Cognitive Science Previously-Approved Courses
for Fall 2012   

Cognitive Psychology | Neuroscience | Linguistics | Philosophy  | Computer Science 

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Previously Approved Courses

 

Cognitive Psychology

PSYC 2100:  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:  Williams

PSYC 2150:  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, memory, language, cognitive development, and philosophy of science.
Instructor:  Willingham

PSYC 2300:  Introduction to Perception
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  None
Description of course contents:  Study of selected topics in perception, particularly visual perception, and the role of stimulus variables, learning and motivation of perception.
Instructor:  Proffitt

PSYC 2301:  Introduction to Perception Lab
Credits:  1
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  Simultaneous enrollment in PSYC 2300
Description of course contents:  Lab to accompany the study of selected topics in perception, particularly visual perception, and the role of stimulus variables, learning and motivation of perception.
Instructor:  Proffitt

PSYC 3005-1:  Research Methods & Data Analysis I
Credits:  4  (Required lab)
Prerequisite:  PSYC 1010 or any 2000-level Psychology course and one of the following math courses with a grade of C- or higher: MATH 1210 (Applied Calculus I), MATH 1212 (Applied Calculus I with Algebra), MATH 1220 (Applied Calculus II), MATH 1310 (Calculus I), MATH 1320 (Calculus II), APMA 1090 (Single Variable Calculus I), or APMA 1110 (Single Variable Calculus II). Students with transfer credit or AP credit in one of these courses (e.g., AP Calculus AB, or AP Calculus BC) are exempt from the requirement.
Enrollment restrictions:  None
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 the first part of a two-part series (3005 and 3006).
Instructor:  Freeman

PSYC 3005-2:  Research Methods & Data Analysis I
Credits:  4  (Required lab)
Prerequisite:  PSYC 1010 or any 2000-level Psychology course and one of the following math courses with a grade of C- or higher: MATH 1210 (Applied Calculus I), MATH 1212 (Applied Calculus I with Algebra), MATH 1220 (Applied Calculus II), MATH 1310 (Calculus I), MATH 1320 (Calculus II), APMA 1090 (Single Variable Calculus I), or APMA 1110 (Single Variable Calculus II). Students with transfer credit or AP credit in one of these courses (e.g., AP Calculus AB, or AP Calculus BC) are exempt from the requirement.
Enrollment restrictions:  None
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 the first part of a two-part series (3005 and 3006).
Instructor:  Smyth

PSYC 3006:  Research Methods & Data Analysis II
Credits:  4  (Required lab)
Prerequisite:  PSYC 3005 (with C or better)
Enrollment Restrictions:  Psychology Majors/Minors and Cognitive Science Majors
Description of course contents:  Second part of a two-part series. Emphasis on inferential statistics (t-tests and ANOVA) and issues in experimentation.
**Course May Meet Second Writing Requirement**
Instructor:  Schmidt

PSYC 4559-4:  The Arts and Psychology
Credits:  3
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th years: Psychology Majors/Minors and Cognitive Science Majors
Description of course contents:  The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the application of research and theories developed in the fields of perception, cognition, emotion, personality theory and social psychology to visual art, sculpture and film.
Instructor:  Kubovy

PSYC 5310:  Developmental Psycholinguistics
*Note:  PSYC 5310 may be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Linguistics area requirement, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th years: Psychology Majors/Minors and Cognitive Science Majors; GSAS
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

PSYC 5325:  Cognitive Neuroscience
*Note:  PSYC 5325 may be used to fulfill either the Cognitive Psychology or the Neuroscience area requirement, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  PSYC 2150 or PSYC 2200 or PSYC 3006 or Graduate Standing
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th years: Psychology Majors/Minors; Cognitive Science Majors, and Neuroscience Majors; GSAS
Description of course contents:  Several approaches have been used to investigate relations between mind (or cognition) and brain.  For example, the case study perspective focuses on cognitive deficits of patients with localized brain damage, and the cognitive neuroscience perspective attempts to determine the neurobiological substrates of cognitive processes in normal humans, usually by means of structural or functional neuroimaging.  Both of these perspectives will be covered in this course, and one of the goals will be to attempt to integrate findings from different approaches to studying mind-brain relations.
Instructor:  Salthouse

PSYC 5559-1:  Lifespan Cognition
Credits:  3
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors and Cognitive Science Majors; GSAS
Description of course contents:  Studies the major theories, findings, and conceptual issues important to an analysis of the neuronal mechanisms that underlie memory storage.
Instructor: Jaswal

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Neuroscience

PSYC 2200:  Neural Basis of Behavior
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Enrollment Restrictions:  None
Description of course contents:  One approach to understanding human behavior is to consider ourselves from a biological perspective. This course attempts to do so by examining how the brain guides behavior. The first portion is an overview of the structure and function of the central nervous system. With this knowledge, we then examine how the brain controls a variety of higher behaviors, including learning and memory, sex, emotions and sleeping.
Instructor:  Hill

