Syllabus
Cognitive Psychology (Psychology 345-Honors)
Tue.-Thur. 2:20-3:35, Room 336, Psychology Bldg.
Professor Steven Smith, Office: 276 Psychology, 845-2509, Office Hours 11:15-12:45 T/Th
email: [email protected] (please include PSYC 345 in subject heading)
Course Website: http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/stevesmith/345H/
Textbook: COGNITION (8th Ed) by M. Matlin (ISBN: 9781118148969) Additional readings will be announced
The course covers the experimental science of cognitive psychology, including cognitive theories, methods, and
applications. PSYC 107 (Introductory Psychology) or its equivalent is a required prerequisite, and PSYC 203
(statistics) and 204 (research methods) are recommended.
Students will understand basic theories and models of human cognition, empirical methods used to study cognition,
and some applications of the principles of cognitive psychology. Emphasis will be given to critical thinking about
experimental methods and interpretations of studies.
Dates
Topics
Chapters (in Matlin)
Jan. 20-22
A History of Cognitive Psychology
1
Jan. 27-29
Sensory Processes
2
Feb. 3-5
Pattern Recognition & Attention
3
Feb. 10-12
Working Memory
4
Feb. 17-19
Encoding
5
TAKE-HOME MIDTERM EXAM GIVEN OUT FEB. 19, DUE FEB. 26
Feb. 24-26
Recall & Recognition
March 3-5
Implicit Memory
March 10-12
Eyewitness Memory
reading handout
March 16-20
NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK
March 24-26
Student Lessons
March 31- April 2
Student Lessons
April 7-9
Student Lessons, Signal Detection Theory
April 14-16
Metacognition
6
April 21-23
Problem Solving & Creativity
11
RESEARCH PAPER DUE APRIL 15
April 28-30
Presentations (in class)
May 12, Tuesday, 3:00 - 5:00, FINAL EXAM (In Regular Classroom)
_______________________________________________________________
Grading:
Points
Midterm Exam ------------------------------> 100
Student Lesson ---------------------------->
100
Research Paper ----------------------------> 100
Final Exam -------------------------------> 100
----------------------------------------------------------Total Possible -------------------------------> 400
A = 400-360 B = 359-320 C = 319-280
D = 279-240
F = Below 240
The Student Lesson includes a 30-minute in-class presentation of material, to be selected from a
list of topics (below). You should create a PowerPoint presentation of your Lesson. Present your
lesson as a topic you will teach in this class. It is more important to present a topic coherently
than to cover everything there is to know about that topic. What are the important lessons to
learn about your topic? What are the important concepts to know? What about the topic do you
find interesting or important? You should begin your research of your topic with the relevant
section of the textbook, and then expand your research to the library (PSYCinfo is the best
database, see http://library.tamu.edu/). Included in your PowerPoint presentation should be
definitions of 5 relevant vocabulary terms or concepts, and an outline of your presentation.
Please email your PowerPoint presentation to Dr. Smith.
Each student must present one lesson in class for 30-minutes. Please choose 5 of the topics
below and rank-order your choices; a “1” indicates your top choice. Email your top-5-ranked
choices to Dr. Smith, who will determine your assignments.
The following topics are for Student Lessons:
Change Blindness & Inattentional Blindness
Face Perception
Speech Perception
Thought Suppression
Blindsight
Working Memory Capacity as an Individual Difference
Prospective Memory
Metacomprehension
Visual Imagery
Cognitive Maps
Schemas & Stereotypes
Basic Reading Processes
Theories of Bilingualism
Decision Making Heuristics
Language Development in Infants & Children
Aging & Cognition
Attention Deficit Disorders & Cognition
Schizophrenia & Cognition
The Research Paper will be a 10-page (not counting references) critical review of an approved
topic in cognitive psychology, with the paper ending in a detailed experiment proposal.
Information about the paper will be given out after the midterm.
The Final Exam will consist of essay questions from lectures and the textbook. A pool of
questions will be given out before the Final. Your final exam will consist of a subset of that
question pool.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy Statement The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that
provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with
disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a
disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Disability Services, in Cain Hall, Room B118, or all 845-1637. For additional information
visit http://disability.tamu.edu.