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for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Cognitive Psychology |
| Unit code |
PSYC20002 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
I/5
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1B (weeks 7 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Professor. Farrell |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None
|
| Co-requisites |
None
|
| School/department |
School of Psychological Science |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Life Sciences |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit provides a comprehensive understanding of how humans and other biological systems behave on the basis of information from the environment (perception) and from past experience (memory). The unit will familiarise students with theories of memory and perception (particularly vision), drawing on evidence from behavioural experiments and neuroscience. It is structured around a number of key themes, including an information-processing view of how photons arriving at the retina are turned in to biologically relevant information; the role of top-down knowledge in perception and memory, and the extent to which both perception and memory are reconstructive; ecological approaches to perception and memory; and the continuity between perception and memory in considering sensory memory, visual and verbal working memory, and priming in perceptual systems.
Aims:
- Develop student's interest, scientific knowledge and understanding of the study of perception and memory
- Introduce students to the methodological approaches to the study of perception and memory, including behavioural, computational, and neuroscientific approaches, and the application of these to particular areas such as perception of colour, depth, motion and faces; and semantic memory, episodic memory, working memory and procedural memory.
- Develop a thorough understanding of the role of empirical evidence in the formation of theory and how theory guides the collection and interpretation of empirical data.
- Help students to understand the conceptual and historical issues in the subject matter and their relation to other areas of psychological science.
- Help students to acquire a wide range of transferable skills.
Intended Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit, the student will:
- Have a comprehensive understanding and scientific knowledge of the topic and methodological approaches to the study of perception and memory, including perception of spatial form, colour, depth and motion; and semantic memory, episodic memory, working memory and procedural memory..
- Have a comprehensive understanding of the application of these approaches to the study of specific areas of psychological science.
- Be able to integrate this understanding of these methodologies with other areas of psychological science.
- Be able to understand the conceptual and historical issues in the subject matter of this unit and how they relate to other areas of psychological science.
- Be able to plan and contribute to seminar-based presentations of topics covered in this unit and have further improved their scientific writing skills.
Teaching Information
This unit comprises 16 50 minute lectures, one revision tutorial (2 tutorials in total; 50 students max in each) and 8 50 minute seminars (32 seminars in total, max 25 students in each; i.e. each student attends and participates in 8 seminars and is involved in presenting at one of these).
Assessment Information
Summative assessment with one 2000-word written essay (20%); one oral presentation in seminar (20%) and one 2-hour written exam (60%). Perception and Memory will be assessed to equal amounts: a student covering a Perception essay will need to cover Memory with their oral presentation or vice versa. In the written exam, students will have to answer questions from each of the two topics.
Reading and References
- Mather, G. (either edition). Foundations of perception. Hove and New York: Psychology Press.
- Snowden, R., Thompson, P. & Troscianko, T. (2006). Basic vision. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M. W., & Anderson, M. C. (2009). Memory. Hove: Psychology Press.
- Schacter, D. L. (1996). Searching for memory: The brain, the mind, and the past. New York: Basic Books.
