The module will combine lectures and tutorials. The lectures will run over 11 consecutive weeks (2 hours per week). The tutorials will run every two or three weeks (2 hours each) and will each involve discussion of a paper set by the lecturer.
Students will read the relevant paper before the tutorial using a set of guidelines for critcally evaluating research articles. In tutorials students will be split into groups of 4/5 and will discuss their critical evaluations of the articles and their ideas for where the research could go next. The piece of coursework for the module requires students towrite a research proposal for an experiment (2) that could take forward the research in one of the articles that they discuss in tutorials.
Instead of being a critical discussion, the final tutorial will be for revision. All the module lecturers will be present and students will be able to work in small groups with each of them to go over material from the module and ask any questions.
Lecture 1 (PTS): The visual system
In this lecture we will cover the processing of visual information. We will discuss the visual pathway from the eyes to the brain’s visual cortex and beyond. We will consider some functional properties of different stages of visual processing. Further, a distinction will be drawn between visual processing for the purposes of recognition vs. that required to guide action.
Essential reading
Sekuler, R. & Blake, R. (2002) Perception 4E. McGraw Hill: Boston, MA. pp. 33-169
OR
Blake, R. & Sekuler, R. (2006) Perception 5E. McGraw Hill: Boston, MA. pp. 29-150
Recommended reading
Coren, S., Ward, L.M. & Enns, J.T. (1999, 2003) Sensation and Perception 5E, 6E. Harcourt Brace: Orlando, FL. pp. 50-84
Snowden, R., Thompson, P. & Troscianko, T. (2006) Basic Vision. OUP: Oxford. pp. 16-95
Lecture 2 (PTS): Perceptual learning and development
In this lecture we will cover the development of the visual system and how it can change in adulthood. We will explore how vision develops in childhood and learn about the formation of perceptual expertise in adulthood. Further we will consider the process and mechanisms of perceptual learning.
Essential reading
Blake, R. & Sekuler, R. (2006) Perception 5E. McGraw Hill: Boston, MA. Pp. 201-224
OR
Sekuler, R. & Blake, R. (2002) Perception 4E. McGraw Hill: Boston, MA. Pp. 228-250
Recommended reading
Coren, S., Ward, L.M. & Enns, J.T. (1999) Sensation and Perception 5E. Harcourt Brace: Orlando, FL. Chapters 16 & 17
Snowden, R., Thompson, P. & Troscianko, T. (2006) Basic Vision. OUP: Oxford. Chapter 8.
Lecture 3 (PTS): Face perception
This lecture will consider evidence for and against the notion that face processing is in some sense ‘special’, and explore the underlying neural mechanisms. The lecture will be illustrated with reference to some phenomena of face recognition.
Essential reading
Sekuler, R. & Blake, R. (2002) Perception 4E. McGraw Hill: Boston, MA. pp.235-243
OR
Blake, R. & Sekuler, R. (2006) Perception 5E. McGraw Hill: Boston, MA. pp. 208-215
Snowden, R., Thompson, P. & Troscianko, T. (2006) Basic Vision. OUP: Oxford. Chapter 10.
Recommended reading
Kanwisher, N. (2000) Domain specificity in face perception. Nature Neuroscience, 3, 759-763.
Tarr, M.J. and Gauthier, I. (2000) FFA: a flexible fusiform area for subordinate-level visual processing automatized by expertise. Nature Neuroscience, 3, 764-769.
Background reading
Robbins, R. and Mckone, E. (2007) No face-like processing for objects-of-expertise in three behavioural tasks. Cognition, 103, 34-79
Gauthier, I. and Bukach, C. (2007) Should we reject the expertise hypothesis? Cognition, 103, 322-330
McKone,E. and Robbins, R. (2007) The evidence rejects the expertise hypothesis: Reply to Gauthier and Bukach. Cognition, 103, 331-336
Lecture 4 (CC): Attention and Disorders of Attention
We will look more closely at neuropsychological disorders of attention. We will also discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using data from lesion patients to form conclusions about the workings of the intact brain. In the second part of the lecture we will discuss exogenous (“bottom-up”) and endogenous (“top-down”) processes of attention, including neuroscientific evidence for the effects of attention on sensory processing.
Essential Reading
Gazzaniga, M.S., Ivry, R.B. & Mangun, G.R. (2009). Cognitive Neuroscience: the Biology of the Mind (3rd edition). London: W.W. Norton. Chapter 12, pages 498-525 and 537-548.
Recommended Reading
Lecture 5 (CC): Further theories of Attention
This week we will cover theories of attention in detail, including the debate between early and late selection theories, attenuation, and perceptual load theory. We will look again at inattentional blindness and what these experiments can tell us about the link between attention and awareness. We will also discuss cross-modal attention and applications of this research to real world settings.
Essential Reading
Quinlan, P. & Dyson, B. (2008). Cognitive Psychology. Harlow; Pearson Education Ltd. Chapter 8, pages 271-288 and 302-311.
Recommended Reading
Chun, M.M. & Marois, R. (2002). The dark side of visual attention. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 12(2): 184-189.
Lavie, N. (2005). Distracted and confused?: selective attention under load. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(2): 75-82.
Spence, C. (2010). Crossmodal spatial attention. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1191: 182-200.
Background Reading
Revision of Level 1 material:
Gobet, F., Chassy, P. & Bilalic, M. (2011). Foundations of Cognitive Psychology. London: McGraw-Hill. Chapter 5.
