Cognitive Psychology

PSYC 210: Introduction to Learning and Behavior
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Restrictions: None
Description of course contents: The course will examine historical and current theories that explain how different types of learning provide the foundation for most, if not all forms of an organism's behavior. We will cover these theories by carefully examining the most important research experiments that contributed to our current understanding of the principles and concepts that shape our behavior. The lecture content will focus heavily on experimental findings derived from research of learning processes in human and non-human species. The concept of Learning will be explored from the perspective of theories of Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning and more recent theories of the organization of behavior derived from human studies.
Instructor: Cedric Williams

PSYC 215: Introduction to Cognition
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Restrictions: None
Description of course contents: Cognition is the activity of knowing: the acquisition, organization, and use of knowledge. Emphasizing fundamental issues, this course introduces such basic content areas in cognitive psychology as perception, attention, memory, and language.   
Instructor:  Vikram Jaswal

PSYC 230: Introduction to Perception
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Restrictions: None
Description of course contents: Study of selected topics in perception, particularly visual perception; the role of stimulus variables, learning and motivation of perception.
*If course is full through ISIS: A waiting list will be maintained through the psychology website. Do not contact the professor.
Instructor: Dennis Proffitt

Important Note about PSYC 305 and 306

It is important for you to attend the first PSYC 305 or 306 lecture. You will sign an attendance sheet and be given instructions for completing an online form to confirm your lab registration. If you do not attend class you will be dropped from lecture and the lab. Coming to class late is not an excuse for missing this information. If you are unable to attend, you must contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies before the lecture. The purpose of the online form is to change your lab section if you are not happy in your current lab. The Director of Undergraduate Studies is the only person who can add or change your lab assignment. There are no Course Action forms for lab changes. The order of priority for lab changes are based on the number of alternate labs you select. If your lab is not changed you will be responsible for making the required adjustments to your schedule to accommodate a lab that still has space. Lab changes should be final by the afternoon of the first Friday (if not sooner) of the semester. After that time, you may change to any lab that is open via ISIS, but at the end of the first full week of classes the lab assignments will be locked. Please do not make a special appeal to the instructor, lab T.A., or the Director of Undergraduate Studies if you do not get the lab section you want. You are responsible for checking ISIS to confirm your lab section. All labs begin the first full week of classes. Failure to attend the lab in which you are registered may result in a penalty in your lab grade.

PSYC 305-1: Research Methods & Data Analysis I
* Prerequisites: Psyc 101 or any 200-level Psyc course
Description of course contents: Introduction to research methods in psychology, integrating statistical analysis. Emphasis on descriptive statistics and non-experimental research methods. Use of computers for data analysis, experimentation, and report writing. This course is required for majors and is the first part of a two-part series (305-306).
*If course is full through ISIS: A waiting list will be maintained through the psychology website. Do not contact the professor.
Instructor: Nancy Weinfield

PSYC 306: Research Methods & Data Analysis II
* Prerequisites: Psyc 305 ( with C- or better)
Description of course contents: Second part of a two-part series required for psychology majors. Emphasis on inferential statistics (t-tests and ANOVA) and issues in experimentation.
*If course is full through ISIS: A waiting list will be maintained through the psychology website. Do not contact the professor.
**Course May Meet Second Writing Requirement**
Instructor: James Freeman

PSYC 315: Cognitive Psychology and American Education
Credits: 3
Prerequisites:*Prerequisites: PSYC 215 (B- or better is preferred), or permission of the instructor
Enrollment Restrictions: None
Description of course contents: Psychologists have studied the processes of learning and thinking for over 100 years, and theoreticians have attempted to apply that knowledge to K-12 education for almost that long. This course will use information from cognitive psychology to examine: major steams of thought in pedagogy; data patterns in student achievement and in teacher effectiveness; subject-specific teaching strategies, and proposed reforms for American education. *If course is full through ISIS: A waiting list will be maintained through the psychology website. Do not contact the professor.
Instructor: Willingham

PSYC 401: Memory Distortions
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: PSYC 215
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology major/minors, Cog-Sci majors
Description of course contents: Although memory is generally accurate, some illusions and distortions in remembering are unavoidable. The consequences of these memory problems range from relatively benign tip-of-the-tongue experiences to untrustworthy eye-witness testimony. This class will review a variety of different memory distortions with the goal of advancing our understanding of memory.
Instructor: Chad Dodson

PSYC 404: Cognitive Neuropsychology
(Note: PSYC 404 maybe used to fulfill the Cog. Psychology area requirement or the Neuroscience area requirement, but not both)
Credits: 3
Pre-requisites: PSYC 215 & PSYC 305
Enrollment Restrictions:4th year Psyc, Neuroscience and Cog. Sci. Majors/Minors
Description of course contents: This course will survey the field of cognitive neuropsychology from basic neuroanatomy, localization of function, patients with specific brain damage, normal adults with structural and functional neuroimaging, and neurodegenerative diseases. Students will be required to participate in class discussions based on assigned readings, lead some of the discussions, and write a paper related to the topic of cognitive neuropsychology.
Instructor: Salthouse

PSYC 407: The Psychology of the Not Real
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psyc and Cog. Sci. Majors/Minors
Description of course contents: This course will examine how humans conceive of people, places, actions, and events that are not real, and how this ability develops throughout childhood. Specifically, we will examine topics such as pretend play, fantastical reasoning, and belief in fantasy figures.
Instructor: Van Reet

PSYC 555: Developmental Psycholinguistics
(Note: PSYC 555 may be used to fulfill the Linguistics area requirement or the Cog. Psychology area requirement but not both. Please note that PSYC 555 Developmental Psycholinguistics (Bonvillian) and PSCY 402: Language Development and Disabilities (Bonvillian) cannot both be taken for credit as they are similar courses).
Credits:  3
Prerequisite:
Description of course contents: We will examine the development of language from a number of perspectives. In addition to studying the acquisition of speech in children with normal hearing, we will review the acquisition of spoken and signed language in deaf, autistic, mentally retarded, and aphasic individuals. We will also examine the acquisition of language-like systems of communication in nonhuman primates.
Instructor: Bonvillian

Philosophy

PHIL 242: Introduction to Symbolic Logic
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: None
Description of course contents: A basic introduction to the concepts and techniques of modern formal logic. The aim of this course is to give the student a working knowledge of both sentential and quantifier logic. The emphasis is on developing an ability to carry out proofs within these systems and on developing an ability to translate sentences of natural language into symbolic notation. The course will acquaint the student with the concepts of formula, proof, interpretation and validity. Students will use logic software that will allow them to develop greater expertise with the material.
Instructor: Paul Humphreys

*PHIL 334  PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Description of course contents:  This course will address philosophical issues about the mind, including those surrounding the following questions.  How is the mind related to the body?  Does the phenomenon of consciousness pose a problem for a larger naturalistic theory of the world?  How can our mental states causally interact with the physical world?  How do thoughts succeed in representing the world?  Are thoughts constituted by states of the brain, or do they depend on external factors as well?  Is the self a unified, persisting entity? 
*NOTE: This course satisfies the College Second Writing requirement
Instructor:  Brie Gertler 

PHIL 542: Advanced Logic
Credits:  3
Prerequisite: PHIL 242 or equivalent
Description of course contents: Examines various results in meta logic, including completeness, compactness, and undecidability. Effective computability, theories of truth, and identity may also be covered.
Instructor: James Cargile

Linguistics

ANTH 241 Structure of English
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: None
Description of course contents: The goal of this course is to help students understand the system of rules underlying English grammar, and so to become better writers, teachers, and analytical thinkers. Students will learn the basic elements of English sound and word structure (phonology and morphology); examine English vocabulary classes from both formal and functional points of view (lexicon); explore basic English sentence types, common phrase and clause patterns, and sentence transformations (syntax); and (4) think about how information is packaged linguistically and interpreted in context (semantics, discourse, and pragmatics). The course has no prerequisites, but in order to succeed and enjoy themselves students will need to have both a strong interest in language and a willingness to reconsider some of their ideas about English that they may perhaps hold dear.
Instructor: Lise Dobrin

ANTH 504: Linguistics Field Methods
In this course we will work with a native speaker of an "exotic" language (i.e., a language that is not commonly taught in the U.S., hence likely not to be familiar to any of the students in the class). We try to figure out the phonological and grammatical structure of the language based on data collected from the native speaker consultant in class. Attendance is therefore mandatory. Assignments include one paper on phonology, one on morphology, and one on syntax (the nature of the assignment may vary depending on the particular language being studied).
Instructor: Ellen Contini-Morava

