Cognitive Psychology

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: Willingham

PSYC 305: Research Methods & Data Analysis I
Credits: 4 (Required lab section)
Prerequisites: PSYC 101 or any 200-level PSYC course
Enrollment Restrictions: To be officially enrolled in PSYC 305, registration is required for BOTH the lecture and the lab, otherwise you will be dropped from the class. Instructions on how to add the lecture, lab, or change lab sections will be given during the first lecture.
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).
Instructor: Freeman

PSYC 306 : Research Methods & Data Analysis II
Credits: 4 (Required lab section)
Prerequisites: PSYC 305 (with C- or better)
Enrollment Restrictions: Psychology Majors/Minors. To be officially enrolled in PSYC 306, registration is required for BOTH the lecture and the lab, otherwise you will be dropped from the class. Instructions on how to add the lecture, lab, or change lab sections will be given during the first lecture. Instructions on how to add the lecture, lab, or change lab sections will be given during the first lecture.
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. **Course May Meet Second Writing Requirement**
Instructor: Schmidt

PSYC 348: Psychology of Aging
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: PSYC 101
Enrollment Restrictions: None
Description of course contents: Survey of research on adult age differences in psychological characteristics. Topics will include demography, biological changes, cognitive changes, effects of aging on personality and social relationships, death and dying, successful aging, and more.
Instructor: Salthouse

PSYC 401: Psychology of Language Comprehension
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: PSYC 101, PSYC 305
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology, CogSci majors/minors Description of course contents: Psychology of Language Comprehension - PSYC 401 is designed to expose students, who may or may not have background in linguistics or cognitive psychology, to the study of language and language comprehension. Students will be challenged to read and review the basic topics and issues in the sub discipline. We will survey psycholinguistic functions such as speech perception, lexical processing, sentence processing, spoken and written discourse processing, speech production in- and out-of-context, and first language and second language acquisition. We will examine each area from a historical perspective, review the major question(s) in the area, and examine the research methodology. You will be expected to lead and participate actively in class discussions. Instructor: Adams

PSYC 402: Language Development and Disorders
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year psychology, linguistics or cog-sci majors/minors or by permission of instructor. (Note: PSYC 402 Language Development & Disorders (Bonvillian) and PSYC 555 Developmental Psycholinguistics (Bonvillian) cannot both be taken for credit as they are similar courses.
Description of course contents: This course will focus on language and cognitive development in persons with disabilities. Among the populations examined will be children with autistic disorder, children with Williams syndrome, deaf children, developmentally dysphasic children, adults with aphasia, and children with severe mental retardation. In addition to spoken language development, the course will examine the acquisition of sign communication skills.
Instructor: Bonvillian

PSYC 404: Language Development: Learning Words
Credits: 3
*Note: Psyc 404 can be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Linguistics area requirements but not both
Prerequisites: Psyc 305 & 306
Enrollment Restrictions: 3rd or 4th year Psyc, CogSci, or Linguistics majors or instructor permission
Description of course contents: This seminar will focus on how children learn the meanings of words. We will consider various theoretical debates, such as whether children acquire words through domain-general learning mechanisms or by mechanisms more specialized for word learning. We will also consider the extent to which word learning requires an ability to analyze other people’s goals, intentions, and interests, and whether this helps to explain why language is specific to humans. Throughout, we will pay close attention to how children’s early word learning interacts with and is influenced by their developing cognitive abilities.
Instructor: Jaswal

PSYC 405: Cognitive Aging
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: PSYC 215
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology major/minors, Cog-sci Description of course contents: Survey of research on adult age differences in psychological characteristics. Topics will include demography, biological changes, cognitive changes, effects of aging on personality and social relationships, death and dying, successful aging, and more.
Instructor: Salthouse

PSYC 406: Case Studies in Memory Impairments
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology major/minors, Cog-sci Description of course contents: This is a seminar devoted to learning about different memory impairments through the use of case studies. The case studies will be used as a means both to introduce you to different memory impairments and to make you think critically about the structure of memory. Throughout the course you will find that memory comes in many forms; while one type of memory may be affected in an individual, other forms of memory may still be intact. Using case studies, researchers would like to gain insight into what areas support a particular cognitive process. While learning about the structure of memory primarily through case reports, this course will often include neuroimaging evidence and behavioral research as converging evidence to support the claims made in the case studies. The ultimate goal of the course is to learn more about memory theory using memory impairment case studies.
Instructor: Krueger

