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)
Prerequisite:  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 a lab section. Otherwise, you will be dropped from the class. Instructions on how to add the lecture or lab section or how to 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: Storbeck

PSYC 306:  Research Methods & Data Analysis II
Credits:  4 (Required lab section)
Prerequisite:  PSYC 305 (with C- or better; C beginning with Class of 2010)
Enrollment Restrictions:  Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science Majors  To be officially enrolled in PSYC 306, registration is required for BOTH the lecture and a lab section. Otherwise, you will be dropped from the class.  Instructions on how to add the lecture or lab section or how to 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.
*Note:  This course may satisfy the College’s Second Writing requirement.
Instructor:  Freeman

PSYC 306:  Research Methods & Data Analysis II
Credits:  4 (Required lab section)
Prerequisites:  PSYC 305 (with C- or better; C beginning with Class of 2010)
Enrollment Restrictions:  Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science Majors  To be officially enrolled in PSYC 306, registration is required for BOTH the lecture and a lab section. Otherwise, you will be dropped from the class.  Instructions on how to add the lecture or lab section or how to 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.
*Note:  This course may satisfy the College’s 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 402:  Perception and Action in Infants
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  PSYC 250
Enrollment Restrictions:  None
Description of course contents:  We will cover the development of the major perceptual systems (vision and audition) in infancy and their coordination with major action systems (locomotor systems like walking and fine motor control like reaching/grasping). To understand infant development, we must consider how these systems interact with one another and with the child's developing intellect.
Instructor:  Keen

PSYC 403:  Pleasures of the Mind
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science Majors.
Description of course contents:  A re-examination of the concept of pleasure, this course will focus on the pleasure we take when we go through episodes in our lives. We will discuss theories of emotion, motivation, and esthetics with the goal of gaining an understanding of this complex notion.
Instructor:  Kubovy

PSYC 404:  Children Learning
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  PSYC 250, 305 and 306
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science Majors 
Description of course contents:  This course will provide a foundation in Cognitive Development, exploring the development of children's thinking in realms such as Theory of Mind and Pretend Play. There will be an emphasis on recent research and source material, building on the foundations laid in Psychology 250.
Instructor:  Lillard

PSYC 405:  Intelligence
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  PSYC 305 or permission of instructor
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science Majors
Description of course contents:  Intelligence is one of the oldest researched concepts in all of psychology. Intelligence has been linked with real world outcomes in several important life areas, including socioeconomic status crime/delinquency, mate selection, health risk behavior, quality of life, and longevity. However, intelligence research has also been one of the most controversial areas of inquiry. Some have suggested that intellectual assessment should be abandoned all together, as tests and testing situations are inherently biased, and intelligence tests are wholly unrepresentative of real world cognitive demands. Others have made claims about the causes and consequences of intelligence that seem to threaten conceptions of free will, meritocracy, and social egalitarianism. Despite its long history, debates surrounding intelligence research remain heated. In fact, no single definition of the concept of intelligence is yet to have been agreed upon. This seminar will be structured in two segments. First we will delve into the history and current state of intelligence research. We will familiarize ourselves with current theories of intelligence, its substrates, and its developmental progression, and with the methods of measuring and understanding intelligence. Second, we will join the debates. We will examine the evidence with critical eyes and begin on our way towards resolving the paradoxes that are prevalent within this controversial field.
Instructor:  Tucker-Drob

PSYC 411:  Psycholinguistics
Note:  PSYC 411 may be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Linguistics area requirements, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science, Linguistics, and Communication Disorders Majors.
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 412:  Psychology of Reading
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  PSYC 305 or Instructor Permission
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science and Linguistics Majors.
Description of course contents:  For psychologists who study the psychology of reading, it sometimes amazes us that most literate people do not think much aboutthe reading process.  If you ask the typical person about how reading works, atypical response is that …it just does.  I look at words on a page and then thesounds come out of my mouth. You might also hear… I do not know how I do it,but for as long as I can remember I could do it. Under certain circumstances, however, a deeper level of evaluation is forthcoming and people report that it is a very complicated process.  Listening to someone who has some type of reading impairment, observing young children as they are learning to read, wondering about the meaning of a passage (Did the main character insult a minor character or was it the other way around?), debating the pronunciation of a word (greasy, Roanoke, Staunton, theater, insurance), or reading a passage in a second language, readers make evaluations/decisions during the reading process.  The focus of this class, Psychology of Reading, is the study of the reading process; what happens when we process the squiggles on the page to meaningful information that we can use.  This includes word processing, sentence processing, speed-reading, text comprehension, etc.  All of this is related to how the brain works and how we think.  We will read basic/historical information from texts, review recent psychological research articles, and consider some hands-on experiences related to the reading process. The Psychology of Reading course is an interesting mix of experimental & cognitive psychology and structural linguistics, as well as psychoneurology, phonetics, anthropology, sociology, education, and so on.
Instructor:  Adams

PSYC 423:  Social Neuroscience
*Note:  PSYC 423 may be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Neuroscience area requirements, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisite:  PSYC 220
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Neuroscience Majors/Minors
Description of course contents:  A broad perspective on the expanding field of social neuroscience. An overview of novel empirical attempts to illuminate the neural mechanisms underlying social phenomena. Topics include but are not limited to social perception, social cognition, person perception, attitudes, and interpersonal processes. Emphasis on understanding the reciprocal interaction between brain function and everyday social behaviors.
Instructor:  Morris

