THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO
LONDON CANADA
Department of Psychology
2014 – 2015
Psychology 2135B Section 001
Cognitive Psychology
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
An introduction to empirical, computational, and theoretical approaches to the study of human cognitive
processes. The topics surveyed will include: perception, attention, memory, concepts, language and problemsolving. The course will show how these diverse psychological processes are related to and influence one
another.
4 lecture/discussion hours, 0.5 course
Antirequisites: Psychology 2010A/B, 2180E. Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content
that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously
taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course
Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 level Psychology course. Unless you have either the requisites for this
course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and
it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your
fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor:
Office and Phone:
Office Hours:
Teaching Assistant:
TA Office & Hours
Time and Location of Lectures:
Website
Dr. John Paul Minda, jpminda@gmail.com
SSC 7326, x84689
Tuesday, 1:00 – 3:00
Nick Reid, jreid256@uwo.ca
TBA
T/Th, 9:30 – 11:30, UCC-146
https://owl.uwo.ca
TEXTBOOK
Cognitive Psychology and its Implications, 8th edition, By John Anderson. Available at the Bookstore, Amazon, and
elsewhere. Notes from each class will also be available after each class. These notes are a guideline only, and
are not a substitute for attending the lecture. I cannot guarantee that these notes cover exactly what happened
in a lecture.
EVALUATION
Exams
There are three multiple-choice exams in this class. Exams 1 and 2 will take place as scheduled below and will
be during the class period in the same location as the lecture. Exam 1 is worth 25% of the final mark and
Exam 2 is worth 35% of the final mark. Exam 3 (the final exam) will be scheduled for finals week, and is
worth 40% of the final grade. Exams 2 and 3 are cumulative.
All material presented in class, the textbook, and the readings is fair game for an exam. In other words,
material that is presented in class but not in the textbook may show up on an exam. Material that is in the
textbook but not discussed in class may also show up on the exam. That said, the most effective way to study is to use
the lecture and lecture notes as a guide for what will be emphasized in the exam.
Final Grade
Your final grade in this class will be a combination of your performance on all three exams. The Psychology
Department, and this class follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which can be found
at the following website:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
Exam Review
Grades will be released on OWL. Exams may be reviewed by making an appointment with the TA. Neither
the TA nor the instructor will re-grade questions or award points after the grades have been released.
LECTURE SCHEDULE
Date
Jan 6
Jan 8
Jan 13
Jan 15
Jan 20
Jan 22
Jan 27
Jan 29
Feb 3
Feb 5
Feb 10
Feb 12
Feb 17
Feb 19
Feb 24
Feb 26
Mar 3
Mar 5
Mar 10
Mar 12
Mar 17
Mar 19
Mar 24
Mar 26
Mar 31
Apr 2
Apr 7
Apr
Topic
Introductory Class
The Study of Cognition
Basic Brain Science I
Perception
Object Recognition
Attention
Mental Imagery
Knowledge Representation
Concepts and Categories
EXAM 1
Sensory Memory and Working Memory
Memory Encoding and Storage
BREAK
BREAK
Memory Retention and Retrieval
Memory and the Brain
Problem Solving
Expertise
EXAM 2
Reasoning I
Reasoning II
Decision Making
Language Structure
Language Comprehension
Individual Differences
Intelligence and Creativity
Course Eval and Review Session.
EXAM 2
Readings
None
Ch. 1
Ch. 1
Ch. 2
Ch. 2
Ch. 3
Ch. 4
Ch. 5
Ch. 5
Jan 6-Feb 3
Ch. 6
Ch. 6
Ch. 7
Ch. 7
Ch. 8
Ch. 9
Jan 6-Mar 5
Ch. 10
Ch. 10
Ch. 11
Ch. 12
Ch. 13
Ch. 14
Ch. 14
Jan 6-Apr 2
STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other
scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the
integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following
link:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension
from the University, and expulsion from the University.
OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on general undergraduate responsibilities
and academic. It is your responsibility to read this information as all these policies will apply to this class:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergradresponsibilities.htm
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you.
Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources
and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other
arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students
with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.