PSYC 407: Implicit Social Cognition
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Psyc 305
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology major/minors, Cog-sci Description of course contents: While our conscious experience provides us with a good story about why we think and behave in the ways that we do, much of our mental processing occurs outside of consciousness. In this course we will examine psychological research on those influences in our social lives that exist without our awareness or control.
Instructor: Ranganath

PSYC 408: The Emergence of Language
Credits: 3
(Psyc 408 may be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or Linguistics requirement, but not both)
Prerequisites: Any Linguistics course or Psyc 555 or Psyc 530 or Psyc 411 Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology majors/minors. Cognitive science and linguistics students as well as speech and hearing/communication disorders majors, or graduate students in Arts & Sciences or Education
Description of course contents: We will examine the emergence of language in humans from linguistic and cognitive perspectives. Gesture, newly-developed sign languages, home sign systems, and creolization will be studied to understand the evolutionary path of language. We will also discuss the literature in research regarding the origin and emergence/evolution of language in humans.
Instructor: Sandra Wood

PSYC 411: Psycholinguistics
(Note: PSYC 411 may only be used this semester to fulfill the Cog. Psychology area requirement).
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th Psychology majors/minors and Linguistics Description of course contents: This course will discuss how linguistic models help us to understand the psychology of language. We will focus on the emergence of language in children, acquisition and development of language, language disorders and neurolinguistics, sociolinguistics, and bilingualism. Instructor: Loncke

PSYC 468: Psychology and Law: Cognitive and Social Issues
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Psyc 215 or 260; PSYC 305/306 or other course in empirical research methods
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology Majors/Minors, Cog-Sci. Description of course contents: Examines Issues for which cognitive and social psychology may be able to inform the legal system. Topics include eyewitness testimony, recovered memories, line-ups, expert testimony, jury selection, trial tactics, jury instructions and the use of statistics in the courtroom.
Instructor: Barbara Spellman

PSYC 581: Emotion-Cognition Connection
Credits: 3
Prerequisites:
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology Major/Minors, Cog-Sci GSAS Description of course contents: The cognition-emotion seminar covers the connection between thinking and feeling in two ways. The first part asks about the causes of emotion, and the second asks about the consequences of emotion. Part 1 concerns the nature and definition of emotion and the role of cognitive appraisals in their elicitation and intensity. Distinctions will be made among concepts such as affect, emotion, mood, and temperament. Part 2 concerns the consequences of emotion for cognition, experience, and behavior. Of interest will be such topics as the effects on judgment and decision-making, processing and performance, and memory and attention, and the role of culture.
Instructor: Gerald Clore

PSYC 584: Neuroplasticity and Perception/Cognition /Behavior
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Psyc 306
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology major/minors
Description of course contents: This course begins by examining the long-held view that functions are localized in particular places in the brain, fixed by adulthood. After reviewing the history of these ideas we will examine the tide of research challenging the view: how imagination and virtual reality might change thinking; how memory can be enhanced; correction of language disabilities with training; how sensory deprivation might be corrected through other senses; phantom limbs; how culture can modify a perceptual system; rehabilitation of stroke victims; etc. Students interested in all areas of psychology should find much of interest in this course.
Instructor: Lillard

Neuroscience

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

** Students may count PSYC 420 OR BIOL 408 towards the major, but NOT both.

*** Students may count PSYC 420 OR BIOL 417 towards the major, but NOT both.

PSYC 220: Introduction to Psychobiology
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Restrictions: None
Description of course contents: One approach to understanding human behavior is to consider the workings of the brain. This course examines how the brain guides behavior. After an overview of the structure and function of the central nervous system, we explore the sensory systems, and examine the role of the brain in the human behavior including learning and memory, sexual behavior and emotions.
Instructor: Illig

