Syllabus, Spring 2021
Boston University
Version date: Jan. 23, 2021
Lectures: MWF 3:35–4:25pm (Boston time) in LSE B01
Discussion sections meet on Fridays as follows:
Students attending remotely will join lectures and discussion sections via Zoom (see Blackboard for Zoom meeting links).
Joseph T. McGuire, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Email: jtmcg@bu.edu
Drop-in group office hours: Thursdays 1:30–2:30pm (Zoom link on Blackboard)
One-on-one office hours Zoom appointments: Sign up for time slots here or email to arrange another time.
Yutong Li
Ph.D. student, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Email: ytli@bu.edu
Office hours: Email to set up a Zoom meeting.
This course is about how the human mind processes information. We will explore perception, attention, memory, knowledge, language, decision making, and problem solving. The goals of the course are for you to develop a working understanding of (1) the main findings and open questions in cognitive psychology, and (2) the tools and methods we can use to investigate those topics empirically.
Prerequisite: PS101, General Psychology.
We will use the following materials:
The textbook is available as a moderately priced e-book (see links on Blackboard). A physical copy is available in the Mugar Memorial Library Reserve Room.
We will follow BU’s “Learn from Anywhere” model this semester. Our goal is to make it possible for every student to engage fully with the course in spite of the disparate ways we’re each experiencing the disruptions caused by the pandemic. We welcome your feedback throughout the semester about the ways this course’s implementation of “Learn from Anywhere” is succeeding and the ways it could be improved. Aspects of the course may be modified in response to feedback and evolving conditions.
Up to 25 students can attend each lecture in person. Up to 14 can attend each discussion section. Sign up for in-person spaces by date using InClassLfA. Everyone must wear a mask while in the classroom and must be in full compliance with BU’s public health protocols (including COVID-19 testing and health screening). You may attend any/all classes remotely if you prefer.
Remote participants will join the class via the Zoom links on Blackboard. There are different Zoom links for lectures, discussion sections, and office hours. Remote students are expected to participate synchronously at our scheduled class time, except in cases of large time zone differences. If that applies to you, please email Prof. McGuire at the beginning of the semester to let us know what time zone you are in, and we will work with you to coordinate reasonable times to complete class work and exams.
Course grades will be calculated as follows:
Overall percentage scores will be converted to course grades as follows: 93.33–100 = A, 90–93.33 = A-, 86.67–90 = B+, 83.33–86.67 = B, etc.
A weekly batch of work, consisting of readings, a CogLab assignment, and discussion questions, is due by 11:00am every Friday (Boston time). You should complete the readings and assignments throughout the week leading up to the due date.
The topics we discuss in class will complement the readings rather than duplicate them, so it’s important to attend class. You may be absent for up to four classes without penalty.
All students will be expected to participate during lectures via the Zoom chat function. From time to time, we will pose questions and ask everyone to respond in a direct message to the instructor. Responses will factor into attendance/participation grades. Students attending in person should bring a laptop to class and join the Zoom meeting in order to use the chat (but video and audio may be left off). Remote students should be prepared to participate verbally on occasion. Please let us know ahead of time if you are not comfortable with occasionally being called on to respond out loud.
We plan to record all lectures. Recordings and slides will be made available to enrolled students via Blackboard. In consideration of your classmates’ privacy, please refrain from sharing recordings outside the class.
We will have five exams, tentatively on the dates shown in the schedule below. The first four exams will take place during class and the fifth exam will take place during our final exam slot, which is provisionally scheduled for Friday May 7 at 3pm.
Exams are cumulative and cover material from lectures, readings, CogLabs, and discussion sections. Your lowest exam score counts for 10% of your final grade and the other four count for 15% each.
Exams will be administered via Blackboard with a time limit. Exam questions will ask you to read graphs, interpret data, and reason about psychological theory and experimental design. Exams will be open-book and open-notes. You are not permitted to communicate or collaborate with others during the exams, and you are not permitted to share or post the exam questions.
Discussion sections give you a chance to consider the week’s readings and CogLab experiments more deeply and interactively. When joining discussion sections as a remote participant, please turn your camera on if possible. You are free to attend section at a time other than your enrolled time (we will revisit this policy if it becomes problematic). You may miss up to two section meetings without penalty, but you are still expected to complete the discussion questions and CogLab every week as described below.