PSYC 555:   Developmental Psycholinguistics
*Note:  PSYC 555 can be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Linguistics area requirements, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors; Cognitive Science or Linguistics Majors; GSAS
Description of course contents:  Examines current research and theoretical models of children’s language acquisition. Topics include normal children’s acquisition of spoken language, sign language acquisition, and communication skills in autistic and other groups with language disabilities.
Instructor:  Bonvillian

Neuroscience

PSYC 220:  Introduction to Psychobiology
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  None
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.
Instructor:  Illig

PSYC 407:  Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Credits:  3
Prerequisite:  PSYC 220 or PSYC 420
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science and Neuroscience Majors
Description of course contents:  This seminar will examine the neural basis of learning and memory. We will study brain systems that mediate different types of learning and memory as well as the cellular and molecular mechanisms that allow these systems to acquire and store information. The course will begin with an historical overview of learning and memory research in psychology and transition into modern studies in behavioral neuroscience. Topics will include memory consolidation, neural plasticity, cellular competition for memory storage, the role of neurogenesis in learning and memory, and mechanisms of retention and forgetting.  We will also discuss disorders that produce memory impairments in humans and current attempts to model these in animals and develop treatments. Students will learn how to read and interpret scientific articles, present their ideas in a group setting and critically analyze current theories in memory research.
Instructor:  Wiltgen

PSYC 420:  Neural Mechanisms of Behavior
Credits:  4 (required lab section)
Prerequisites:  PSYC 220 or PSYC 222 or Instructor Permission
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:  Erisir

PSYC 423:  Social Neuroscience
*Note: PSYC 423 may be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Neuroscience area requirements, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisite:  PSYC 220
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Neuroscience Majors/Minors
Description of course contents:  A broad perspective on the expanding field of social neuroscience. An overview of novel empirical attempts to illuminate the neural mechanisms underlying social phenomena. Topics include but are not limited to social perception, social cognition, person perception, attitudes, and interpersonal processes. Emphasis on understanding the reciprocal interaction between brain function and everyday social behaviors.
Instructor:  Morris

PSYC 425:  Brain Systems Involved in Memory
Credits:  3
Prerequisite:  PSYC 220 or PSYC 420
Enrollment Restrictions:  GSAS; 4th year Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science Majors
Description of course contents:  The seminar will examine historical and currentexperimental findings that describe the contribution of neuroanatomical structuresin regulating memory formation. 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 memory storage. Students will learn how to conduct comprehensive literature searches, 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. 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 520:  Seminar in Psychobiology
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  Graduate Standing or PSYC 420 and Instructor Permission
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science Majors; GSAS
Description of course contents:  The class will examine recent scientific articles and theories of brain structure and function.
Instructor:  Brunjes

BIOL 325: Introduction to Animal Behavior
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Description of course contents:  An introduction to comparative studies of animal behavior from neuroethological and evolutionary perspectives. The first deals with proximate causes of behavior, with emphases on motor, sensory and central aspects of the nervous system. The second deals with ultimate causes, with emphases on natural selection, natural history, and adaptive aspects of behavior.
Instructor:  Friesen

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

BME 345:  Neural Network Models of Cognition and Brain Computation
Credits:  3
Prerequisite:  CS 101, BIOM 201, or Instructor Permission
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.
Instructor:  Levy

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:  Cargile

PHIL 332:  Epistemology
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Description of course contents:  Studies problems concerned with the foundations of knowledge, perception, and rational belief.
Instructor:  Langsam

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’s Second Writing requirement.
Instructor:  Gertler

Linguistics

ANTH 349:  Language and Thought
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
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? The classic proposal of linguistic relativity as enunciated by Benjamin Lee Whorf is examined in the light of more recent cross-cultural and psycholinguistic research. We highlight the interplay between social intelligence, linguistic structure and general cognition. In the course of the discussion, we consider topics such as the significance of literacy for cognition and the development of language-specific cognitive preferences during childhood. Finally, we ask how our own culturally-particular ways of talking about language might reflect and reinforce some of the unexamined common-sense ideas about the nature of language which underlie most linguistic research.
Instructor:  Danziger

ANTH 504:  Linguistics Field Methods
Credits:  3
Prerequisite:  None
Description of Course Contents:  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 assignments may vary depending on the particular language being studied.
Instructor:  Tara Sanchez

PSYC 411:  Psycholinguistics
Note:  PSYC 411 may be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Linguistics area requirement, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science, Linguistics, and Communication Disorders Majors.
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 555:   Developmental Psycholinguistics
*Note:  PSYC 555 can be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Linguistics area requirements, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors; Cognitive Science or Linguistics Majors; GSAS
Description of course contents:  Examines current research and theoretical models of children’s language acquisition. Topics include normal children’s acquisition of spoken language, sign language acquisition, and communication skills in autistic and other groups with language disabilities.
Instructor:  Bonvillian

SPAN 309:  Intro to Spanish Linguistics
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  SPAN 311 or equivalent
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors; Cognitive Science or Linguistics Majors; GSAS
Description of course contents:  This course offers a rigorous introduction to the formal study of the Spanish language. Topics include: articulatory phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, historical linguistics and dialectology. Taught in Spanish.
Instructor:

Computer Science

All Computer Science 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 introductory-level Computer Science courses for Cognitive Science majors are:

CS 101:  Introduction to Computer Science

CS 150:  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 202:  Discrete Mathematics

*Note:  CS 150 is strongly recommended as the first CS course for Cognitive Science majors.