This course is a survey of the study of thought, memory, language, and decision-making from the point of view of cognitive psychology. We will discuss related cognitive sciences, such as linguistics, neuroscience, and philosophy. In the course of examining general principles of cognition, we will touch on the following topics: neuroscience, mental imagery, discourse, monetary decision-making, language in apes, and eyewitness testimony. The goals of this course are to introduce students to the ideas and theories of cognitive psychology, apply them to everyday life, teach students about the methods of scientific psychology, and how to examine research questions.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Develop a knowledge base in cognitive psychology and demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in cognitive psychology.
• Understand research methodology in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience
• Respect and use critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and the scientific approach to solve problems relating to mental processes.
• Weight evidence, evaluate scientific arguments, and understand the relation of brain, mind, and behavior.

Please review the policies page as it contains essential information regarding guidelines relevant to all courses at FIU and additional information on the standards for acceptable netiquette important for online courses.

For information about prerequisites, click here.

One of the greatest barriers to taking an online course is a lack of basic computer literacy. By computer literacy we mean being able to manage and organize computer files efficiently, and learning to use your computer's operating system and software quickly and easily. Keep in mind that this is not a computer literacy course; but students enrolled in online courses are expected to have moderate proficiency using a computer. Please go to the "What's Required" page to find out more information on this subject.

NOTE: Please make sure that your computer meets the minimum technical requirements for online learning, and that you carefully read all the instructions to avoid technical errors that may negatively impact your grade. Take the online learning practice quiz to learn about using the online format effectively. For detailed information about the technical requirements, please click here.

For detailed information about the specific limitations with the technologies used in this course, please click here.

For more information about Blackboard's Accessibility Commitment, click here.

Students requiring accommodations due to a disability must be officially registered in the University's Office of Disability Resources. An official notice of the accommodations is then provided directly to the Professor in writing during the first two weeks of the term. For additional assistance please contact our Disability Resource Center.

This is a fully online course, meaning that all course work (100%) will be conducted online. Expectations for performance in fully online courses are the same as for traditional courses; in fact, fully online courses require a degree of self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills that can make them more demanding for some students.

Fully online courses are not independent study courses. You will be expected to interact online with the professor and your fellow students; to do assignments; to meet deadlines; and in many classes, to work in virtual groups. In some fully online courses, you may be required to come to campus to take midterms and exams, but in most, you will take your tests online.

• Communication in this course will take place via messages. The message feature is a private, internal Blackboard only communication system. Users must log on to the blackboard system to send/receive/read messages. There are no notifications in Blackboard to inform users when a new message has been received; therefore, it is recommended that students check their messages routinely to ensure up-to-date communication. This is the best method to communicate with me privately.
• Discussion Forum: It will be used for class discussions and other postings of general interest that are directly related to the course. Everyone can read Discussion Forum postings; therefore, do not post private information. Discussion Forum does not impact grades.

In order to mitigate any issues with your computer and online assessments, it is very important that you take the "Practice Quiz" from each computer you will be using to take your graded quizzes and exams. Please take this practice quiz within the first 1 week of class. It is your responsibility to make sure your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements.

“Assessments in this course are not compatible with mobile devices and should not be taken through a mobile phone or a tablet. If you need further assistance please contact FIU Online Support Services."

Please take this practice quiz within the first 1 week of class.


In order to take your assessments in Blackboard, you will now have to download our Lockdown Browser. You will still login to your courses as you would normally do, however in order for you to access your quizzes or exams you will need to login in to the browser. Once you have successfully taken the assessment in the browser, logout and login to Blackboard to view your scores. It is strongly suggested that you take the available practice quiz before you take any assessments in order avoid any problems in the future. Please read the instructions in the assessments section about the lockdown browser.

Unit exams are intended to assess your comprehension, retention, and knowledge of the materials covered in lectures and the textbook for a designated unit. There are four (4) unit exams. Each exam is non-cumulative, and covers the chapters in that Unit. Each exam is comprised of 33 multiple-choice questions. Each exam is available for 48 hours (except for Exam 1 in which you will have 72 hours). Students have 40 minutes from the time they start the exam to complete 33 questions. You have only 1 opportunity to take each exam. Questions are randomized across students so no two students will have the same questions. Exam grades will not be available until every student has completed the exam. Failure to take the exam in the allotted time period will result in a zero (0).

