Psychology 213 -- Cognition When: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1.

05pm -- 2:25pm Where: Leacock Building, Room 132

COURSE SYLLABUS
Instructor: Office: Phone: Email: Office Hours: Prof Jelena Ristic N7/13 Stewart Biology Building 514 398 2091 jelena.ristic@mcgill.ca Fridays 9.30 -10.30a or by email appointment

Teaching Assistants (All Offices in Stewart Biology Building) Name Caitlin Mouri Sarny Balegh Naveed Sheikh Email caitlin.mouri@mail.mcgill.ca saharnaz.balegh@mail.mcgill.ca naveed.sheikh@mail.mcgill.ca Office N7/35 S3/32 N6/20 Office Hours Tue. 11.00a-12.00p Weds 11.30a-12.30p Weds 9.30a-10.30a

Course Description: This course is designed to provide you with a broad introduction to human cognition and includes the overview of topics like perception, attention, memory, language, and intelligence. The course will be centered on understanding the links between the human behavior and underlying brain mechanisms and will draw from the findings obtained by interdisciplinary research methodologies that include behavioral studies of human performance, studies of healthy and injured brain function, as well as animal investigations. Conferences. Conferences are designed to provide you with an overview of the material covered in text and in class, and will include topic summaries, worksheets, and example exam questions. All conferences are optional and will not be graded. Five conferences will be run during the term. See the Class Schedule for details. Prerequisites: One previous course in Psychology. Elementary knowledge of general psychological concepts is necessary for the successful mastery of this material.

Required Text
Benjafield, J.G., Smilek, D., & Kingstone, A. (2010). Cognition. Fourth Edition: Oxford University Press Canada. ISBN: 978-0-19-543032-5. Online study guide (including example questions):
http://www.oupcanada.com/higher_education/companion/psychology/9780195430325/student_resources.html

Or go to: http://www.oupcanada.com/higher_education/companion/psychology/9780195430325.html and click on Student Resources.

MyCourses Content
Discussions, class notes, and other content will be available on MyCourses. On Feb 13th and March 20th, an evening chat session with the instructor and the TAs will be held to answer any last minute questions. Specifics to follow.
A note about MyCourses. MyCourses is intended for students to discuss and ask about class-related material. Students are expected to adhere to the proper conduct policies and to communicate with other students, teaching assistants, and the instructor with respect. Discussion boards will be regularly monitored. Instances of misconduct will not be tolerated and may result in closure of some or all of online content.

Course Policies
Students are responsible for all material covered in lectures and in assigned readings. The class will be taught in lecture format. Classes will be recorded. Lecture notes will be posted on MyCourses. An in-class 1.5 hour review session will be held before each midterm, and on April 11th for the final.

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Evaluation Scheme
Midterm Exams (best 1 of 2 exams) Final Exam Subject Pool Participation (optional) Total 35% 65% 2% 102%

