Psychology 3341: Cognitive Processes Spring 2020

Section 252: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:00 a.m.-12:20 p.m., room UAC 205

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Carmen Westerberg PHONE: 512-245-3152 OFFICE: UAC 259 EMAIL: [email protected] OFFICE HOUR: Tues 2:00-3:00 pm, or by appointment

COURSE OBJECTIVES: PSY 3341 provides an introduction to cognitive psychology: the scientific study of human mental processes. Contemporary study of perception, attention, memory, imagery, language, problem solving, reasoning and decision-making will be covered. This is a writing intensive course. Students will be required to write a research report and exams will include essay portions. Prerequisite: PSY 3402.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: After completing this course, students will have mastery of: • The historical origins and development of cognitive psychology as a scientific discipline • Methods used to address questions relating to human cognition • Current knowledge regarding how humans perceive, attend, remember, imagine, use language, make decisions, reason, and solve problems The Department of Psychology has adopted expected student learning outcomes for the undergraduate major, the graduate major, and for PSY 1300, a general education course meeting a requirement for the social and behavioral science component. These learning outcomes are available at the following website: http://www.psych.txstate.edu/undergraduate/assessment.html.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: McBride, D.M. & Cutting, J.C. (2019). Cognitive Psychology: Theory, Process, and Methodology, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc. ISBN: 978-1506383866. You will need the textbook to complete assigned readings and assignments. Either the electronic version or the paperback version of the book is fine. Your success will not depend on having access to the “Interactive eBook”.

TRACS: All lecture slides and study guides will be posted in the “Resources” section on the TRACS site, and all written assignments will be turned in under the “Assignments” section on the TRACS site. Announcements, grades, and other information will also be posted on TRACS. Access TRACS using your netID at https://tracs.txstate.edu/portal/login/. In the “Resources” section: • Each set of lecture slides will be posted, named with the date and topic. For example: “PSY3341_1.21.20_Introduction.pptx”. • For each lecture, a study guide will also be posted, named with the date and topic. For example: “PSY3341_1.21.20_Introduction_StudyGuide.docx”.

(1) ATTENDANCE POLICY: • Attendance is not required but is strongly encouraged. Lectures will include material not covered in the textbook, and exams will test material from both the lectures and the textbook. In addition, points will be given for in-class activities on certain days. • Also, please keep in mind that arriving excessively late to class and leaving early from class is very disruptive to other students and also the instructor. Please make every effort to arrive to class on time. On exam days, only students who arrive to class on time, or within 10 minutes of the start time, will be allowed to take the exam. • What to do if you miss a lecture: If you miss class you do not need to notify the instructor, unless a serious issue results in an extended period of absences. A good rule of thumb after missing a lecture is to look through the lecture slides, read the corresponding material in the textbook, and attempt to answer the study guide questions for the lecture. At that point, if there are things you still do not understand, you should contact the instructor to clarify specific questions you have regarding the course material.

STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: If you are a student with a disability who will require accommodation(s) to participate in this course, please contact me as soon as possible. It is the University’s goal that learning experiences be as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnancy, contact the Office of Disability Services as soon as possible at 512.245-3451 to establish reasonable accommodations.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: My lecture slides are my own original creations and they are under the protection of the U.S. copyright laws. Although you are authorized to take notes from these slides and create a derivative work, the authorization extends only to making one set of notes for your own personal use and no other use. You are authorized, however, to share your notes with other students in the class. You are not authorized to provide your notes to anyone else, or to make any commercial use of them without my express prior permission.

RESPECTFUL CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR: Appropriate student conduct in the classroom is expected, as it contributes not only to your ability to learn, but also to the ability of other students. This includes arriving to class on time and remaining for the entire time, refraining from side conversations, sleeping, and cell phone use. It is fine to use a laptop to take notes, but internet surfing and/or working on assignments for other classes is not appropriate. Upon repeated instances of inappropriate behavior, you may be asked to leave or to no longer bring a laptop to class.

ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT: The following information is directly quoted from the Texas State University Honor Code https://www.txstate.edu/honorcodecouncil/Academic-Integrity.html.

As members of a community dedicated to learning, inquiry, and creation, the students, faculty, and administration of our University live by the principles in this Honor Code. These principles require all members of this community to be conscientious, respectful, and honest.

(2) WE ARE CONSCIENTIOUS. We complete our work on time and make every effort to do it right. We come to class and meetings prepared and are willing to demonstrate it. We hold ourselves to doing what is required, embrace rigor, and shun mediocrity, special requests, and excuses.

WE ARE RESPECTFUL. We act civilly toward one another and we cooperate with each other. We will strive to create an environment in which people respect and listen to one another, speaking when appropriate, and permit other people to participate and express their views.

WE ARE HONEST. We do our own work and are honest with one another in all matters. We understand how various acts of dishonesty, like plagiarizing, falsifying data, and giving or receiving assistance to which one is not entitled, conflict as much with academic achievement as with the values of honesty and integrity.

Violation of the Honor Code includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work, plagiarism, collusion and the abuse of resource materials. • Cheating means engaging in any of the following activities: (1) copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer files, data listings, or programs; (2) using, during a test, materials not authorized by the person giving the test; (3) collaborating, without authorization, with another person during an examination or in preparing academic work; (4) knowingly, and without authorization, using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, soliciting, copying or possessing, in whole or in part, the contents of an unadministered test; (5) substituting for another student or permitting another person to substitute for oneself in taking an examination or preparing academic work; (6) bribing another person to obtain an unadministered test or obtain information about an unadministered test; and (7) purchasing, or otherwise acquiring and submitting as one’s own work any research paper or other writing assignment prepared by an individual or firm. • Plagiarism means the appropriation of another’s work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written work offered for credit. • Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit. • Abuse of resource materials means the mutilation, destruction, concealment, theft or alteration of materials provided to assist students in the mastery of course materials.

Academic penalty will be imposed in cases involving violation of academic honesty: • Cheating, plagiarism, or collusion on an exam or paper will result in a grade of 0 for that exam or paper and a one grade reduction of the final grade (e.g., if a “B” is earned based on academic performance, a “C” will be assigned). • Cheating, plagiarism, or collusion on an assignment will result in a 0 for that assignment and a one grade reduction of the final grade (e.g., if a “B” is earned based on academic performance, a “C” will be assigned). • Cheating on an extra credit assignment will result in no extra credit points awarded and a one grade reduction of the final grade. • All other violations of the honor code will be handled on a case-by-case basis and may include a requirement to withdraw from the course with a grade of “F” or a “W”

(3) GRADING: Grades will be based on your performance on four exams (3 midterm exams, 1 final exam), four in-class activities, ten “Thinking About Research” assignments, and a written research report. Grades will be determined as follows: Item Points % of final grade Exams 60 points each 60% (15% each x 4) In-class activities 5 points each 5% (1.25% each x 4) Thinking About Research assignments 8 points each 20% (2% each x 10) Research report 60 points 15% Total: 400 points 100%

At the end of the semester your points will be totaled (four exams, one research report, four in- class activities, 10 Thinking About Research assignments, and extra credit), and converted to a percent, with 400 points = 100%. Your final grade will be determined using the following scale: The following grading scale will be used: 358 – 400 points 89.5-100% A 318 – 357 points 79.5-89.4% B 278 – 317 points 69.5-79.4% C 238 – 277 points 59.5-69.4% D < 238 points < 59.5% F Standard rounding rules (to one decimal place) will be strictly followed.

