Psychology of Action

Catalog description

Basic and applied science of action, from psychological, computational, and physiological perspectives. PSYCH 451 Psychology of Action (3) In all walks of life, people must adaptively control their physical movements. Whether in industrial settings, on the highway, in the kitchen, in the studio, in the concert hall, or on the football field, skillful physical action is essential. This course will focus on the means by which skilled physical behaviors are learned, planned, and controlled. The course will focus on a broad range of basic behaviors (e.g., reaching, walking, looking, speaking, and typewriting) as analyzed from several perspectives (physiologically, psycho-logically, and computationally). Basic science as well as practical applications will be emphasized, as will links between movement control and other, related topics such as perception, cognitive development, and robotics.This course addresses topics in an active research area in cognitive psychology. It assumes some prior knowledge of cognitive psychology, requiring PSYCH 100 and PSYCH 256 as a prerequisite. The course will cover some topics addressed in several Kinesiology courses, but does so from the perspective of cognitive psychology. It will fulfill a 400-level PSY requirement for Psychology majors and minors. Students typically will be assessed on the basis of midterm (25%) and final (35%) exams, brief writing assignments and in-class activities (15%) and research papers or projects (25%). The course will normally be offered once each academic year.