PSYC 403: Affective Neuroscience
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: PSYC 305 and 306 (PSYC 220 recommended), preference given to 4th year students;
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology major/minors and Cognitive Science majors
Description of course contents: Affective neuroscience is the study of the neural bases of emotion. The main goals of this course are: a) to provide an introduction to the major contemporary theories of emotion; b) to provide an introduction to theory and research into the neuroanatomical and neurochemical correlates and substrates of emotion and affective psychopathology; and c) to provide an introduction to the practical, methodological and inferential challenges facing affective neuroscience as a discipline. The course will involve a combination of lecture, discussion, and, where possible, demonstrations. Graduate and advanced undergraduate students are welcome.
Instructor: James Coan

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 425/725: Brain Systems Involved in memory
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: PSYC 220, 222 or PSYC 420
Enrollment Restrictions: GSAS or 4th year PSYC or Cognitive Science majors Description of course contents: The seminar will explore the contribution and role of several brain structures in regulating learning and the storage of new information into long term memory. An extensive review of the literature will be covered to understand how separate brain regions interact to modify our capacity to learn and remember new information. The literature reviews will also assist in identifying how specific neurotransmitter systems modulate activity in these brain regions during the process of memory formation. The course is also designed to expose and teach students a number of scholarly techniques that will be more than useful upon entering graduate, professional or medical school. Participants will learn how to conduct comprehensive literature searchers, organize large volumes of information, improve public speaking skills, be introduced to a broad spectrum of neuroscience techniques and gain a better understanding of the interactions that occur between brain structures and neurotransmitter systems to enable new memories to be formed. Topics include but will not be limited to: The amygdala, emotions & memory; higher level processing & the prefrontal cortex; The hippocampus in representing space, time, context and short term storage; Memory dysfunction in pathology-Alzheimer's disease and posttraumatic stress disorder; current memory topics: Genetic approaches to understanding memory; memory & drug addiction: parallel neural pathways; sleep research and memory encoding. Students who enjoy learning from non-traditional sources such as journal articles, archives, annual reviews etc. and are enthusiastic about discussing this information in a public forum are well suited for this type of seminar.
Instructor: Williams

PSYC 582: Psychopharmacology Seminar
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: PSYC 420 or equivalent (see instructor)
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th Psyc majors/minors, Cog-Sci, Biology & Neuroscience majors
Description of course contents: This is a seminar course aiming to review principles of psychopharmacology, drug action, drug use and affective disorders.
Instructor: Erisir

*??NESC 533: Neural Network Models
Credits: 3
Description of course contents: This is an introductory course to neural networks research, specifically biologically-based networks that reproduce cognitive phenomena. The goal of this course is to teach the basic thinking and methodologies used in constructing and understanding neural-like networks. We will study networks with elements that explicitly correspond to neurons and synapses, and we will study, at the simplest possible level, the network computations that arise from such explicit, plausible biology. In essence, any insight into how groups of neurons sub serve, thought rests on such computations and the mathematical relationships that define the computations.
Instructor: William Levy

BIOL 386: Computer Modeling in Neurophysiology
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Instructor permission
Instructor: Friesen

BIOL 408: Neuronal Organization of Behavior
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: BIOL 317 or equivalent.
Description of course contents: Lectures and discussions addressing behavior and sensory processing from the perspective of the neural elements involved. Topics include neuronal substrates (anatomical and physiological) of startle reflexes, locomotory behaviors, visual and auditory processing, echolocation mechanisms, calling song recognition, and the neuronal organization underlying some types of functional plasticity.
Instructor: Mellon

BIOL 431: Sensory Neurobiology
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: BIOL 317 Examines the anatomy, physiology, and molecular biology of many sensory modalities such as vision, audition, such chemo sensation. General features of sensory systems are described.
Instructor: Provencio

BIOL 434: Intellectual Foundations Neurobiology
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Introductory course to Neurobiology
Instructor: Mellon

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Philosophy

PHIL 233: Computers, Minds and Brains
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Description of course contents: Can computers think or have experiences roughly like ours? Over the last three decades different approaches to answering this question have been developed, including classical Al, neural nets, varieties of non-reductive physicalism, and neurophysiological eliminativism. All have something to say about what does and does not make humans special. The possibility also arises of transcending human nature and abilities using artificial intelligence and artificial life, rendering humans obsolete. These and other issues will be addressed through readings in philosophy, cognitive science, and computer science. No previous knowledge of philosophy is required. For course requirement see the course syllabus.
Instructor: Prof. Humphreys

