Cognitive Psychology

Spring - 2024

PSYC 3450-A
T/Th 2:00 - 3:15 pm
Hale 309

Grades
ZAPS
ID 782400		 Account sign-up
Instructions

  Instructor: Stephen T. Paul, Ph.D.                          Office Hours: M/W: 1:00 - 3:30 pm
Office:    122 Scaife   and by appointment.
Phone:    (412) 397-5416. E-mail: paul@rmu.edu
Most people would die sooner than think; in fact they do.
-- Bertrand Russell

Overview: Cognitive psychology may be defined as the study of people's ability to gather, organize, store, retrieve and use knowledge to direct their behavior. In short, it is the study of the mind. Cognitive psychologists develop and test theories (models) about the mental processes that direct observable behavior. This course will sample focal areas and classic studies in cognitive psychology as well as recent research of particular interest.
Objectives:
  1. Have a command of the research methodology and approaches appropriate to addressing issues in cognitive psychology.
  2. Introduce you to a variety of models covering different aspects of human thinking.
  3. Be able to engage in critical analysis of all ideas presented.
  4. Have a basic ability to conceptualize, present, and defend theories of attention, memory, problem solving, and language use.
  5. Generate and recognize applications of cognitive psychology to real world problems and settings.
Text:Reisberg, D. (2022). Cognition: Exploring the Science of the mind, 8th Ed. New York, W. W. Norton (with access to ZAPS).
IMPORTANT: Our ZAPS Class ID# is 782400. Access the online activities at: https://digital.wwnorton.com/cognition8.

NOTE: Your access to ZAPS assignments for this class will END on Monday, April 29, 2024 (11:59 pm). Be sure to plan (and complete) accordingly!

Students are expected to have their textbooks and other required course materials (lab books, digital media, etc.) at the start of the course. Failure to have required course materials will not be accepted as justification for failure to be prepared for class, missed or incomplete assignments, failure to prepare for exams, quizzes and other course evaluations or inability to complete other course requirements. The only exception to this policy will be situations in which the textbooks and/or other course materials are not available from the publisher.

Web Site:http://www.drspeg.com/courses/courses.html
Grade Scale: The following breakdown will be used to determine final grades (based on overall percentage score earned by the end of the semester):

A93.0 - 100.0B-80.0 - 82.9
A-90.0 - 92.9C+77.0 - 79.9
B+86.0 - 89.9C70.0 - 76.9
B83.0 - 85.9D60.0 - 69.9

Policies:
  1. Accessibility Accommodations for Students: Robert Morris University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. If you have, or think you may have, a disability that would impact your educational experience in this class, please contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) to schedule a meeting with the SAS Coordinator and Assistant Director Molly Hill. She will confidentially discuss your needs, review your documentation, and engage with you in the interactive process to determine your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. To learn more about academic accommodations, please visit rmu.edu/sas, email sas@rmu.edu, or call 412.397.6884.

  2. Grading: Four semester exams of increasing weight (8 + 11 + 14 + 17 = 50 percent total). The final exam (20 percent) will be cumulative. Also, pop-quizzes plus ZAPS homework together will be worth 15 percent. The remaining 15 percent of your final grade will be based on in-class lab assignments. (Unassigned ZAPS activities may be completed for extra ZAPS credit if your ZAPS score is less than 100%.)

  3. Academic Integrity:: All students are expected to understand and adhere to the standards of Academic Integrity as stated in the RMU Academic Integrity Policy, which can be found on the RMU website at http://www.rmu.edu/ai. Any student who violates the Academic Integrity Policy is subject to possible judicial proceedings which may result in sanctions as outlined in the policy (depending upon the severity of the violation, sanctions may range from receiving a zero on an assignment to being dismissed from the university or from the program).

  4. Masking: You may elect to wear face masks in the classroom. Please respect individual decisions about whether to mask. Any negative response to an individual who elects to wear a mask will be reported to Student Conduct. If you are feeling ill but well enough to attend class, we strongly encourage the use of a face mask until you are feeling well.

  5. In an Emergency: RMU Police emergency response telephone number is: 412-397-2424. From campus telephones dial only: 2424.

  6. RMU Alert: All students are urged to sign up for the RMU emergency alert notifications at rmu.edu/rmualert. Always check with RMU to see if classes are in session during inclement weather.

  7. Use of Personal Technologies During Class Time: Laptops, cell phones, MP3 players, or any technology that distracts you (and/or your neighbors) from course content and delivery are prohibited in my classroom (unless you have a specific and RMU approved accommodation). If you are caught using ANY technologies during class time without prior permission, you will be asked to leave.

  8. Missed Assignments: If you miss a graded assignment due to an excused absence, you have one week (or until the last day of classes; whichever comes first) from the date of the missed assignment to make arrangements with me to complete that assignment (or a replacement activity). If you fail to make arrangements with me to make up missed assignments by the deadline, you will receive a zero for that assignment.
Schedule: This is provided as a general outline/order of what will be covered throughout the semester. If any changes need to be made, they will be indicated on the online version of this syllabus.

  Week of Lecture Topic Lab Read ZAPS (due by) Practice Quiz
1 January 15 The Science of the Mind
Dragon/Hollow Face Illusion (R) (G) (B)		 M.R.T. Chapter 1 Create Account
Split Brain (1/28)
Ponzo Illusion (1/28)		 Quiz 1
2 January 22 Acquisition of Memories & W.M. System Levels of Processing Chapter 6 Sensory Memory (1/28)
Serial Position (1/28)		 Quiz 2
3 January 29 EXAM I Face Perception (2/25)
4 February 5 Recognizing Objects TD vs. BU Chapter 4 Visual Search (2/25) Quiz 3
5 February 12 Paying Attention Overload
Cheshire Cat		 Chapter 5 Attentional Blink (2/25)
Selective Attention (2/25)		 Quiz 4
6 February 19
7 February 26 EXAM II Encoding Specificity (3/24) Quiz 5
8 March 4 The Many Types of Memories Familiarity and the FF Effect Chapter 7 Implicit Associations Test (3/24)
March 11-15 Spring Break [no classes this week] SCT Homework
9 March 18 Remembering Complex Events Discussion of SCT Assignment Chapter 8 False Memory (3/24) Quiz 6
10 March 25 EXAM III
11 April 1 Concepts and Generic Knowledge Birdiness Chapter 9 Semantic Typicality (4/14) Quiz 7
12 April 8 Language Convo-Contract / Ambiguity Chapter 10 Semantic Priming (4/14) Quiz 8
13 April 15 EXAM IV
14 April 22 Judgment and Reasoning Anchor/Adjust Chapter 12 Decision Making (4/29) Quiz 9
Our final exam is scheduled for Thursday, May 2, 2024 from 1:30 until 3:30 pm.