Psychology 253: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Winter, 2002
Instructors: Karen Litke and Thamarai Moorthy
Office: Arts 25 and 26
Phone: 966-2528 or 966-2527
Office hours: by request
E-mail: klitke@shaw.ca; thm318@mail.usask.ca
Text: Ashcraft, M.H. (2002). Cognition (3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Other readings: Journal articles for class discussion can be found outside of Arts 26 or
downloaded from the course web page.
Course Web Page: http://homepage.usask.ca/~klo130/psych253/
Text Web Page: www.prenhall.com/ashcraft
General Course Introduction: Have you every wondered how or why we are conscious? Or how it is that we
are able to focus our attention on some parts of our environment while ignoring distractions? Maybe you have
considered the question of memory; how we take in (i.e., encode) information, store, and, at a later date,
reactivate that stored information? Maybe you have wondered about whether hypnosis improves people’s
access to lost memories, or whether someone can have a memory of something that never happened. Perhaps
you are interested in child development and are curious to know if children are truly born as “blanks slates”.
This course is designed to introduce you to a selection of the many fascinating topics that cognitive
psychologists study. This will provide you with a general understanding of the area as well as provide you with
a foundation for other psychology courses that focus on a specific area of cognition such as Memory or
Psycholinguistics. I hope that you enjoy your Introduction to Cognition experience and go on to enjoy more
specialized courses in the area of cognitive psychology.
Course Objectives: The objectives of this course are to introduce the student to important concepts,
phenomena, experimental techniques, and theoretical issues in the field of cognitive psychology. As cognitive
psychology is the study of how people come to know about their world, this course will cover how people
attend, encode, represent, and understand that world, as well as solve problems, make decisions, and
communicate their thoughts. The course will involve an assessment of current theoretical issues and
experimental methodology, and whenever possible, links to real-life situations will be considered. Practical
objectives of this course will be to help students improve their academic writing skills, enhance critical thinking
skills, and to evaluate and critique published research.
Evaluation: Because not all students learn new material in the same manner, or are able to demonstrate the
material they have learned in the same manner (e.g., multiple choice tests), your evaluation will be based upon
several types of assessments. Note that because writing is a critical skill both in academia and in your
everyday life, the evaluation components are designed to facilitate critical thinking about issues in cognitive
psychology and effective communication. The quizzes, midterm and final include several different types of
exam questions.
1) Paper: An integrative thought paper based on your assessment of Artificial Intelligence in a
movie/TV show/book of your choice. You will be expected to use the content of this course and three
supplementary journal articles to critique how AI is presented. A detailed instruction sheet and marking guide
will be provided. The paper will be worth 30% of the final grade. Late papers will be penalized 5% per day
(weekends are counted as 1 day) in the absence of medical documentation.
2) Exams: There will be one midterm worth 20% and a final exam worth 40% of the final grade. Exams will
consist of definitions, multiple choice, and short- and long-answer questions on material from the text, journal
articles, and class lectures. The final exam will be comprehensive (i.e., covering the entire course). A detailed
description of the midterm and final will be provided before each exam.
3) Quizzes: 2 quizzes, each worth 5%
Grading:
The student should be aware that it is the department policy that grades for 2nd year courses be
distributed around a mean that falls between 65%-71%.
Late assignments will be penalized in the absence of documentation.
Missed exams and quizzes can be completed only if documentation is provided.
A note on plagiarism and cheating: Academic dishonesty is a serious offence that may result in “a mark
of zero or other appropriate grade be assigned for the entire course, for an assignment or for an examination, or
that a credit or mark for the course be modified or cancelled. There is an onus on every student to become
informed as to what does or does not constitute plagiarism. Ignorance of applicable standards of ethical
writing is not an acceptable excuse” (University of Saskatchewan Calendar, 2000). Refer to the University
Calendar for definitions of Academic Dishonesty and additional information
(http://www.usask.ca/university_council/reports/09-27-99.shtml).
Schedule for Lecture Topics, Summaries, Paper, and Exams
Lectures:
Topic:
Readings:
January 7th
Introductions
January 9th
Introduction and History
Ch. 1 (Guest Lecturer)
Jan. 14th - 16th
Cognitive Science Methods
Ch. 2 (Guest Lecturer)
Jan. 21st-23rd
Attention
QUIZ #1 Jan 23
Ch. 4 (Moorthy)
Jan. 28th - 30th
Short Term Memory
Ch. 5 (Litke)
Feb. 4th – 6th
Long-term Memory
Ch. 6 (Moorthy)
Feb. 11th
Consciousness
Lecture Only (Litke)
Feb. 13th
Midterm Exam (20% of Final Grade)
Covers chapters 1,2,3,4,5,6 and consciousness lecture
Feb. 25th –27th
Long Term Memory
Ch. 7 (Litke)
March 4th – 6th
Long-term Memory
Ch. 8 (Moorthy)
March 11th – 13th
Language
QUIZ #2 March 13th
Ch. 9 & Ch. 10 (Litke)
March 18th – 20th
Problem Solving
Ch. 12 (Moorthy)
March 25th – 27th
Reasoning
Paper Due March 27th
Ch. 11 (Litke)
April 1st – 3rd
Individual Differences and Aging
Lecture Only (Moorthy)
April 8th
Debates and Themes
Lecture Only (Litke)
Helpful suggestions to ensure your success in this (or any) class:
1. Read the chapter before coming to class. Write down questions about the readings that you would like
clarified in class.
2. Look over the lecture semi-notes before coming to class.
3. Take additional notes to supplement the class notes that are provided (note: I often supplement the text
and class note materials with examples that will only be provided during lectures).
4. If you have questions, please ask.
5. Be aware of the due dates.
6. After a chapter has been covered, see if you can answer, or at least find the answers to, the key terms
and questions provided on the lecture notes.
7. Because the material in cognitive psychology tends to be abstract in nature (e.g., thinking about
thinking), it is a good idea to re-read your notes, journal summaries, and text a couple of times prior to
the exams.