PHIL 265: Free Will
Credits: 3
Description of course contents: The class examines whether our actions and choices are free and whether or to what extent we can be held responsible for them. Includes the threat to freedom posed by the possibility of scientific explanations of our behavior and by psychoanalysis, the concept of compulsion, moral and legal responsibility, and the nature of human action.
Instructor: George Thomas

PHIL 332: Epistemology
Credits: 3
Description of course contents: Studies problems concerned with the foundations of knowledge, perception, and rational belief.
Instructor: Langsam

*PHIL 350: Philosophy of Language
Credits: 3
*Note: PHIL 350 may be taken to fulfill the Philosophy area requirement or the Linguistics area requirement but not both.
Prerequisites: A knowledge of first order predicate logic and basic meta theory is a plus but not essential.
Description of course contents: Philosophical problems can often be either solved or dissolved by scrutiny of the language in which they are couched. What is more, language and linguistic interaction themselves raise questions of the deepest conceptual kind, answers to which illuminate cognition and social interaction. For these reasons language has been the premier area of inquiry among philosophers in the last century. This course will examine, from a non-technical point of view, topics that have been given the most intense treatment, all of which flow from the question, In virtue of what is language meaningful? Topics to be covered include the relation between thought and language; the possibility of an essentially private discursive realm; the view that one’s linguistic framework somehow “structures” reality; the method of solving or dissolving traditional philosophical problems by scrutiny of the language in which they are couched; the nature of linguistic meaning and the relation thereof to truth and to “language games”, the relation between what is said in a given utterance and what is conveyed; the nature of interpretation and the role that it plays in organizing our understanding of the world. The course should be of interest not only to philosophy students, but also to those in linguistics, psychology, cognitive science, literature, anthropology, and computer science. Expected enrollment: 15
Instructor: Prof. Green

PHIL 547: Philosophy of Mathematics
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Some familiarity with quantifier logic (PHIL 242) or permission of instructor.
Description of course contents: A comparison of various schools in the philosophy of mathematics (including logicism, formalism, and conceptualism) and their answers to such questions as "Do numbers exist?" and "How is mathematical knowledge possible?"
Instructor: James Cargile

Linguistics

ANTH 349: Language and Thought
Credits: 3
Description of course contents: There is almost always more than one way to think about any problem. But could speaking a particular language make some strategies and solutions seem more natural than others to individuals? Can we learn about alternative ways of approaching the external world by studying other languages? The classic proposal of linguistic relativity as enunciated by Benjamin Lee Whorf is examined in the light of recent cross-cultural psycholinguistic research. We highlight the interplay between social intelligence, linguistic structure and general cognition. Finally, we ask how culturally-particular ways of talking about language itself might reflect and reinforce the common-sense ideas about the nature of language that underlie most linguistic research. During the term, students will prepare short written summaries of assigned readings, and a longer research paper.
Instructor: Danziger

ANTH 544: Morphology
Credit: 3
Description of course contents: This course provides an overview of recent morphological theory, focusing on recurring themes that have arisen as the subfield has sought to find its place within the generative paradigm. The issues we will cover fall mainly into two broad groupings: those that relate morphology to phonology (such as allomorphy and word formation), and those that relate it to syntax (e.g., inflection, distinguishing compounds from phrases). Throughout the course we will be mindful of whether there is such a thing as pure morphology, a core set of phenomena having to do with word structure which motivates a distinct component of grammar. Students will do weekly or biweekly problem sets and give a class presentation on a common morphological category or means of formal expression.
Instructor: Lise Dobrin

ASL 309 Intro to ASL Linguistics
Credit: 3
Description of course contents:  This course is an introduction to the linguistic structure of American Sign Language. An overview of the syntax, phonology, morphology, and semantics of ASL will be the basis for our study during the semester.
Instructor: Sandra Wood

*PHIL 350: Philosophy of Language
Credits: 3
*Note: PHIL 350 may be taken to fulfill the Philosophy area requirement or the Linguistics area requirement but not both.
Prerequisites: A knowledge of first order predicate logic and basic meta theory is a plus but not essential.
Description of course contents: Philosophical problems can often be either solved or dissolved by scrutiny of the language in which they are couched. What is more, language and linguistic interaction themselves raise questions of the deepest conceptual kind, answers to which illuminate cognition and social interaction. For these reasons language has been the premier area of inquiry among philosophers in the last century. This course will examine, from a non-technical point of view, topics that have been given the most intense treatment, all of which flow from the question, In virtue of what is language meaningful? Topics to be covered include the relation between thought and language; the possibility of an essentially private discursive realm; the view that one’s linguistic framework somehow “structures” reality; the method of solving or dissolving traditional philosophical problems by scrutiny of the language in which they are couched; the nature of linguistic meaning and the relation thereof to truth and to “language games”, the relation between what is said in a given utterance and what is conveyed; the nature of interpretation and the role that it plays in organizing our understanding of the world. The course should be of interest not only to philosophy students, but also to those in linguistics, psychology, cognitive science, literature, anthropology, and computer science. Expected enrollment: 15
Instructor: Prof. Green

PSYC 402: Language Development and Disorders
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
*Note: Psyc 404 can be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Linguistics area requirements but not both.
Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year psychology, linguistics or cog-sci majors/minors or by permission of instructor. Note: PSYC 402 Language Development & Disorders (Bonvillian) and PSYC 555 Developmental Psycholinguistics (Bonvillian) cannot both be taken for credit as they are similar courses.
Description of course contents: This course will focus on language and cognitive development in persons with disabilities. Among the populations examined will be children with autistic disorder, children with Williams syndrome, deaf children, developmentally dysphasic children, adults with aphasia, and children with severe mental retardation. In addition to spoken language development, the course will examine the acquisition of sign communication skills.
Instructor: Bonvillian

PSYC 404: Language Development: Learning Words
Credits: 3
*Note: Psyc 404 can be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Linguistics area requirements but not both
Prerequisites: Psyc 305 & 306 Enrollment Restrictions: 3rd or 4th year Psyc, CogSci, or Linguistics majors or instructor permission
Description of course contents: This seminar will focus on how children learn the meanings of words. We will consider various theoretical debates, such as whether children acquire words through domain-general learning mechanisms or by mechanisms more specialized for word learning. We will also consider the extent to which word learning requires an ability to analyze other people’s goals, intentions, and interests, and whether this helps to explain why language is specific to humans. Throughout, we will pay close attention to how children’s early word learning interacts with and is influenced by their developing cognitive abilities.
Instructor: Jaswal

PSYC 408: The Emergence of Language
Credits: 3
(Psyc 408 may be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or Linguistics requirement, but not both)
Prerequisites: Any Linguistics course or Psyc 555 or Psyc 530 or Psyc 411 Enrollment Restrictions: 4th year Psychology majors/minors. Cognitive science and linguistics students as well as speech and hearing/communication disorders majors, or graduate students in Arts & Sciences or Education
Description of course contents: We will examine the emergence of language in humans from linguistic and cognitive perspectives. Gesture, newly-developed sign languages, home sign systems, and creolization will be studied to understand the evolutionary path of language. We will also discuss the literature in research regarding the origin and emergence/evolution of language in humans.
Instructor: Sandra Wood

SPAN: 493 Second Language Acquisition
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: SPAN 311, and SPAN 309 or SPAN 310 or another linguistics course. Taught in Spanish
Description of course contents: How do people learn a foreign language? What are the processes and mechanisms that drive language acquisition? This seminar will examine the major approaches, theories, and research in second language acquisition (SLA). We will look at various linguistic, psycholinguistic, and sociocultural perspectives to second language learning and use. Research in SLA focuses on how learners learn and it is not the same as research into language teaching, although the approaches and research we examine in this course will be valuable to foreign language educators whose goal is to maximize student learning.
Instructor: Emily Scida

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 listed below. *Please note that CS150 is strongly recommended as the first CS course for Cognitive Science majors

*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

CS 202: Discrete Mathematics