Module PSYC3151: COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Department: Psychology

PSYC3151: COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Prerequisites

• Memory and Language (PSYC2081) OR Modules to the value of 100 credits from Level 2 Applied Psychology (C810)

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• PSYS3031 Applications of Cognitive Psychology

Aims

• This course will provide coverage of state-of-the-art research in memory and language.
• Topics will include autobiographical memory, working memory, memory accuracy, the development of memory, psychopathologies of memory decline as well as lexical, syntactic, semantic, thematic and discourse processing during language comprehension.

Content

• This module covers advanced issues in short-and-long-term memory and in the cognitive psychology of language.
• Underlying all three areas are the fundamental issues of the representation of knowledge and processes that act upon knowledge representations.
• Models in the areas of development of human memory, autobiographical memory, false memories, and the breakdown of memory following brain damage are included.
• Within language comprehension models of word identification, parsing and thematic assignment will be evaluated with respect to experimental evidence.
• Incremental interpretation and the processes associated with the on-line development of a coherent discourse representation will also be considered.

Learning Outcomes

• Detailed knowledge and understanding of current theory and evidence in the areas of memory and language

• Ability to review critically and consolidate understanding of a coherent body of psychological knowledge and apply it appropriately

• Good written communication skills
• Good IT skills in word processing, data manipulation and data presentation
• Abilities to work independently in scholarship and research within broad guidelines

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students' acquisition of detailed knowledge will be facilitated by lectures, some small group work, audio-visual materials, discussions and detailed reading lists.
• These modes of teaching provide students with detailed theoretical positions in light of current evidence.
• The summative essay and examination will assess students' detailed subject knowledge.
• The summative essay requires students to independently locate, organise and critically review material (no reading list is provided).
• An assessment of the range, recency and appropriateness of sources will be included in the overall assessment of the essay.
• The use of group discussions and small group work will ensure that students are exposed to a range of different theoretical positions, and encouraged to understand their inter-relations.
• Lectures, discussions and small group work will also give students the opportunity to interpret and evaluate the significance of empirical work.
• The summative essay and written examination assesses students' acquired knowledge of theoretical principles and empirical studies and their ability to organise and synthesise them coherently and critically in written form in response to a set question.
• The summative essay and examination will also assess students' written communication skills.
• Feedback on the summative essays will be available from the beginning of the Epiphany term, allowing students plenty of time to benefit from feedback on this aspect of their work.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University