Module Information
Module Identifier
PS20420
Module Title
Cognitive Psychology
Academic Year
2014/2015
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Pre-Requisite
PS11220 OR PS10220
Other Staff
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 x 2 hours |
| Seminars / Tutorials | 4 x 2 hours |
| Workload Breakdown | (Every 10 credits carries a notional student workload of 100 hours.) |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x essay (2500 words) | 50% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours written exam | 50% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Written Exam Students may be allowed to resit the failed element as determined by the examination board. | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x essay (2500 words) | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to.
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the central role of cognitive processes in human behaviour.
2. Identify the relationships between different cognitive processes.
3. Critically assess competing theories in cognitive psychology.
4. Examine and evaluate the primary research in all aspects of cognitive psychology.
5. Appreciate the nature of theoretical cognitive psychology and the implications for applied psychology to a cross section of professions.
Aims
Cognitive psychology has become a dominant paradigm in psychology with a wide reach into diverse areas of research into human information processing. The delivery of the subject at honours level is a core requirement both the British Psychological Society and the QAA BEnchmark for Psychology.
Brief description
This module exmines the main conceptual issues of concern to an understanding of a wide range of cognitive processes. Students will develop an understanding of of the main areas of the discipline such as attention, perception and memory together with more applied aspects of human function including thinking and reasoning and the cognitive, biological and developmental aspects of language.
Content
-HOW DO WE SEE?
- Attention
- Perception
- Imagery
- Categorisation -HOW DO WE REMEMBER?
- Memory
- Language -HOW DO WE THINK?
- Reasoning
- Problem Solving
- Judgement and decision making
- Intelligence, including animal and artificial
- Cross-Cultural Cognition • Emotion and Cognition
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | Not directly applicable although students will be expected to comment on aspects of statistical analysis through the examination of research designs. |
| Communication | Students will understand the importance of information and clear communication and how to exploit these. They will know how to use the many sources of information available and how to use the most appropriate form of communication to the best advantage. They will learn to be clear and direct in their and to be direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic and to focus on the objectives of their argument or discussion. Seminars will be run in groups where oral discussion and presentations will form the main medium of teaching. Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format and the presentation of work should reflect effective expression of ideas and good use of language skills in order to ensure clarity, coherence and effective communication. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | The module aims to promote self-management but within a context of assistance from both the facilitator and the fellow students alike. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and to exercise their own initiative, including searching for sources, compiling reading lists, and deciding (under guidance) the direction of their essay and presentation topics. The need to conduct seminars and to meet an essay deadline will focus students' attention on the need to manage their time and opportunity resources well. |
| Information Technology | Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format. Also, students will be encouraged to search for sources of information on the web, as well as seeking sources through electronic information sources (such as Web of Science, PsychLit and PsychInfo). |
| Personal Development and Career planning | The discussions in particular will help to develop students' verbal and presentation skills. Learning about the process of planning an essay and a presentation, framing the parameters and developing such activities, honing the projects and seeing them through to completion will contribute towards their portfolio of transferable skills |
| Problem solving | Independent project work and problem solving will be one of the central goals of the module; the submission of an essay will require that the student develops independent research skills as well as problem solving skills. The need to research and prepare for seminars will also enable the student to develop independent project skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and estimate an answer to the problem; consider case studies; reason logically; apply theoretical models; consider similar cases; look for patterns; divide issues into smaller problems. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of the student's ability to work alone can be undertaken. |
| Research skills | The submission of an essay will reflect the independent research skills of the student. The need to locate appropriate research resources and write up the results will also facilitate research skills. Research preparation for seminars will also enable the student to develop independent project skills. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of the student's ability to work alone can be undertaken |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students will have the opportunity to develop a wide range of subject specific skills that will help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and research publications presented on the module. These subject specific skills include: • Assessment of scientific methods in psychology. • Differentiation between research methodologies and when to use each one. • Demonstration of a familiarity with the techniques required for literature searches. • Appreciation of the complex interactions and diverse influences on human behaviour. • Appreciation of the nature of ethical research in the social sciences. |
| Team work | Seminars will consist in part of small-group discussion where students will be obliged to discuss as a group the core issues related to seminar topics. Such class room debates and discussions are a vital component of the module |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5