Module overview
This module is designed to provide you with an introduction to cognitive psychology, or the study of human cognitive processes, with an emphasis on two of those processes – language and memory. Apart from being intrinsically interesting (who isn’t interested in understanding how their own mind works?), there are many practical reasons for taking this module. For example, cognitive psychology is arguably one of the dominant theoretical perspectives in modern psychology, and has provided many of the principles that are important in related fields such as education, learning, forensic psychology and abnormal psychology. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly to you, this module may also have more direct and personal payoffs by showing you how to study more efficiently, remember better, and appreciate the basis for common deficits such as dyslexia or amnesia.
Linked modules
Pre-requisite: PSYC1016
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Explain the major theories of reading
- Evaluate the evidence for use of language in non-human animals
- Appreciate how fundamental thinking regarding human memory can be applied to real-world context such as eyewitness testimony
- Evaluate the experimental evidence for the different components of human memory
- Evaluate the experimental evidence for theories of word processing
- Describe the evidence for the association between language and various regions of the brain
- Explain the concepts of variability and categorical perception in relation to speech perception
Syllabus
1.Animal Communication
2.Language and the Brain
3.Word Processing
4.Reading
5.Speech Perception
6.Memory screening methods, and implications for memory models
7.Working Memory
8.Long Term Memory
9.Everyday Memory and Effects of Emotion
10.Suggestibility and Amnesia
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
The module will consist of two one-hour lectures per week during the semester. These lectures will include numerous in-class demonstrations to help you understand the basic methods used by cognitive psychologists to study cognition, and to emphasize important findings related to cognitive psychology. You will be provided with a brief summary of each lecture, a guide to corresponding reading(s) in the text, and self-assessment questions for each topic to help you gauge your understanding of the lecture and text materials. All handouts and lecture materials will be available via a dedicated Blackboard page. Students who have questions, or are otherwise having difficulty understanding the content, are encouraged to contact the relevant lecturer via e-mail or in person during office hours or immediately after class.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Teaching | 24 |
| Independent Study | 126 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Eysenck, M.W., & Keane, M.T (2015). Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook. Hove, East Sussex: Taylor & Francis.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
Your knowledge and understanding will be evaluated through:
- Essay worth 30%
- A Multiple-Choice Test 10%
- Second Essay worth 58%
- Research Participation (2%)
To do well in this evaluation, it is important to: (1) attend and be actively engaged in the lectures, (2) to think deeply about the theoretical ideas in relation to real world experience, and (3) to read, understand, and remember the assigned texts. Psychology and non-Psychology students will be assessed in the same way.
Summative
Summative assessment description
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Psychology Participant Pool Research Participation | 2% |
| Essay | 58% |
| Multiple choice Test | 10% |
| Essay | 30% |
Referral
Referral assessment description
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Assessment | 49% |
| Psychology Participant Pool Research Participation | 2% |
| Essay | 49% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External