SUBJECT

Title

Cognitive Psychology 1.

Code

CCNM17-109

Type of instruction

lecture

Level

Master

Credits

6

Recommended in

Semesters 1

Typically offered in

Autumn semester

Course description

On the basis of the classical and modern theories this course gives master level knowledge in cognitive psychology. The main goals of the course are (1) to train basic skills that are necessary to use the concepts of cognitive psychology, (2) to introduce determinant theories, (3) to review the basic methods used in the empirical analyses of cognitive functions. The structure of the course consists of two parts: a general empirical foundation and an intensive discussion about the elements of the cognitive architecture. The overall theory systems and the unique theories of the cognitive fields are discussed equally. The form of the course enhances competence of the students, which will enable them to learn the research results supporting and/or contradicting the theories in greater depth, to study them independently, and to recognize the practical relevance of the theories.

Learning outcome, competences
knowledge:

  • Basic concepts of cognitive psychology
  • Theories of perception, memory and thinking, including current research trends and their outputs
  • Relations of cognitive mechanisms and their malfunctioning

attitude:

  • Ability to understand and ask questions in relation to the functioning of mind
  • Utilisation of knowledge in scientific communication, presentation

skills:

  • Skills af applying main methods
  • Skills of identifying a nd segmenting basic psychological mechanisms

Content of the course
Topics of the course

  • Introduction – sensation, psychophysics, perception, mental representations
  • Perception and attention; selective attention visual perception
  • Hearing: auditory attention and speech perception
  • Learning: basic concepts, implicit learning
  • Motor behavior, spatial orientation, sensomotor integration
  • Cognitive control: automatic and controlled attentional processes, central executive, working memory. Consciousness and control processes 
  • Memory systems: theories and models
  • Knowledge, remembering and forgetting
  • Episodic and autobiographical memories
  • Concepts, categorization
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Language and thought
  • Social cognition and theory of mind

Learning activities, learning methods:
Lectures and interactive discussions

Evaluation of outcomes
Learning requirements, mode of evaluation, criteria of evaluation:

requirements

  • Reliable basic knowledge in the domain of cognitive psychology

mode of evaluation: written exam

criteria of evaluation:

  • Knowledge on basic concepts and the skill of utilizing the theoretical modells and basic methods of cognitive psychology adequately
Readings

Braisby, N., & Gellatly, A. (2012). Cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press
Czigler, I., & Winkler, I.(Eds). (2010). Unconscious memory representation in perception. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.