Exams: Three exams will be given throughout the semester in addition to a final exam. Each exam will be comprised of multiple-choice (24 points) and essay questions (36 points). The final exam will not be cumulative and will be in the same format as the midterm exams. If you miss an exam for an excused reason, please provide proper documentation to the instructor. With proper documentation, you will be allowed to make-up the missed exam during the last week of class. In-class activities: Four times during the semester, an activity designed to enhance student learning of relevant concepts will be completed during class time. All students will be expected to be present and participate in the activity on those days. The primary grading criterion will be participation. If you miss one of the in-class activities for an excused reason, please provide proper documentation to the instructor. With proper documentation, you will be allowed to complete a make-up assignment within a reasonable time frame. The “reasonability” of the time frame is at the sole discretion of the instructor. “Thinking About Research” assignments: At the end of each chapter in the textbook, a published experiment conducted by researchers in the field that is relevant to concepts in the chapter is described in the “Thinking About Research” section. Students are expected to read the chapter and answer the questions provided in the textbook in the “Thinking About Research” section in essay format. Answers should be uploaded to the TRACS site under the “assignments” tab. All assignments are due by 11:00 a.m. on the date listed in the course outline below. No late assignments will be accepted, regardless of the reason. However, only the 10 highest scores

(4) from the 12 total assignments will count towards your final grade and the lowest 2 scores will be dropped. Therefore, two assignments can be missed without negatively affecting your grade. Research report: One written research report (> 500 words) is required. Instructions for the research report will be distributed separately and discussed during class. Extra credit: Extra credit opportunities (usually 1-2 points) may arise through participation in research or attendance at relevant talks and will be announced in class. Note that students who do not attend class regularly may miss these announcements. Extra credit points will count toward the 400 total points possible in the course.

COURSE OUTLINE (subject to change at the instructor’s discretion)

DATE CLASS TOPIC READING AND ASSIGNMENTS Tu Jan 21 Introduction to Cognitive Chapter 1 Processes Th Jan 23 Introduction to Cognitive Chapter 1 Psychology Tu Jan 28 Cognitive Neuroscience Chapter 2 Thinking About Research 1 (pp. 15-16) due Th Jan 30 Cognitive Neuroscience; Chapter 2 In-Class Activity #1 Thinking About Research 2 (pp. 42-43) due Tu Feb 4 Perception Chapter 3

Th Feb 6 Perception; Exam 1 Chapter 3 Review Thinking About Research 3 (pp. 70-71) due Tu Feb 11 Exam 1

Th Feb 13 Attention Chapter 4

Tu Feb 18 Attention; Memory Chapter 5 Structures and Processes Thinking About Research 4 (pp. 97-99) due Th Feb 20 Memory Structures and Chapter 5 Processes Thinking About Research 5 (pp. 126-128) due Tu Feb 25 Long Term Memory: Chapter 6 Influences on Retrieval Th Feb 27 Long Term Memory; Chapter 6 In-Class Activity #2 Thinking About Research 6 (pp. 157-158) due Tu Mar 3 Research Report Intro; Exam 2 Review Th Mar 5 Exam 2

Tu Mar 10 Memory Errors Chapter 7

Th Mar 12 Memory Errors Chapter 7 Thinking About Research 7 (pp. 189-190) due

(5) Tu Mar 17 SPRING BREAK

Th Mar 19 SPRING BREAK

Tu Mar 24 In-Class Activity #3; Chapter 8 Imagery Th Mar 26 Imagery Chapter 8 Thinking About Research 8 (pp. 213-214) due Tu Mar 31 Language Chapter 9 Research Report due Th Apr 2 Language; Exam 3 Review Chapter 9 Thinking About Research 9 (pp. 250-251) due Tu Apr 7 Exam 3

Th Apr 9 Concepts and Knowledge Chapter 10

Tu Apr 14 Concepts and Knowledge; Chapter 11 Problem Solving Thinking About Research 10 (pp. 281-283) due Th Apr 16 Problem Solving Chapter 11 Thinking About Research 11 (pp. 310-312) due Tu Apr 21 Reasoning and Decision Chapter 12 Making Th Apr 23 Decision Making; Chapter 12 In-Class Activity #4 Thinking About Research 12 (pp. 344-345) due Tu Apr 29 Make Up Exam Day

Th Apr 30 Final Exam Review

FINAL EXAM: Thursday, May 7, 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

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