Fall 2024- Syllabus and Course Schedule
Psych. 310, Cognition
Professor - Erik Nilsen
Lecture: Tuesday, Thursday 1:50 - 3:20 p.m.
Human Computer Interaction Lab - BioPsy 121
Labs: BioPsy 121 Wednesday. 9:40 - 11:10 a.m. or 11:30 - 1:00 p.m.
Readings and texts to be announced in class and specified on syllabus. Obtaining them is your responsibility. One book required to purchase.
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
Connection to Class Moodle Site for Assignments and Class Communication
Connection to Google Drive for (some) Course Readings and other Resources
Course Overview
This course is designed to give you hands-on experience in scientific thinking,
reasoning, and experimentation in the area of cognitive psychology. You will
read about and participate in classic experiments in human cognition, critically
evaluate these experiments, discuss their implications, as well as examine recent
approaches (cognitive science, neural networks, evolutionary psychology) to
cognition. In short, the course will allow you to directly work on and experience
the types of tasks facing a modern-day research scientist in cognitive psychology.
Course Expectations and
Assignments
This course will involve reading a great deal of primary source journal articles.
It is expected that you will (thoughtfully) read the material before
the class session. I also expect active participation in all class discussion
and activities. Attendance is expected at all class sessions and is essential
for all lab days. These are days where the emphasis will be on experiential
learning which cannot be made up for in other ways. 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
35% Reaction Papers
Before specified class sessions in which we discuss an article, you are to read it and write some comments on the article. This can include a brief summary of the stated purpose of the article, how well the authors fulfilled that purpose, and what methods they used. You can also write any questions about concepts that were either unclear in the article or which need further elaboration. If you find any connection with other articles we have discussed in class or from your own experience, include these insights as well. Each paper should be less than 3 pages and take no more than one hour to write (above and beyond the reading time). The papers will be used to inform class discussions, and some of them will undergo peer and/or instructor review.
35% Lab Reports
The lab section of this course is meant to provide hands on experience in cognitive psychology. Students will conduct experiments directly related to the principles learned in the lecture portion of the course. These experiments will be done online using a variety of sources from the internet including the CogLab 2.0 software. Students will also provide written reports (Using APA guidelines) of experimental findings collected throughout the semester.
15% Class Participation
Consistent contributions to in-class activities, class discussion, group work is expected. If you are not in class, you cannot participate! If you are here in body only, but have not prepared your mind, it may be duly noted!
15% Individual Research Project
For the final project you will be writing a complete APA empirical scientific paper. We will discuss a couple of options for completing this assignment.
My overarching goals for Psy 310 are for you to acquire an understanding of the various theoretical perspectives, and research methods associated with cognitive psychology and to apply this understanding by formulating an individual research project. The learning objectives for this class include:
For the journal article and book discussions and laboratory exercises:
1. Explaining cognitive psychologists’ perspectives on the study of mental processes by:
2. Engaging in high-level discussion in response to scholarly readings by:
For the individual research project:
3. Demonstrating independence and intellectual maturity in the production of knowledge by:
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 |
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Wed. Oct. 9 LAB |
Positive Psychology Research on the Cognitive, Emotional and Social Benefits of Kindness and Gratitude The Greater Good Science Center - A Center for Applying and Supporting Positive Psychology. 19 Top Positive Psychology Interventions (PPI's) + How to Apply Them. Random Acts of Kindness Youtube Channel Kindness Media Example (Warning, do not watch in a setting where you aren't comfortable having your nasolacrimal ducts leak)
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Th Oct. 10
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Fall Break!
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T Oct. 15 | Thinking Fast and Slow - Class discussion and individual presentations (Moodle Forum) Read Chapters 18 - 27. Research presentations assigned below
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W Oct. 16 LAB | A brief mental palate cleanser from Thinking Fast and Slow!Exploring the Somatic Marker HypothesisCognitive Neuroscientists use case studies, neural network modeling and laboratory-based gambling tasks to understand the role of emotion and cognition in risky decision-making. In this section we will be exploring this topic with the material below. Before you read the material below, go to this website and fill out the personality inventory and play the Iowa Gambling Card Game that follows. This is the experimental task that is used to test the Somatic Marker Hypothesis in the research papers we will be reading. Doing this game in advance will help you understand the articles better and you will not be biased by knowing about the task before taking it. Take a screen shot of your results if you can to compare your results with the results in Bechara (1997) for the control group. Next read the Wikipedia Page for the Somatic Marker Hypothesis! Finally read through the two articles below. You can find them on the google drive class resources page. The first article below is the first empirical study presenting laboratory evidence for the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH). The followup article present a critique on how Bechara et al. interpreted their results and an alternative view about the relationship between cogniton and emotion in the Iowa Gambling Task! Be ready to engage in argument and debate over this heated topic, GSR's will raise! Which article do you find most persuasive? We will vote on it in class! Bechara, A. (1997). Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the. Science, 275, 1293-1293. Brand, M., Fujiwara, E., Borsutzky, S., Kalbe, E., Kessler, J., & Markowitsch, H. J. (2005). Decision-making deficits of korsakoff patients in a new gambling task with explicit rules: associations with executive functions. Neuropsychology, 19(3), 267. Impulsiveness Impairs and Arousal Assists Performance on the Game of Dice Task. Allison Sweeney, Noah Freed, and Erik Nilsen. Western Psychological Association Meeting. April 2010.
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Th Oct. 17
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T Oct. 22 |
Thinking Fast and Slow - Class discussion (Moodle Forum) Read Chapters 29 - 34. Research presentations as assigned below
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W Oct. 23 |
Slowing down for a breather- No lab today
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Th Oct. 24 |
Thinking Fast and Slow Read Part V - Two Selves Chapters 35 - 38. We will be discussing the whole section and its real life implications as a class. Here is a word cloud I created with relevant concepts. Bertrand, M., Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2006). Behavioral economics and marketing in aid of decision making among the poor. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 25(1), 8-23. Moodle Assignment is to either write a reaction paper or create a mind map comparing and contrasting the research and lived examples of the Experiencing versus Remembering Self that Kahneman presents in this final section of the book.
We will also be reprising the whole Magnus Opus today and assigning small groups to discuss and present to the class ways that TFS informs our understanding of a few non-controversial topics like 1) COVID Testing, Mitigation Strategies and Vaccination Messaging 2) Global Climate Change 3) Systemic Racism 4) Immigration Policy 5) Health Care Policy 6) Gun Control Policy 7) Pet Eating Memes
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T Oct. 29 |
Music and the Mind!!For today please read and be ready to discuss (and perhaps vocalize?!?!) I have 4 articles I want us to discuss about different research approaches that that illustrate the powerful role music can impact our cognition and wellbeing on many levels. Vickhoff, B., Malmgren, H., Åström, R., Nyberg, G., Engvall, M., Snygg, J., ... & Jörnsten, R. (2013). Music structure determines heart rate variability of singers. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 334.
This paper aims to illuminate how singing and especially choir singing promotes wellbeing.
Tsang, C. D., Falk, S., & Hessel, A. (2017). Infants Prefer Infant-Directed Song Over Speech. Child development, 88(4), 1207-1215.
Satoh, M., Yuba, T., Tabei, K. I., Okubo, Y., Kida, H., Sakuma, H., & Tomimoto, H. (2015). Music therapy using singing training improves psychomotor speed in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a neuropsychological and fMRI study. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders extra, 5(3), 296-308. Schneider, C. E., Hunter, E. G., & Bardach, S. H. (2018). Potential Cognitive Benefits From Playing Music Among Cognitively Intact Older Adults: A Scoping Review. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 0733464817751198.
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W Oct. 30 LAB |
Consultations with Erik to refine and advance Final Project Proposals! Each person signs up for at least 1 meeting after submitting their Initial Proposals on the class moodle page.Upload a 1 - 2 page document containing the basic idea of your research project, including methodology, hypotheses and citation and brief summaries of at least 2 primary source research articles related to your topic. |
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Th Oct. 31
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Sex and Gender and Psychology, OH MY!
The Future of Sex and Gender in Psychology: Five Challenges to the Gender Binary is a thoughtful piece that will give us a lot to think about. Below are small working groups to lead discussions of the 5 sections of the paper below.
