PSYC3012: Semester 1, 2020

University home

Library

Current students

Staff intranet

Find an event

Give

Current students

Units PSYC3012 Semester 1 2020 [Normal day]

Unit of study_

PSYC3012: Cognitive Psychology

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

This unit extends the theories and methods of investigating memory and attentional processes discussed in PSYC2013/PSYC2016 to consider a number of domains of higher cognitive processing including memory, language, categorisation, and reasoning. An integrating theme of the course will be how such cognitive capacities contribute to skilled behaviour and expertise across a range of domains of human behaviour, and how they are implemented in artificial intelligence systems. The practical program will expose students to a variety of the research methods used to investigate higher cognitive processes, develop their understanding of how these methods can be used to investigate hypotheses about mental processes and consider applications of cognitive research to real-world problems and issues.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	PSYC3012
Academic unit	Psychology Academic Operations
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	PSYC2012 and (PSYC2013 or PSYC2016)
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Irina Harris, irina.harris@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam	Final take home exam 24-48 hour take-home assessment	50%	Formal exam period	2.5+ hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Critique Written critique on a topic	15%	Week 06	750 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research report Report of research project - scientific format	35%	Week 10 Due date: 04 May 2020 at 11:59 Closing date: 01 Jun 2020	2000 words (+ 150 word abstract)
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Group Presentation Assignment. You will collaborate with other students to prepare a class presentation on a topic that will be given to you in the first tutorial. This is not a compulsory assessment. If you do not complete it, you will simply forgo the marks. A Special Consideration applied to this assignment will result in an alternative assignment being offered.
Class Participation. Ongoing attendance and participation in class discussion during tutorials. This is not a compulsory assessment. Please inform your tutor if you are absent, or if you attended a different tutorial.
Research Report. *Compulsory assessment. This is a 2000 word APA-style report on the experiment run in Week 2 of semester. Failure to submit this assignment will result in an Absent Fail (FA) grade. If you do not submit your report by the closing date, you will be required to complete an alternative assignment on a different topic to satisfy this course requirement. Unless you have applied for special consideration and had an extension approved till after the closing date, you will not receive a mark for the alternative assignment but it will be evaluated to determine whether it represents a serious attempt. Submissions that are not assessed as a serious attempt (e.g., wrong topic, too short, missing sections) will receive an Absent Fail (AF) grade.
Final Exam. *Compulsory assessment. A 2-hour exam consisting of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Students who are not able to attend the exam due to illness or misadventure may apply for Special Consideration and be offered a replacement exam. Note that the replacement exam may be of a different format (e.g., all short-answer questions). Failure to attend the exam, or a replacement exam, without special consideration will result in an Absent Fail (AF).

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	1. Course overview and administrative issues; 2. Similarity and Knowledge Representation 1	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 01	Similarity & Knowledge Representation 2	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	Categories and Concepts 1	Lecture (1 hr)
	Categories and Concepts 2	Lecture (1 hr)
	1. PRAC EXPERIMENT. 2. Instructions for group assignment.	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 03	Applications to education and industry 1	Lecture (1 hr)
	Applications to education and industry 2	Lecture (1 hr)
	1. Bilingualism. 2. Class time for group assignment preparation	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 04	Machine Learning	Lecture (1 hr)
	Language and thought	Lecture (1 hr)
	1. Implicit Learning. 2. Class time for group assignment preparation	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 05	Developmental language disorders	Lecture (1 hr)
	Reading development	Lecture (1 hr)
	1. GROUP PRESENTATION. 2. Developmental disorders	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 06	Skilled reading	Lecture (1 hr)
	Theories of reading	Lecture (1 hr)
	1. RESEARCH REPORT INSTRUCTIONS. 2. Categorisation	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 07	Reading instruction	Lecture (1 hr)
	Object recognition	Lecture (1 hr)
	Teaching reading	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 08	Objects vs faces	Lecture (1 hr)
	Face recognition	Lecture (1 hr)
	Face and object recognition	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 09	Memory and Forgetting 1	Lecture (1 hr)
	Memory and Forgetting 2	Lecture (1 hr)
	NO TUTORIALS	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 10	Memory and Forgetting 3	Lecture (1 hr)
	Reasoning and logic	Lecture (1 hr)
	Reasoning 1	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 11	Theories of reasoning	Lecture (1 hr)
	Probabilistic approaches	Lecture (1 hr)
	Reasoning 2	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 12	Basic concepts in skilled behaviour	Lecture (1 hr)
	How do experts differ from novices	Lecture (1 hr)
	Skill acquisition	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 13	Determining the limits of expertise	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 13	Integrating reasoning and skill	Lecture (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance requirements for this unit of study have been amended. Where online tutorials/workshops/virtual laboratories have been scheduled, students should make every effort to attend and participate at the scheduled time. Penalties will not be applied if technical issues, etc. prevent attendance at a specific online class. In that case, students should discuss the problem with the coordinator, and attend another session, if available.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Textbook:

Cognitive Processes: Eysenck, M.W. & Keane, M.T. (2015). Cognitive Psychology: A student handbook (7th edition). New York: Psychological Press.

Addtional recommended readings will be listed on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Display basic knowledge and understanding of major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in cognitive psychology
LO2. Demonstrate ability to describe, explain and evaluate research studies examining cognitive processes involved in language, visual recognition, memory, reasoning and skilled behaviour.
LO3. Develop the ability to locate, collect, analyse, manage, integrate and convey information using appropriate resources, tools, methods and strategies.
LO4. Understand the issues involved in designing and conducting research to investigate cognitive psychological questions
LO5. Develop and apply critical and creative thinking, sceptical inquiry, and the scientific approach to solve problems related to cognitive psychology.
LO6. Use reasoning and evidence to recognise, develop, defend, and criticise arguments and persuasive appeals
LO7. Communicate effectively in a variety of formats in a manner that is appropriate to the audience and the context.
LO8. Work productively, collaboratively and openly across diverse groups, demonstrating understanding of the complexity of sociocultural, linguistic and international diversity.
LO9. Use information in an ethical manner and learn to recognise and promote ethical practice in research
LO10. Understand and apply psychological principles in interdisciplinary contexts; integrate and synthesise multiple viewpoints to work effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Some revisions will be made to lecture topics to reduce the amount of content covered.

Additional information

More information will be found on Canvas.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect