Fall 2024 - Syllabus and Course Schedule
Psych. 220, Thinking, Memory & Problem Solving
Professor - Erik Nilsen
Olin 301 (Chemistry Auditorium)
M, W 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Textbook - Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 5th Edition. E. Bruce Goldstein
Moodle page for turning in assignments and course resources.
The purpose of this course is to provide you with an overview of the basics of cognitive psychology through coverage of cognitive neuroscience, attention and consciousness, perception, memory, knowledge representation, language, problem solving and creativity, decision making and reasoning. An additional goal is to engage in experiential learning which will give you insight into the complexities, foibles and potential of human thought.
Course Expectations and
Assignments
This course does not presuppose an extensive background in psychology.
It is expected that you will (thoughtfully) read the material before
the class session. I also expect active participation in all class activities.
Attendance is expected at all class sessions. If you have a known conflict with any of these dates, talk with me at least
two weeks in advance and alternative arrangements (read more work ;^) can
be made.
Grading
13 @ 18% cumulative. Chapter Quizzes
For each of the 13 chapters, take a multiple choice quiz on the class moodle page BEFORE class. You can retake the quiz until you get 100%, so this portion of the course you have complete control over! Taking these practice quizzes will also help you prepare for the exams so use them wisely and well. No credit will be given for late submissions.
3 @ 14% each. Chapter Examinations
The exams in this class will consist of definitions and short essay questions taken from the textbook, powerpoints and lectures for the current section. Examinations are not cumulative. They will be open book, open note, and you will have 30 hours to complete them and turn them in electronically. Your answers must be generated using your own intelligence, without any assistance from Artificial Intelligence.
2 @ 6% each. "Real Life" Projects
Find something in popular culture (e.g. song lyrics, news, cartoon, television, film, art) or your personal experience that relates to a textbook topic we discuss in class and write a two - three page paper linking "real life" to textbook concepts. Only one project per chapter is permitted. The "find" must be original, not something presented in class or taken from another student. You will be graded on creativity, coherence and insight into the topic area that you show beyond the regurgitation of facts found in the textbook. Due dates are marked on the daily schedule. You will be presenting your projects orally to each other in small groups and turning in the written paper. Your grade will be determined by the peer feedback that you give and the instructors evaluation of your written work.
4 @ 6% each. Laboratories in Thinking
These are the days marked in BOLD in the daily schedule. Each day will be different and the evaluation will vary accordingly. Some labs will require advance preparation and gathering of resources on your part, some will involve collecting data from yourself and others using the CogLab 2.0 Software that you will be loaned for the class. Each lab will have a writing assignment accompanying the day's activity. The common element is that experiential learning will be emphasized and active participation will be the order of the day. Your grade will depend on your engagement with the material, connections made to the textbook concepts and quality of your written reflection rather than performance on the "thinking tasks".
4% Final Exam - Game Show Extravaganza
The final exam will be involve small groups working together to create a Psychology Themed Game Show using a portion of the textbooks. We will assign the groups during the last week of class and play the games online during the exam period. Your grade will be determined by your level of participation both in the preparation for and the playing of the games. Each person will write a short description of how they contributed to the groups preparation and will turn in a copy of the questions/activities which they developed for the project. You will not be graded on your "point total" in the games.
Up to 2% Extra Credit Coglabs
You may choose to do up to 2 of the Coglab 2.0 experiments and write-ups that are not assigned in class for 1% extra credit for each one. (1) Do the lab, (2) turn in your your data along with a short essay explaining how your results match up with the expected results, and (3) answer the Basic and Advanced Questions that are provided in the Coglab 2.0 student manual that you will find on the class moodle page in a file named <CogLabStudentManual.pdf>. These assignments must be completed by Friday, Dec. 13th and be turned in electronically to the class moodle site as MSWord attachments using the following naming convention (yourlastnameECpagenumber lab is found on in booklet.doc)
For example, If I am turning in the implicit learning lab found on page 123, my file would be NilsenEC123.doc
Fall 2024 Office Hours - Mon. 1:30 - 2:30, Thurs. 12:30 - 1:30. BioPsy 236. Zoom consultation by 24 hour advance appointment Tues. 12:30 - 1:30. email nilsen@lclark.edu. Cell Phone (503) 734-5614. I try to respond to e-mails promptly, by noon the following day if sent after 5 p.m. |
| Day & Date |
Topic |
| W Sept. 4 |
Introduction and Final Exam Preview! |
| M Sep. 9 |
Chapter 1. Introduction to Cognitive Psychology. (bring your 2 truths and a lie, ready to share) Post them on class moodle assignment by class time today. Special Topic - Lie Detection Skills and Technology Browse these APA Articles on Polygraph Validity, and Detecting Deception |
| W Sep. 11 |
