Cognitive Psychology

This subject is not offered in 2013.

36 contact hours, estimated total time commitment 120 hours

There are no prerequisites for this subject

There are no corequisites for this subject

Prior coursework in the two Level 1 psychology subjects, Mind Brain and Behaviour 1 and Mind Brain and Behaviour 2 is recommended.

51224 Cognitive Psychology 2

512226 Cognitive Psychology

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards of Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit Website: http://wwww.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Mental processes such as attention, memory, language and categorisation form the basis of our creative human cognitive abilities. An understanding of these cognitive abilities and the methods used by cognitive psychologists to study them provides an essential foundation for ongoing study in psychology. Classic and current research findings will be discussed to reveal what is known about the workings of the human mind.

Specific topics may include: Perceptual processes and their role in cognition; the nature and function of selective attention; categorisation and the mental representation of knowledge; the structure, function and organisation of the human memory system; human linguistic ability. including language acquisition, language disorders, and models fo spoken and written language processes; higher order cognitive processes such as explanation formation and decision making.

A quantitative methods component will be integrated into the lecture, tutorial and assessment structure of this subject. The aim is to provide an understanding of, and practical experience with, the appropriate experimental design and statistical analysis techniques used to evaluate theories in Cognitive Psychology.

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• give a critical account of the main theories in one or more areas of cognitive psychology
• derive testable empirical predictions from a theory that is expressed in abstract, informational processing terms
• assess the adequacy of a cognitive theory in relation to a given set of experiemental findings, and
• summarise and analyse data in a way that is appropriate to the empirical test of a cognitive theory.

Written laboratory report of 2,000-2,500 words (50%) (due beginning of non-teaching period)

A multiple choice examination of no more than two hours (50%) to be completed at the end of semester during the specified University examination period.

Completion of progressive on-line short-answer written self-tests (maximum of 3) (due end of week 6 and end of week 11) is a hurdle requirement.

Attendance of at least 80% of the laboratory classes is a hurdle requirement. In case of failure to meet the hurdle requirement, additional work will be required before a passing grade can be awarded.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Students will be given appropriate opportunity and educational support to develop skills to:

• conceptualise theoretical problems
• form hypotheses and arguments and communicate them through written work and tutorial discussion
• participate in team work through small group discussions
• develop skills related to the ability to research an area and analyze the information critically