Textbook: Jay Friedenberg and Gordon Silverman, Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Study of Mind. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006.

Course Description: The purpose of this course is to introduce you to human cognition: our ways of coming to know about the world and about each other. This course will concentrate on the classic topics in adult cognition: pattern recognition, memory, attention, categorization, problem solving, reasoning, and decision making. Special attention will be paid to the relationship between logic and the psychology of reasoning, and to the relationship between linguistics and the psychology of language. Our coverage of perception will be limited, because Psychology 422 is concerned with that topic. Development will not be emphasized because the department offers several courses in that area (Psychology 340, 344, 345, and 443). We will spend a little time on neuropsychology, but what we cover here is not meant as a subsitute for Psychology 324. Most of the empirical literature of cognitive psychology is strongly influenced by conceptions of human knowledge as structures in the mind that correspond to structures in the environment; problems with those conceptions and alternatives to them will also be discussed.

Course Attendance, Tests, and Grading: It's wisest to attend all classes; there is a lot in a course like this that you are not going to learn just by reading the textbook or looking over my PowerPoints afterward. I'm going to assume, however, that responsible adults do not need an attendance policy. If I haven't arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled time for a class, you are free to leave.

There will be three tests and a final (for dates, see the class schedule). Each will consist, I regret to say, of somewhere between 25 and 40 multiple choice questions. A study guide will be circulated via email before each test. The final will be cumulative (again, I will circulate a study guide in advance).

In real emergency situations (illness, death of a family member, etc.) you may be excused from taking a test when scheduled. However, to be excused from taking a test on schedule, you must arrange the time and location of the makeup test with me before the time normally scheduled for the test.

The tests and the final exam will be weighted as follows:

Extra credit: We encourage you to participate in any research studies that might be going on in the psychology department while this course is in session. You will earn 1/4 point extra credit toward your final grade for each 15 minutes that you participate in. The maximum is 5 points (for 20 15-minute units). You may choose to do an extra-credit research project instead of participating in the studies; if you want to do this, please let me know by February 15 so we have a chance to pick a topic and you have ample time to write your paper.

Cheating: Tests and exams in this course are meant to be your individual work. Providing information to others (or obtaining it from them) during a test--or using unauthorized notes on such occasions--constitutes cheating. If you decide to cheat, I will take action against you according to University policy.