Psychology of Attention and Consciousness (Effective Fall 2020)

Catalog description

Psychology of Attention and Consciousness addresses both the “hard” and “easy” problems of consciousness. The “easy” problem involves determining which brain area(s) associate with different psychological processes. Famous neuroscientists Francis Crick (co-discoverer of DNA double-helix structure) and Christoff Koch illustrate this in an approach called the neurophysiological correlates of consciousness (NCC’s). The “hard” problem addresses how physiological brain events produce subjective experience (consciousness). While the majority of scientists agree that consciousness arises from neurophysiological events, a major challenge has been to explain how these events produce subjective experience (e.g., what it is like to have the experience of pain or the experience of seeing a beautiful sunset). The course will survey cutting-edge research and theories in the areas of attention and consciousness. Content will also include applied topics such as the training of attention and the influence of sleep and sleep deprivation on these processes.