PSYC 327-01, Cognitive Processes, Spring 2006

Abstract

The psychology of human cognition is currently the dominant field in experimental psychology. There is an enormous amount of research that has been (and is currently being) conducted in this area. Such research addresses questions and ideas that are inherently interesting -- how we learn, reason, understand, and remember (just to name a few). Hopefully, you will leave the course with an introductory knowledge of a broad spectrum of theories and issues in cognitive psychology. Specifically, we will cover topics such as language, text comprehension, reasoning, and problem solving. There is an important distinction that you will need to learn in this course: The difference between (a) unfortified opinion and attitude and (b) scientific knowledge and principled argumentation. Psychology is a science, not merely a body of folk wisdom. Our claims and theories are fortified by scientific research. Opinions and attitudes tend to become less prominent as one's exposure to scientific material increases. This statement is not intended to discourage your expression of opinions during classroom lectures. Such opinions are greatly encouraged and often prompt interesting classroom discussions.