The reaction paper will test your ability to think, generate hypotheses, and, in general, apply psychological science. The task will be to take a position in a current debate in cognitive science. You will then have to support your position by drawing on the data that are available on the topic. The goal is to convince readers that the position you take is correct by presenting the relevant data on the topic.  Writing that both positions are correct will automatically result in a deduction of points.  Think of this as a “debate” in which your job is to argue one of the positions. This paper will require you to go beyond Matlin's textbook. You will need to refer to journal articles, book chapters, and, if you must, websites. Each student must read journal articles for the paper. At least three journal articles must be referenced. If you use websites, you are responsible for any misinformation you get from the website (the best websites to use are those of the researchers themselves). Your view in the reaction paper must be supported by psychological science (including neuroscience, social psychology, neurobiology). Your feelings and impressions are not relevant in this paper; rather it is scientific data that you must draw upon. You do not have to be balanced. Choose arguments that support your position, and refute arguments that may support the other position. You will be graded on your ability to do both. You may email me questions on how best to do this. APA style is encouraged but not required. Choose one topic from the list below. If the topic is pre-approved by your professor (that is, from the list below), you do not require the professors pre-approval. However, if you wish to pursue a topic not on the list below, please obtain your professors permission first. This is to insure that the topic is appropriate for cognitive psychology. Approval cannot occur after the paper has been handed in. You must also answer the question in approximately 1,000 words (about 3 pages). Papers will not be read if they contain fewer than 900 words, not will they be read if they are more than 1100 words (I am serious about this; there has to be a limit somewhere, so the bounds will be enforced) You must craft your arguments to fit into the word limit. The word limit refers to the body of your paper and does not include title page, references, and any supplementary material you add.

Reaction Paper Due: November 30, 2012 at 11:55 pm via Turnitin.com. This is an individual project. You may discuss this project with other students in the class, but you may not collaborate. Each paper must be your own. If your reaction paper is plagiarized, you will fail the course and be reported to the appropriate Dean at the University.

Topics:

• Blindsight: What accounts for blindsight: cortical preservation or subcortical routes?
• Tip-of-the-tongue states: lexical retrieval failure or metacognitive awareness?
• Speech perception: does it require a special mechanism or does a general auditory mechanism suffice?
• Is the "central executive" a useful concept in our theories of working memory? Or is it a glorified "homunculus?"
• What is survival processing (e.g.,Nairne and Pandeirada, 2011)? How does it work in memory? Is the effect based on the evolutionary mechanisms or more commonplace memory explanations?
• Some researchers argue that people allocate study to the most difficult items. Others argue that people allocate study time to the easiest items that they have not yet learned. Who is right and why?
• Many years ago, Benjamin Whorf argued that the language we speak shapes the thoughts we have. Most psychological data dismissed the idea. However, recently, there has been a resurgence of Whorfian thinking. Does language shape the kinds of thoughts we can have? (This question is about language, not about culture).
• Some researchers argue that silent reading involves subconscious activation of the sounds of the words. Others disagree. Who is right and why?
• Is "insight" a valuable concept in cognitive psychology? Please make sure you at least read those who do not think it is valuable.
• Are human decisions optimal? If so, why? If not, why not? Refer to the literature starting with the Nobel prize winning research of Daniel Kahneman.
• Does the Wason task reveal a flaw in human reasoning? Why or why not?
• Is creative cognition based on expertise or insight?
• Does neuroimaging inform cognitive theory? Or is neuroimaging irrelevant to cognitive theory?  This is not about whether neuroimaging is important to neuroscience (or to medicine), but if neuroimaging data is relevant to cognitive theories.  That is, does it matter if language is housed in the temporal lobe or the frontal lobe for the development of psychological (cognitive) theory?  For example, can fMRI data distinguish between any of the questions posed above?

Instructons for Turnitin:
To submit your assignment through turnitin, click on the "Assignment Dropbox" under Course Tools, then click the "Reaction Paper" link.

• Use the power point lectures and chapter outlines to focus your readings and studying.
• Take advantage of the self-quizzes and study materials to help you learn the material and prepare for exams.
• Handing in the paper on time and taking exams during the allotted period is essential. Failure to do so will result in an automatic zero for that assignment.

There are no make-ups given in this course. All assignments are due as indicated. If some unforeseen emergency arises that prevents you from taking an exam or handing in an assignment, documentation must be provided (i.e., a summons for jury duty, letter on Physicians letterhead stating explicitly why student could not hand in assignment/take exam, etc). This documentation will be verified by contacting the appropriate individuals. Once verified a decision as to how to proceed will be made by the Professor, which will not include a make-up exam.