Psychology 20400/30400
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Spring 2005
Monday/Wednesday: 1:30-2:30, BSLC 001
Friday: 1:30-2:30 Foster 305, 1:30-2:30 Green 104, 11:00-12:00 Green 117
Instructor: Vera Maljkovic
Office hour: W 2:30-3:30
Office: Green 301
e-mail: v-maljkovic@uchicago.edu
TA: Linda Suriyakham
Office hour: by arrangement
Office: G403
e-mail: whealton@uchicago.edu
TA: Pascal Wallisch
Office hour: by arrangement
Office: G320
e-mail: wallisch@uchicago.edu
TA: Shali Wu
Office hour: by arrangement
Office: B208
e-mail: shaliwu@uchicago.edu
Cognitive psychology uses empirical methods to addresses long-standing questions about knowledge. It is particularly
concerned with the nature of knowledge, its components, sources, development, and deployment. Though the term
cognitive science is sometimes extended to include all forms of knowledge—animate and inanimate, human and
nonhuman, we will focus on human knowledge.
Book: Galotti: Cognitive Psychology In and Out of the Laboratory (3 rd edition; you can also use the 2nd edition;
the Seminary Coop should have the book). All papers are available on-line (chalk.uchicago.edu).
Grading:
Paper report & Section participation (20%) + Midterm 1 (10%/25%) + Midterm 2 (10%/25%) + Final (45%). (NB:
the better of the two midterms will count 25%, the worse 10%)
Grades will be based on percentage of points received:
90+
A
B
C
D
<60
F
The grades may be curved depending upon class performance on the tests, and in that case there will be a different
scale for graduates and undergraduates.
Paper report/section participation
Each week you will turn in a 1-page summary (2 sentences per item) responding to the following:
Q- What is the question that paper has addressed?
A- List different alternatives that could be possible answers .
L-Logic-what can discriminate between the alternatives?
M- What method is used (how are experiments done)?
R- What are the results?
I - How are results interpreted (in view of the question that was asked)?
All assignments are due on Wednesdays, and will be returned to you on Fridays.
Midterm
You are responsible for the information presented in the textbook and in the lectures. The second midterm will cover
only the topics presented after the first midterm (i.e., the material on midterms will not overlap). There will be no
surprises on the midterms. The first midterm will be on Apr 18 th, the second midterm on May 9th, and the final on Jun
8th.
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology, Spring 2005
Final
The final will cover all the material, but will have more questions from the last part of the course (post-2nd midterm).
The final will take place on June 8th; the location of the final will be announced.
General
Exams are carefully graded. Students who are certain that an error was made can return the exam and the entire exam
will be regraded. No letter grade will be assigned to any student who fails to register prior to the final exam. No reexaminations are given, and under no circumstances will an examination be given later than its scheduled date unless
(1) the student is in the hospital or (2) there has been a death in the immediate family.
If you miss any of the lectures you should get a copy of the notes from a fellow student. There will be no
recapitulation of the lecture either by the instructor or by the TAs. TAs will clarify issues and answer questions during
the sections and during their office hours.
A student is allowed to withdraw from the class up to the time of the final exam. The decision to take the class
pass/fail must be communicated to the instructor and consent obtained in writing prior to the day of the final exam.
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology, Spring 2005
The syllabus may be updated and revised throughout the course of the term to accommodate the needs of the class.
Please check the web version for any potential changes.
_____________________________________________________________
Week Date
Topic
Readings
Paper Due (Galotti)
'QALMRI'
th
Mar 28
Ch. 1
Introduction
th
1
Mar 30
Ch. 3
Treisman (1960)
Attention
2
3
4
Apr 1st
Discussion Section
Apr 4th
Perception I
Ch. 2
Perception II
Discussion Section
Ch. 2
Apr 11th
Imagery
Ch. 8
Apr 13th
Apr 15th
Cognitive Neuroscience
Discussion Section
Apr 18th
MIDTERM I
Apr
6th
Apr
8th
Apr
5
21th
Short-Term Memory
Discussion Section
Ch. 4
Apr 23rd
Apr 25th
Long-Term Memory
Ch. 5
Narrative &
Autobiographical Memory
Discussion Session
Ch. 5
May 2nd
Memory for General
Knowledge
Ch. 6
May 4th
Concepts and Categorization
Discussion Section
Ch. 7
Apr
27th
Apr 29th
6
May
7
May 9th
May
8
9
11th
Making Decisions
Discussion Section
Ch. 12
May 16th
Reasoning
Ch. 11
May 18th
Thinking & Problem Solving
Ch. 10
May 20th
Discussion Section
May 23rd
Language
Ch. 9
May 25th
Individual & Gender Diffs
Discussion Section
Ch. 14
27th
May 30th
Jun
1st
Shepard & Metzler (1971)
Schacter (1999)
Nickerson&Adams (1979)
Rosch & Mervis (1975)
MIDTERM II
May 13th
May
10
6th
Potter (1975)
HOLIDAY
Jun 3rd
Consciousness
Review
Jun 8th
FINAL (1:30pm-3:30pm)
Tversky & Kahneman
(1981)
Turkheimer et al (2003)