1. Midterm Exams (35%). Two non-cumulative midterm exams will be offered during the term. Each exam will consist of multiple-choice questions only, with example questions discussed in class. Midterm exam is worth 35% of your grade. The total midterm portion of your grade will reflect the better of the two scores on the midterm exams. You may miss one or both midterms without excuse or instructors permission. If you miss both midterm exams, the score on the final exam will count as 100% of your course grade. I strongly encourage students to write one or both midterms. They are designed to encourage you to stay up to date with the required readings and to assist you in monitoring your understanding of the material. 2. Final Exam (65%). Final exam will be scheduled by the University during the April exam period. The final exam is worth 65% of your final grade. The final exam is cumulative and it will include material from all lectures and assigned readings. Supplemental and deferred exam will be offered in this course. The grading scheme for those exams will be the same as outlined above. If you miss the final exam for a valid and officially documented reason, you must receive permission to apply for a deferred exam (held in August). Permission is granted only by the Associate Dean (Student Affairs) of your faculty. Otherwise you will receive the standing J for this course. 3. Subject Pool Participation (2%). You will be able to earn up to additional 2% of your grade by participating in psychology experiments through the Department of Psychology Participant Pool. To receive the extra credits, you must participate in up to 2 hours of experiments (two 1 hour experiments, or four 30 minute experiments). If you prefer, you can submit 2 written reports based on journal articles provided by the administrator of the Participant Pool instead. The subject pool TA will provide all the details about receiving extra credit. All inquiries about the participant pool and extra credits credit should be addressed to the Subject Pool TA, Veronica Withford, at mcgill_subject_pool@yahoo.com. Final Grade. Your final grade will reflect either (1) an average of your best midterm grade and the final exam; or (2) your grade on the final exam, whichever is the highest. Extra credit will be added on top. Only final grade will be rounded up according to scientific convention (e.g., 84.4=84%; 84.5=85%). Final letter grades will be assigned according to the following scheme: F D C C+ BB 0-49% 50-54% 55-59% 60-64% 65-69% 70-74%

B+ 75-79%

A80-84%

A 85-100%

University Policies
Plagiarism and Cheating: McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. See www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more information. Every student registered in this course is obliged to read the statement about academic integrity, and we will assume that you have done so. Grading of Written Work: In accord with McGill Universitys Charter of Students Rights, students in this course have the right to submit their written work that is to be graded in either English or French. Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability, please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities at 514-398-6009. All accommodations and provisions for the course evaluations and exams are to be handled directly through the Office for Students with Disabilities. Additional policies governing academic issues which affect students can be found in the McGill Charter of Students' Rights (available as a PDF on www.mcgill.ca/files/secretariat/Student-Handbook-2009-English.pdf). Disclaimer: In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the Instructors control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change. Should this occur you will be notified in due time.

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Lecture Topics & Class Schedule

Week 1 Jan 08 2013First Class, No assigned readings Jan 10 2013Introduction; Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 1 Week 2 Jan 15 2013Cognitive Neuroscience, Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 2 Jan 17 2013Perception, Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 3 Week 3 Conference 1 (on Intro & Methods) Jan 22 2013Perception Continued Jan 24 2013Attention, Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 4 Week 4 Jan 29 2013Attention Continued Jan 31 2013Memory (Traces & Schemas), Readings: Benjafiled, Chapter 5 Week 5 Conference 2 (on Perception & Attention) Feb 05 2013Memory (Traces & Schemas) Continued & Memory Systems, Readings: Chapter 6 Feb 07 2013Memory Systems Continued *Week 6 Feb 12 2013Midterm 1 Material Review Session Feb 14 2013MIDTERM 1 (CHAPTERS 1-6 + Class Material)Held in Class Week 7 Feb 19 2013Imagery, Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 7 Feb 21 2013Language, Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 9. Guest lecture by Prof Debra Titone Week 8 Conference 3 (on Language & Imagery) Feb 26 2013Problem Solving, Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 10 Feb 28 2013Reasoning, Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 11 Week 9 Happy Reading Week! Week 10 Mar 12 2013Reasoning Continued Mar 14 2013Intelligence & Creativity, Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 12 *Week 11 Conference 4 (on Problem Solving, Reasoning & Intelligence) Mar 19 2013Midterm 2 Material Review Session Mar 21 2013MIDTERM 2 (CHAPTERS 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 +Class Material)Held in Class Week 12 Mar 26 2013Applied Cognition, Readings: Benjafield, Chapter 14 Mar 28 2013Social Cognition, Reading: Adolps, R. (1999), posted on MyCourses Week 13 Apr 02 2013Social Cognition Continued Apr 04 2013Student Chosen Topics, TBA Week 14 Conference 5 (on Applied Cognition & Social Cognition) Apr 09 2013Student Chosen Topics, TBA Apr 11 2013Review of all class material for the final exam Week 15 Apr 16 2013No Class.