Chapter 2. Cognitive Neuroscience Check out these links! Brain Teaser:Scientists dissect the mystery of genius! The 1981 Nobel Prize in Medicine was given to Roger Sperry for his discoveries concerning the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres. Very cool video showing how fMRI and electrode stimulation directly on the cerebral cortex can reveal how faces are perceived and the importance of the FFA. Most Relevant section 1:00 - 13:50. Fascinating (but long) video of a technology assisted brain surgery with an awake patient that illustrates the normal function of Broca's area for speech production and the Motor Cortex for facial movements. The most relevant section is from 10:40 - 20:00. Video of Split Brain Patient showing hemispheric specialization and what happens to brain communication when the corpus callosum is severed! It's all good! 10:11. The Connectome is a comprehensive diagram of all the neural connections existing in the brain. WIRED has challenged neuroscientist Bobby Kasthuri to explain this scientific concept to 5 different people; a 5 year-old, a 13 year-old, a college student, a neuroscience grad student and a connectome entrepreneur. 9:42 |
| M Sep. 16 |
Chapter 3. Perception. Interesting Discussion of Simultagnosia and patient RM (mentioned in textbook) Prosopagnosia Video shown in class. |
| W Sep. 18 |
Lab #1 Read the articles from the CogLab Reader (available on moodle) Lab due on Moodle by class time Wednesday Sep. 25th |
| M Sep. 23 |
Chapter 4. Attention. |
| W Sep. 25 |
Exam over Chapters 1 - 4 |
| M Sep. 30 |
Chapter 5. Short Term and Working Memory |
| W Oct. 2 |
Chapter 5 1/2 Three Memory Models and Clive Wearing Video Extravaganza |
| M Oct. 7 |
Chapter 6. Long Term Memory: Structure An informative TedEd video on what we have learned about memory from H.M. |
| W Oct. 9 |
Chapter 7. Long Term Memory: Encoding, Retrieval, and Consolidation |
| M Oct. 14 |
Chapter 8. Everyday Memory and Memory Errors Ted Talk on False Memory by Elizabeth Loftus |
W Oct. 16 |
1st Real Life Project Presentations Upload Papers and 1 page handout to Moodle by class time today. |
M Oct. 21 |
Lab #2 Encoding Specificity Coglab and Memory Game. Memory game results uploaded by Tues. 0ct.22nd at 9 p.m. and encoding specificity writeup due on Moodle Mon. Oct. 28th, by class time. |
W Oct. 23 |
Chapter 9. Conceptual Knowledge and Introduction to Neural Network approach to Cognition |
M Oct. 28 |
Exam over Chapters 5 - 9 |
W Oct. 30 |
Chapter 10. Visual Imagery |
M Nov. 4 |
Chapter 11. Language |
W Nov. 6 |
Lab #3 Escape Room Problem Solving - In class activity, writeup due on moodle by class time, Wednesday, Nov. 13th. |
M Nov. 11 |
12. Problem Solving and Creativity Here is a historical and cross cultural perspective on a classic "River Crossing" problem that we will try out in class today as an example of the Information Processing Perspective on Problem Solving! Here are 4 online variants of the problem that you can try out later on your own! (do not do before class!) The one we did in class is analogous to Level 3. |
| W Nov. 13 |
Problem Solving and Creativity Part 2: Lewis and Clark creativity and problem solving research . Research of our very own Janet Davidson a leading expert on insightful problem solving. Read it for discussion on Thursday. It is linked from the resources section of the class moodle page. We will also discuss a study of creativity and functional fixedness in young children from my own research from a few years ago.
Davidson, J. E., & Sternberg, R. J. (1984). The role of insight in intellectual giftedness. Gifted child quarterly, 28(2), 58-64.
Tangible Technology with Tangrams: Puzzling Findings for Functional Fixedness. Arianna Fascinating studies on Mind Wandering impacts on Attention, Memory and Creativity and even Happiness! |
| M Nov. 18 |
2nd Real Life Project Presentations Upload Papers and 1 page handout to Moodle by class time today.
|
| W Nov. 20 |
Chapter 13. Judgement, Decisions and Reasoning. Part 1
|
| M Nov. 25 |
Lab #4 Inductive Reasoning and Brand Naming - LC's Cognitive Psychology Shark Tank!! - In class activity, credit granted for participation with no writeup required. |
| W Nov. 27 |
Turkey/Tofu Day Break
|
| M Dec. 2 |
Chapter 13. Reasoning and Decision Making Part 2 APA article Describing Jerusha and Brian's work on Framing of Health Related Messages. Download the Actual Research Paper. Message Framing and Sunscreen Use: Gain-Framed Messages Motivate Beach-Goers |
| W Dec. 4 |
Plan Game Show Extravaganza |
| M Dec. 9 |
In Class Collaborative Exam over Chapters 10 - 13 |
| W Dec.11 | Game Show Extravaganza!! 3 - 6 |
| Wednesday, Dec. 18 | Insightful solution accomplished, have a great winter break! No meeting today |
http://webhost.lclark.edu/nilsen/220fa24.html
20 questions Artificial Intelligence
NASA Cognition Lab Memory Games
Brain Fingerprinting! Proceed with Caution 8^) 60 minutes video clip on Brain Fingerprinting
Nat. Acad. of Science Report on Lie Detection and Brain Activity
NeurImaging Links and examples
Pinky and the Brain sing Parts of the Brain Song!
Fascinating Discussion of Visual Neglect caused by Neurological Impairment
Online Demo of Stroop Effect
Best New Visual Illusions Competition Website! Prepare to be amazed!
Online Tutorial on Monocular Depth Cues and Art
15Mindtools.com has some good information on using several Mnemonic techniques
Links to THE MIND, and THE BRAIN videos used in class (Rajan Mahadevan, Clive Wearing etc.)
Must join (free) to view videos
Amazing Demonstration of "Photographic" Memory by autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire and some people trying to explain it (but not very convincingly!)
McGurk
1 -
RiverIQ Game for the Masochistic
A gentle introduction to Bayes Reasoning to make better informed medical, scientific, and legal decisions.
Interesting Variations on Wason Selection Task
Fascinating studies on Mind Wandering impacts on Attention, Memory and Creativity and even Happiness!