Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to cognition, an area of psychology that investigates the ways in which we acquire, store, create and use knowledge. Cognition includes a wide range of mental processes that are used every day in almost all human activities. These include neuroscience, attention, perception, memory, imagery, language, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning. Cognition refers to a theoretical approach in psychology that emphasizes the role of people's knowledge, reasoning, and expectations and this approach has had a broad influence on all areas of psychology. It also involves developing sophisticated methodologies to study processes that are not always observable. Cognitive research can be applied in order to improve mental functioning, e.g., developing programs for improving memory or cognitive rehabilitation for brain injury. It can also be used to address serious societal issues and problems such as understanding how people develop and use stereotypes, or why distraction by a cell phone is dangerous. Cognitive psychology has applications to many fields including medicine, the legal system, education, and understanding mental disorders. In addition, cognitive psychology is part of the active interdisciplinary field of cognitive science that also includes disciplines such as philosophy, neuroscience and artificial intelligence. This course provides an overview of the field of cognitive psychology, including its research, theory, and application. Content is presented through a combination of lectures, readings, activities, and demonstrations. A major goal of the course is to show how the major questions in cognition are addressed through empirical research. It also promotes critical thinking and encourages students to apply this knowledge to enhance their lives.