionally
or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any
academic exercise.
·
Non-original works
Submission or attempt
to submit any written work authored, in whole or part, by someone other than
the student.
All
allegations of student academic misconduct will be handled pursuant to the
Student Disciplinary Procedures.
Sanctions would include any of the following:
·
Redoing the assignment
The student is
requested to rewrite the paper or take an equivalent examination or assignment.
·
Failure on the assignment
The faculty member
may refuse to evaluate the paper, examination, or laboratory exercise and will
record a grade of E for the assignment.
·
Failing the course The student may be dismissed from the course
with a grade of E.
(SOURCE and for further
information visit
http://www.uic.edu/las/college/info/enrolled/basicinfo/acadint_hon.htm)
Late Assignments and Make-ups
Please
hand in all assignment on time. CogLab demonstrations are penalized at
the rate of 2 points per day. Requests
for make-up exams will be
granted in cases where your absence was unavoidable and excused. Reasonable excuses include a serious family
emergency (e.g., death) or illness with doctor's note. Excuses such as, "there were wild
parties this weekend, and I'm not ready for the test, dude" don't count.