The Challenge From Neuroscience - Kyle, Toby, Alma, Hazel The Challenge From Behavioral Neuroendocrinology - Jade, Lyric, Eva, Iman The Challenge From Psychological Research: Gender Differences and Similarities - Ishani, Rache,l Clara, Ila The Challenge From Psychological Research With Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals - Leila, Valentine, Alula, Henry The Challenge From Developmental Psychology - Kelsie, Will, Alex, Isabel
Changes Over Time in the Comprehension of He and They as Epicene Pronouns is an article that shows that personal pronouns matter in how they prime our reading and how the language has changed over 15 years.
How the APA changed their practice (and the publication manual) based on research on the use of pronouns! Keener, E., & Kotvas, K. (2023). Beyond he and she: Does the singular use of “they, them, their” function generically as inclusive pronouns for cisgender men and women?. Gender Issues, 40(1), 23-4
Finally, Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior is an article that I found that is a case study of how Sweden was the first country to formally add a third gender-neutral pronoun to their language and how public perception transformed over a 4 year period. Gustafsson Sendén, M., Renström, E., & Lindqvist, A. (2021). Pronouns beyond the binary: The change of attitudes and use over time. Gender & Society, 35(4), 588-615. A very interesting article that shows how other languages beyond Swedish are adjusting to a multigendered world!
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T Nov. 5 | Psychology of HumorPlease (1) Read the links provided below, (2) take the Humor Styles Questionnaire, and (4) contribute to the class moodle forum by the end of the day on Wednesday, Nov. 6th. Here is the Humor Styles Questionnaire to take online and record your scores for discussion in class. I want each of us to come up with one question or open ended observation from the course material assigned for today and post it on this forum as a new item by the end of the day on Wednesday, Nov. 6th. Then read them and make a response with your perspective and observations to at least 2 of them by class time on Thursday, Nov. 7th (*Make sure that your postings show that you read and engaged with the material and can be answered in a open ended way rather than just a simple YES or NO!*). I will seed the forum with an entry or 2 to give you examples. You can respond to 1 of mine if you choose as part of the 2 assigned responses.
What's so funny, and why, and where? What Makes Things Humorous. Warren(2015) Humor comprehension in older adults. Mak(2007).pdf Humor Modulates the Mesolimbic Reward Centers. Mobbs(2003).pdf
We will look at these during class, no need to look at them ahead of time. The Laugh Lab of Dr. Richard Wiseman. Cross Cultural Appreciation of Humor. The original Laugh Lab Final Report from 2002. and a list of 1001 clean jokes from the study! Gotta Love the Far Side Humor! An animated short. Laughter Online University Website.
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W Nov. 6 |
We all need a break to recover from election fatigue! |
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Th Nov. 7 | False Memories - In the Lab and Beyond!!
Wade (2002). A picture is worth a thousand lies: Using false photographs to create false childhood memories. Greenberg (2004). President Bushs False Flashbulb Memory of 9/11/01. False beliefs about fattening foods can have healthy consequences. Alda/Loftus video clip (33:08 - 40:12)
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T Nov. 12
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Slips of the tongue and action: A Theory of Attention Based on Errors!
We will be looking at the cognitive psychology of slips of the tongue (aka Spoonerism) and slips of action. We all succumb to these odd mistakes that catch us by surprise. Have you ever ended up in your driveway when you intended to drive somewhere else? Have you ever been in the shower and forgotten if you shampooed yet? You know that I have said things that I did not quite intend a number of times in class this term and if you admit it, you do this occasionally as well! I have two articles with amusing collections of these types of errors and a model of attention that tries to explain them! Norman, D. A. (1981). Categorization of action slips. Psychological review, 88(1), 1. (Find it on the Class Google Drive) Hauptman, Don (2014) ""Pay No Attention To The Can Behind The Merton" A Gallimaufry of New Spoonerisms," Word Ways: Vol. 47 : Iss. 3 , Article 2.
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W Nov. 13 LAB |
False Memory LabWe will go over the lab results from a previous semester in class to that we can analyze it and create an APA style results section including an APA style graph that will be due on the moodle next Tuesday, Nov 19th at 9 p.m. SPSS and APA Figure Creation Workshop using False Memory data collected last year.