Driver, J. (2001). A selective view of selective attention research from the past century. British Journal of Psychology, 92(1): 53-78.
Lecture 6 (HH): Learning and skilled memory
What makes someone able to remember 40.000 digits of phi and others struggle to remember a phone number of 11 digits? This lecture will explore skilled memory and expertise, the use of mnemonics and normal long-term memory.
Essential Reading
Quinlan, P. & Dyson, B. (2008). Cognitive psychology. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education Limited. Chapter 10.
Lecture 7 (HH): False memories and reconsolidation
Why do errors of memory occur? The areas of personal memories and how these are affected by emotional state and change over time will be explored looking at experimental studies, brain functions of reconsolidation and effects of interference.
Essential Reading
Quinlan, P. & Dyson, B. (2008). Cognitive psychology. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education Limited. Chapter 11.
Lecture 8 (AMC): Consciousness
This lecture aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of how unconscious processing occurs, how it can be investigated and what this tells us about human cognition. Concepts such as signal detection, priming and perceptual thresholds will be explained in the context of example empirical studies.
Essential Reading
Quinlan, P. & Dyson, B. (2008). Cognitive Psychology. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. Chapter 4: Masking, thresholds and consciousness (pages 115-133 only).
Recommended Reading
Cheeseman, J. & Merikle, P.M. (1984). Priming with and without awareness. Perception and Psychophysics, 36, 387-395.
Persaud, N., McLeod, P., & Cowey, A. (2007). Post-decision wagering objectively measures awareness. Nature Neuroscience, 10, 257-261.
Lecture 9 (AMC): Concepts and Categories
This lecture aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of how the categorisation of concepts can be investigated empirically and what the theoretical implications of such studies are. Example studies from the domain of colour categorisation will be presented enabling students to gain an understanding of a range of different methodological approaches that can be used within this context.
Essential Reading
Quinlan, P. & Dyson, B. (2008). Cognitive Psychology. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. Chapter 12: Semantic memory and concepts (pages 452-459 only).
Quinlan, P. & Dyson, B. (2008). Cognitive Psychology. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. Chapter 14: Language, knowledge and perception (pages 542-555 only).
Recommended Reading
Eysenck, M.W., & Keane, M.T. (2000). Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook (4th Ed.). Hove: Psychology Press. Chapter 10: Objects, concepts and categories.
Kay, P. & Regier, T. (2006). Language, thought and colour: Recent developments. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10 (2), 51-54.
Lecture 10 (NW): Decisions, judgements and reasoning
Heuristics, biases and fallacies in thinking will be explored with reference to decision making, judgement and deductive/inductive reasoning. The theory underlying these processes will be discussed alongside the real-world applications of reasoning and decision making. The general issues in thinking that were explored in level 1 (e.g. rationality) will be reconsidered in the light of the material presented in the lecture.
Essential reading
Byrne, R. M. J. (2002). Mental models and counterfactual thoughts about what might have been. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(10), 426-431.
Evans, J.St. B. T. (2003). In two minds: dual-process accounts of reasoning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 454-459.
Recommended reading
Bornstein, B. H., & Emler, A. C. (2001). Rationality in medical decision making: a review of the literature on doctors’ decision-making biases. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 7, 97-107.
Quinlan, P., & Dyson, B. (2008). Cognitive Psychology. Harlow, UK: Pearson.
Chapter 15: Reasoning
Background reading
Eysenck, M. W., & Keane, M. T. (2010). Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook (6th Ed.). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
Chapter 13: Judgement and decision making
Chapter 14: Inductive and deductive reasoning
Hastie, R. (2001). Problems for Judgement and Decision Making. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 653-683.
Meller, B. A., Schwartz, A., & Cooke, D. J. (1998). Judgement and decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 447-477.
Lecture 11 (NW): Making sense of the written word: Reading and text comprehension
This lecture will explore the processes involved in the route from print to meaning, considering the reading process and word recognition, theories of sentence parsing, and the role of inference in language comprehension.
Essential reading
Friese, U., Rutschmann, R., Raabe, M., & Scmalhofer, F. (2008). Neural Indicators of Inference Processes in Text Comprehension: An Event-related Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(11), 2110-2124.
Quinlan, P., & Dyson, B. (2008). Cognitive Psychology. Harlow, UK: Pearson.
Chapter 14: The nature of language and its relation to other mental faculties
Recommended reading
Seidenberg, M. S. (2005). Connectionist models of word reading. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 238-242.
Starr, M. S., & Rayner, K. (2001). Eye movements during reading: some current controversies. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 5(4), 156-163.
Background reading
Eysenck, M. W., & Keane, M. T. (2010). Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook (6th Ed.). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
Chapter 9: Reading and speech perception
Chapter 10: Language comprehension
Tutorial reading 1 (PTS):
McKone, E., Kanwisher, N., and Duchaine, B.C. (2007) Can generic expertise explain special processing for faces? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 8-15
Tutorial reading 2 (CC):
Spence, C. (2010). Crossmodal spatial attention. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1191: 182-200.
Tutorial reading 3 (HH):
Brainerd, C. J., Stein, L. M., Silveira, R. A., Rohenkohl, G. & Reyna, V. F. (2008). How does negative emotions cause false memories? Psychological Science, 19, 919-925
Bernstein, D. M. & Loftus, E. F. (2009). The consequences of false memories for food preferences and choices. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 135-139.
Tutorial reading 4 (AMC):
Regier, T., & Kay, P. (2009). Language, thought and color: Whorf was half right. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13 (10), 439-446.
