Cognitive Psychology Courses
Cognitive Processes (3 credits)
A survey of theoretical issues and empirical research on human cognition including attention, perception, memory, representation of knowledge, language, and problem solving.
Cognitive Neuroscience (3 credits)
The course will address some of the central issues in contemporary cognitive neuroscience, describe old (clinical studies) and new (brain imaging) sources of information, their limitations and their contributions to our understanding of the neural mechanisms of cognition.
Psychology of Language (3 credits)
Psychological and psychophysical basis of language comprehension, production and acquisition from experimental and theoretical perspectives; the relationship between language and the cognitive processes of perception, memory and representation.
Communication Behavior (3 credits)
This course will examine behaviors that exchange information, the evolution of the signals that carry the message, and the senses that receive it. Both human nonverbal and animal communication systems will be analyzed. Students will conduct field and library research on specific communicative behaviors.
Animal Cognition (3 credits)
This course will focus on various topics and readings in animal cognition within and across species from the perspectives of animal behavior, cognitive ethology and comparative cognition. In addition to familiarizing the students with what is currently known, the course is designed to stimulate critical and creative thinking about how we investigate and understand the minds and behavior of animals as diverse as chimpanzees, dolphins, elephants, monkeys, pigeons and humans. It will focus on various topics and readings in animal cognition including categorization, discrimination learning, decision making, social learning, tool use, culture and communication.
States of Consciousness (3 credits)
The subjective and physiological aspects of consciousness; the means by which it may be altered: hypnosis, dreams, drugs, meditation and mysticism; psychosis.
Cognitive Science (3 credits)
Introduction to cognitive science, the interdisciplinary study of the human mind from the perspectives of psychology, linguistics, computer science, neuroscience, and philosophy.
Memory and Attention (3 credits)
This course is intended to provide an introduction to the processes associated with memory, attention, and their development, with particular attention given to classic and contemporary theories, and to how they interact with factors such as biology, age, culture and experience.
Social Cognition of Gender (3 credits)
The course examines the social, cognitive, and motivational processes that a) underpin beliefs about and evaluations of men and women, b) afect behaviors toward and by men and women, and c) change or entrench attitudes and behaviors.
Learning (3 credits)
Theoretical and experimental approaches to human and animal learning; the relationship between systematic theory models and methodology; analysis of the historical and contemporary major contributions to learning theories.
Cognitive Development (3 credits)
A comparative information processing perspective on the development of mental structure and functioning, including perception, memory, problem solving, self-awareness of thinking, intelligence, concept formation and language development.
Current Topics in Cognitive Psychology (3 credits)
Focuses on contemporary knowledge and issues in the scholarly literature in selected areas in cognitive psychology. Emphases are on interdisciplinary approaches and critical thinking, including links to theoretical, empirical, and applied foundations of the field. Topics vary each term. Students may take a Current Topics in Cognitive Psychology course twice.