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Th Nov. 14 | Human Cognition Through the Lens of Social Engineering CyberattacksBhusal, C. S. (2021). Systematic Review on Social Engineering: Hacking by Manipulating Humans. Journal of Information Security, 12, 104-114. Montañez, R., Golob, E., & Xu, S. (2020). Human cognition through the lens of social engineering cyberattacks. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1755.
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T Nov. 19
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Meditation and the BrainNeural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners. Brefczynski(2007).pdf Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Tang(2007).pdf Loving-Kindness Meditation Increases Social Connectedness Hutcherson(2008).pdf Buddhas Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation Davidson(2007).pdf
Way out there. The god helmet! and brain damage induced religious experience |
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W Nov. 20 |
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Th Nov. 21
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Roundtable Presentations and Discussion of your Final Projects. Come prepared with a 2ish page summary of your research topic, relevant literature, study design, hypotheses and expected results to share with the class as a whole and in small affinity groups. Post your ideas to this linked Google doc and be ready to help each other move their projects ahead! Check out the document for some guidance to help you develop your idea and an example of a project I would do if I were a student and not the Prof. ;^).
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T Nov. 26
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Moral Decision Making and TrolleyologyThe Trolley Problem scene from "The Good Place"
Please read Hauser (2007) and look over the website on Double Effect before class. Article to Read Hauser et al. 2007 The Principle (Doctrine) of Double Effect goes back to Thomas Aquinas' writings in 1274! examples of it's application to real life ethical quandaries like euthanasia. and the use of Military Drones. Trolleyology Overview Video1, and Video 2 a bit of background on Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development
The Moral Machine Website from MIT! Awad, E., Dsouza, S., Kim, R., Schulz, J., Henrich, J., Shariff, A., ... & Rahwan, I. (2018). The Moral Machine experiment. |
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T Dec. 3 |
Introduction to Sensory-Sensory, Sensory-Motor Interactions, Illusions and Delusions!Good six minute Overview Video of Synesthesia with Witthorft Shoutout! Hearing Colors, Tasting Shapes. RamaHubbardSciAm_2003.pdf. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Edward M. Hubbard. Scientific American. p 52 - 59. May, 2003. SYNESTHETIC COLORS DETERMINED BY HAVING COLORED REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS IN CHILDHOOD Witthorft(2006).pdf Synesthesia Overview and Case Studies Synesthesia Immersion Video - Colorful Acoustic Letters! Musical Color 360 Immersive video Rama - Lama- chandran NOVA video on Secrets of the Mind on Phantom Limb Syndrome will be shown in class. Be prepared to be intrigued! Phantom Limb Therapy A controlled pilot study of the utility of mirror visual feedback in the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome (type 1). McCabe(2003).pdf Investigating the efficacy of a virtual mirror box in treating phantom limb pain in a sample of chronic sufferers. Murray(2006).pdf
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W Dec. 4 | Phantom Fun, Somatosensory Strangeness, and Kinesthetic Quirks. Touching a Rubber Hand: Feeling of Body Ownership Is Associated with Activity in Multisensory Brain Areas. Ehrsson(2005).pdf Rubber Hand Video (don't watch until class time) First Person Experience of Body Transfer in Virtual Reality VR for Phantom Pain Relief and improving recovery of movement for stroke victims
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Th Dec. 5 |
Final Project - Draft of Introduction, Lit Review and Methodology due at class time today on the class moodle page. You also need to bring a printed copy of your draft to exchange in class and conduct a professor directed peer review. |
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T Dec. 10 |
Workshop to Create Data sets for Final ProjectTo make the best use of the time today, come with your hypotheses, your experimental design, including your independent variables and dependent variables and their units of measurement and a graph of what data would support your hypotheses. |
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W Dec. 11 | 1st draft of Results and Discussion Section due on class moodle page Due at class time today. We will be conducting a prof. directed peer review during class today |
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Monday, Dec. 16 8:30 - 11:30 |
Erik will be available in the classroom for consultation on your final paper. Signup will be provided. Final Papers are due in electronic form, uploaded to the moodle by 11:59:59 p.m. on the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 18th. |
http://webhost.lclark.edu/nilsen/310fa24.html
Created by nilsen@lclark.edu