LNGS 325: Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Methodology

Introduces sign systems, language as a sign system, and approaches to linguistics. Emphasizes the application of descriptive techniques to data.
Instructor: Mark Elson

PSYC 555: Developmental Psycholinguistics
(Note: PSYC 555 may be used to fulfill the Linguistics area requirement or the Cog. Psychology area requirement but not both. Please note that PSYC 555 Developmental Psycholinguistics (Bonvillian) and PSCY 402: Language Development and Disabilities (Bonvillian) cannot both be taken for credit as they are similar courses).
Credits:  3
Prerequisite:
Description of course contents: We will examine the development of language from a number of perspectives. In addition to studying the acquisition of speech in children with normal hearing, we will review the acquisition of spoken and signed language in deaf, autistic, mentally retarded, and aphasic individuals. We will also examine the acquisition of language-like systems of communication in nonhuman primates.
Instructor: Bonvillian

Computer Science

All CS courses are acceptable except CS 110, CS 120, and CS 182.
ECE 200 will count for credit, but does not fill CS area requirement.

The most common intro-level CS courses for Cognitive Science majors are:

CS150: From Ada and Euclid to Quantum Computing and the World Wide Web
(Previously CS 200: Foundations of Computer Science, http://www.cs.virginia.edu/cs150/ )

CS 101: Introduction to Computer Science (Please note: it is strongly advised that students begin with CS150)

CS 202: Discrete Mathematics

Neuroscience

* Students may count PSYC 220 OR BIOL 317 towards the major, but NOT both.

BIOL 325: Introduction to Animal Behavior
Credits:  3
Description of course contents: Studies the comparative aspects of animal behavior from a neuro-ethological approach; and the mechanisms employed in generating and guiding behavior.

*BIOL 317 : Introduction to Neurobiology
Credits:  3
Description of course contents: Analyzes the concepts of general neurobiology, including basic electro physiology and electrochemistry, origin of bio electric potentials, sensory, motor, integrative and developmental neurobiology, and conceptual models of simple learning.
Instructors: Kawasaki, Iggy, Provencio, Mellon (*Students may take PSYC 220 OR BIOL 317. BOTH WILL NOT COUNT TOWARD THE MAJOR )

PSYC 220: A Survey of the Neural Basis of Behavior
Description of course contents: After an overview of brain structure and organization, the course examines what we know about the biological bases of perception, learning and memory, emotion and psychopathology, as well as the regulatory behaviors: sleep, thirst, eating, sex, and those associated with psychoneuroimmunology.
*Includes Optional Review Session
Instructor: Peter Brunjes

PSYC 404: Cognitive Neuropsychology
(Note: PSYC 404 maybe used to fulfill the Cog. Psychology area requirement or the Neuroscience area requirement, but not both)
Credits: 3
Pre-requisites: PSYC 215 & PSYC 305
Enrollment Restrictions:4th year Psyc, Neuroscience and Cog. Sci. Majors/Minors
Description of course contents: This course will survey the field of cognitive neuropsychology from basic neuroanatomy, localization of function, patients with specific brain damage, normal adults with structural and functional neuroimaging, and neurodegenerative diseases. Students will be required to participate in class discussions based on assigned readings, lead some of the discussions, and write a paper related to the topic of cognitive neuropsychology.
Instructor: Salthouse

PSYC 420: Neural Mechanisms of Behavior
Credits: 4 required lab Section
Prerequisites: PSYC 220 or PSYC 222 or permission of instructor; prior or concurrent enrollment in PSYC 321 is recommended.
Enrollment Restrictions:4th year Psychology, Cognitive Science, Biology and Neuroscience majors/minors, or Instructor Permission.
Description of course contents:  Lectures and discussion on molecular and cellular aspects of neural mechanisms as they relate to behavior. Topics will include neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurotransmitters and receptors, neuropharmacology, cortical organization and function, plasticity and neurodegenerative diseases.
Instructor: Alev Erisir

PSYC 583: Structure and Function of Sensory Cortex
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Psyc 220 or Instructor Permission
Description of Course: To understand how behavior is guided by cues in the environment, we must understand how information about the world is represented by the senses, and how that information is processed in the brain. In this seminar-style course, we will examine the neural organization of the sensory systems, particularly the organization of cortical areas. We will investigate how different organizational strategies are used to serve different brain functions, and we will explore how information from different sensory modalities is integrated in higher-order cortical areas, ultimately guiding behavior.
Instructor: Kurt Illig