Each week, please come up with two discussion questions related to different topics from the week’s readings or CogLabs. Write 2 or 3 sentences for each question, giving some context for your question and/or considering potential answers.
You have a lot of freedom in what you write your questions about. For example, you could consider any of the following:
The assignment is meant to help you collect your thoughts about what you want to talk about during discussion sections. We encourage you to bring up your questions in class! A secondary purpose is to give us general feedback about what everyone is finding interesting or puzzling. The weekly discussion questions are not the right place for questions that need a direct response from us (such as requests to review specific points, or questions about course logistics)—for those kinds of things, please send us an email or ask in class or office hours.
Submit each week’s discussion questions via the Blackboard assignment by Friday at 11:00am, beginning Jan. 29. Questions submitted between 11:00am and 11:59pm Friday are eligible for half credit.
The CogLab website gives you hands-on experience with classic cognitive psychology experiments. You can see what the experiment is like, read some background information, view your data, and view data from the whole class and users around the world.
Complete each week’s CogLab assignment by Friday at 11am, starting Jan. 29. The first week’s assignment (Jan. 29) may be submitted late without penalty. For subsequent weeks, late submissions will not receive credit. However, since CogLabs are covered on exams, you may still find it beneficial to complete the assignment even if the deadline has passed.
Detailed instructions for joining the course’s CogLab group are posted on Blackboard. After you log in, you can view the list of assigned labs and due dates by clicking “Access your account” and then “Assignments.” The CogLab server automatically keeps track of your completed assignments, and each assignment is graded all-or-none. To receive credit you must complete the entire experiment, having followed the instructions. If, for some reason, the CogLab server fails to record the completion of an experiment, you must repeat the experiment before the deadline to earn credit.
You are responsible for adhering to the Boston University Academic Conduct Code. Please make sure you are familiar with that document, as it describes how academic misconduct is defined and how any instances of possible misconduct will be handled. If you become aware of academic misconduct occurring in the course, please bring it to the attention of the instructor or the teaching fellow. We will take it seriously.
Monday Jan. 25: Introduction.
Wednesday Jan. 27: Mental chronometry.
Friday Jan. 29: History and precursors of cognitive psychology.
Monday Feb. 1: Cognition, neuroscience, and levels of description.
Wednesday Feb. 3: Visual perception and inference.
Friday Feb. 5: Face recognition.
Monday Feb. 8: Auditory perception.
Wednesday Feb. 10: Attention.
Friday Feb. 12: Visual search.
Classes do not meet on Monday Feb. 15.
Tuesday Feb. 16 (Monday schedule): EXAM #1.
Wednesday Feb. 17: Links between attention and memory.
Friday Feb. 19: Short-term memory and working memory.
Monday Feb. 22: Individual differences in working memory ability
Wednesday Feb. 24: Long-term recognition memory.
Friday Feb. 26: Long-term free recall.
Monday Mar. 1: Amnesia.
Wednesday Mar. 3: EXAM #2
Friday Mar. 5: How to remember things better.
Monday Mar. 8: Constructive processes in memory.
Wednesday Mar. 10: Memory consolidation.
Friday Mar. 12: Memory and the legal system.
Monday Mar. 15: Conceptual knowledge.
Wednesday Mar. 17: Connectionist models.
Friday Mar. 19: Metacognition.
Monday Mar. 22: EXAM #3
Wednesday Mar. 24: Numerical cognition.
Friday Mar. 26: Mental imagery.
Monday Mar. 29: Mental imagery, continued.
Classes do not meet on Wednesday Mar. 31.
Friday Apr. 2: Social cognition.
Monday Apr. 5: Language.
Wednesday Apr. 7: Units of language.
Friday Apr. 9: Language acquisition.
Monday Apr. 12: EXAM #4
Wednesday Apr. 14: Heuristics and biases in judgment
Friday Apr. 16: Prospect theory
Classes do not meet on Monday Apr. 19.
Wednesday Apr. 21: Expertise in judgment and decision making.
Friday Apr. 23: Planning, problem solving, and reasoning.
Monday Apr. 26: Intelligence and executive control.
Wednesday Apr. 28: Wrap up; current directions in cognitive psychology.
Friday May 7 at 3pm: EXAM #5 (pending finalization of BU’s exam week schedule)