Psychology 105: Cognitive Psychology

Syllabus Draft
Tu/Th 9:30-10:50, Peterson 108

Hrs: TuTh 2:10 – 3:30 p.m.

Prof. David H. Peterzell, Ph.D., Ph.D.
Office: 2580 Mandler Hall (rarely here) Mandeville Coffee Cart
And by appointment
Email: Use WebCT e-mail or post non-
confidential questions on the WebCT
discussion board. For emergencies:
peterzel@psy.ucsd.edu

Grad T.A.
Email:
Liz Schotter, M.A.
eschotter@ucsd.edu
(Psycholinguistics, Office: Mandler 3572
Eye-tracking)
Miranda Scolari, Email:
M.A. mscolari@ucsd.edu
(Feature-based Office: TBD Hrs: TBD
attention, individual
differences)

Textbook (Required): Cognitive Psychology (4th edition), by Medin, Ross, & Markman $135 new, $101
used in the UCSD bookstore. ($97 new, $70.00 used on Amazon.com, Half.com).

Class Websites: (1) UCSD’s WEBCT http://webct.ucsd.edu. This site will provide Powerpoint
presentations, discussion boards, grades, a place to write us or your classmates, a place to provide feedback,
and more. This is a great place to ask general questions and have them answered quickly. (2) Student
Website for the textbook, Cognitive Psychology. This site provides optional readings, demonstrations, and
sample questions that demonstrate key points from the lecture and textbook.
Course overview: Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes. The topic covers a wide
variety of research areas -- from attention and perception to problem solving and creativity -- and we will
touch on most of them. In addition to providing broad exposure to the study of cognition, the course aims to
help students appreciate how the cognitive system solves seemingly impossible problems with apparent ease
through adaptation to the natural environment. Cognitive psychology integrates knowledge from psychology,
neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, computer science, anthropology, and more. The content of this course
overlaps considerably with the content of more basic Psyc 3 (General Psychology: Cognitive foundations).
This course is designed to cover relevant topics that are likely to appear on the GRE Psychology exam.

Exams: There are 3 multiple-choice exams. Each exam consists of 60+ questions/points. Each exam is worth
a maximum of 60 points. Exams are non-cumulative. All exams cover lectures and reading. Expect up to
30% of the questions to cover reading/website material not covered in lecture.

You MUST show up on time to exams. Anyone who misses an exam receives zero points for that exam. The
only exception is if you notify us as soon as possible and a valid excuse is verified, in which case the make-
up exam may consist entirely of essay questions. During exams, take only one copy of the test questions.
Turn this copy in at the front of class before you leave. Do not take copies of the exam with you. Do not
discuss the contents of any exam with students who have not yet taken it, or who are not enrolled in the class.
The USCD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship can be found online: http://www-
senate.ucsd.edu/manual/appendices/app2.htm

Sample Questions:

a. there are too many

possibilities available.
b. there are too few good
1. Computational possibilities available.
complexity presents a c. there is no way to
problem in every area distinguish among
of cognition because possibilities.
d. more than one accurate
in each area possibility is always
available.

2. On the first day of
class, Dr. Peterzell
provided an example in
which a neuroscientist
studied an old radio by
pulling out a transistor,
which caused the radio to
make a humming noise.
He suggested that
a. this demonstrates how
we can successfully
infer the function of
brain regions based on
brain damage
b. this demonstrates the
concept of
“computational
complexity”
c. this demonstrates a
problem with inferring
the function of brain
regions from the results
of brain damage
d. this demonstrates why
modern brain imaging
methods are superior to
older brain lesioning
(ablation) methods.

Grading: Your final grade will be determined by simply adding up your 3 test scores and seeing where you
stand relative to others. In general, I will use a curve to determine your grade. The mean total score will be a
B-. Roughly, the top 10% will receive an A, the next 10% an A-, the next 40% will receive some sort of B,
and many of the rest will receive some sort of C. These percentages do not take into account extra credit.

Grading safety net: Additionally, I include the following grade cutoffs to protect you in the event of a high
class average: If you get 100% on the 3 exams (180+), you will receive an A+ (and extra credit won't help
you here! I rarely give A+'s). A = 93.33% (168); A- = 90.00% (162); B+ = 86.66% (156); B = 83.33% (150);
B- = 80.00% (144); C+ = 76.66% (138); C = 73.33% (132); C- = 70.00% (126); D+ = 66.66% (120) (Can't
use EC here; see below); D = 63.33 (114); D- = 60% (108).

Examples of final curves/grades from some of my recent classes: Psyc 102 and 105 (before adding in extra
credit)
Example – grade histogram from Peterzell’s UCSD Psych 102 class, Spring ‘06

Examples – grade histograms from Peterzell’s UCSD two previous Psych 105 classes

Extra credit: You can earn extra credit by participating in UCSD psychology experiments advertised on the
Web (see class handout). You will earn 2 points for each hour of credit, 6 points maximum. Failing to show
up for an experiment you signed up for will cost you credit. Your final grade must be at least a C- to receive
the credit. Completing the extra credit gives you a good chance of moving up 1/3 of a grade (e.g., from a B+
to an A-). The link for scheduling experiments is: http://experimetrix.com/ucsd/. Problems or questions?
Contact Psychology Student Services Office, 1553 Mandler Hall
Adding the Course: Enrollment is limited to 300 students. To find out if the course is or is not full, contact
Psychology Student Services Office, 1553 Mandler Hall.

Special Needs: Students with documentable special needs should contact the instructor or one of the TAs by
the end of the first lecture. Waiting longer is not appropriate, and documentation needs to be provided prior
to exam time. Documentation must come from an appropriate professional. Required accommodations will
be made for these students, as required by law.

Schedule and Assignments: The exam dates are not subject to change. The dates that topics are presented
may vary somewhat. Some portions of each chapter will not be required reading. I will post lists on WebCT
regarding sections that are not required reading.

Wee
Date Topic Chapter
k
1 Tu Mar 31 Introduction 1
Th April 2 Learning 2
2 Tu Apr 7 Perception 3
Th Apr 9 Attention 4
3 Tu Apr 14 Memory I 5
Th Apr 16 Memory II 6
Tu Apr 21
4 Miscellaneous
Th Apr 23
5 Tu Apr 28 Exam 1
Th Apr 30 Memory III 7
6 Tu May 5 Memory IV
Th May 7 Imagery 8
Categorization I
7 Tu May 12 10
(guest)
Th May 14 Language (guest) 9
Fr May 15 Sun God Festival
8 Tu May 19 Exam 2
Th May 21 Decision Making 14
(not in
9 Tu May 26 Brain & Cognition
book)
Th May 28 Problem Solving 12
10 Tu Jun 2 Creativity 13
(not in
Th Jun 4 Culture & Cognition
book)
Final We Jun 8