PSYC 4200:  Neural Mechanisms of Behavior
* Note:  PSYC 4200 OR BIOL 3170 credits may count for the major, but not both.
Credits:  4
Prerequisites:  PSYC 2200 or Instructor Permission
Enrollment Restrictions:  Psychology Majors /Minors, Cognitive Science Majors, and Neuroscience Majors
Description of course contents:  Lectures and discussions 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 4559-1:  The Neurobiology of Drug Craving
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  PSYC 2200       
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th years: Psychology Majors/Minors and Cognitive Science Majors
Description of course contents:  In this seminar we will read and discuss recently published research papers that address the changes that occur when an addicted animal is denied access to cocaine.  The brain changes include cell firing and receptor changes, both with regional specificity.  The brain regions of most interest are nucleus accumbens, the ventral pallidum, the ventral tegmental area, and the prefrontal cortex.  The behavioral change that we want to understand is the increased craving for drug caused by drug-withdrawal.
Instructor:  Levy

PSYC 5325:  Cognitive Neuroscience
*Note:  PSYC 5325 may be used to fulfill either the Neuroscience or the Cognitive Psychology area requirement, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  PSYC 2150 or PSYC 2200 or PSYC 3006
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th years: Psychology Majors/Minors, Cognitive Science Majors, and Neuroscience Majors; GSAS
Description of course contents:  Several approaches have been used to investigate relations between mind (or cognition) and brain.  For example, the case study perspective focuses on cognitive deficits of patients with localized brain damage, and the cognitive neuroscience perspective attempts to determine the neurobiological substrates of cognitive processes in normal humans, usually by means of structural or functional neuroimaging.  Both of these perspectives will be covered in this course, and one of the goals will be to attempt to integrate findings from different approaches to studying mind-brain relations.
Instructor:  Salthouse

PSYC 5559-2:  Brain Systems Involved in Learning and Memory
*Note:  PSYC 5559-2 may be used to fulfill either the Neuroscience or the Cognitive Psychology area requirement, but not both.
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  PSYC 2200 or PSYC 4200  
Enrollment Restrictions:  4th year Psychology Majors/Minors and Cognitive Science Majors; Neuroscience Majors; GSAS
Description of course contents:  Studies the major theories, findings, and conceptual issues important to an analysis of the neuronal mechanisms that underlie memory storage.
Instructor:  Williams

BIOL 3170:  Introduction to Neurobiology
* Note:  BIOL 3170 OR PSYC 4200 credits may count for the major, but not both.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites:  BIOL 2010 and BIOL 2020
Description of course contents:  Analyzes the concepts of general neurobiology, including basic electrophysiology and electrochemistry, origin of bioelectric potentials, sensory, motor, integrative and developmental neurobiology, and conceptual models of simple learning.
Instructors:  Condron

BIOL 4170:  Cellular Neurobiology
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  BIOL 3170 (or equivalent) and BIOL 3000
Description of course contents:  Explores a cellular approach to the study of the nervous system. Topics include the structure and function of ionic channels in cell membranes; the electrochemical basis of the cell resting potential; the generation and conduction of nerve impulses; and synaptic transmissions. Class meetings include lectures, discussion, student presentations, and computer simulations of neurophysiology with NeuroDynamix.
Instructor:  Friesen

BIOL 4270:  Animal Behavior Laboratory
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  BIOL 3250 recommended.
Description of course contents:  Provides direct experience in approaches used to study animal behavior. Each lab concentrates on a particular aspect of behavior. Student experiments relate to central nervous systems; sensory perception; sign stimuli, feeding behavior; social behavior; reproductive behavior; biological timing; and animal observation in the laboratory and field.
Instructor:  Kawasaki

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Linguistics

ANTH 2400:  Language and Culture
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Description of course contents:  This course will be a survey of topics having to do with the relationship between language, culture, and society. We will consider both how language is described and analyzed by linguists and how evidence from language can shed light on a variety of social, cultural, and cognitive phenomena. Topics include: nature of language, origins of language, how languages change, writing systems, use of linguistic evidence to make inferences about prehistory, the effects of linguistic categories on thought and behavior, regional and social variation in language, and cultural rules for communication.
Instructor: Wairungu 

ANTH 3480:  Language and Prehistory
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? 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 5420:  Theories of Language
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  Instructor permission
Description of course contents:  Survey of modern schools of linguistics, both American and European, discussing each approach in terms of historical and intellectual context, analytical goals, assumptions about the nature of language, and relation between theory and methodology.
Instructor:  Contini-Morava

LATI 5559:  Topics in Latin Linguistics
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  Latin 2020 or equivalent
Description of course contents:  This course will examine some of the major issues in Latin linguistics, including, but not limited to, the Indo-European background of Latin, the relationship of Latin to the other early Italic dialects (especially Oscan and Umbrian), the pragmatics of Latin particles and word order, bilingualism in the Roman Empire, and the development of Vulgar Latin.
Instructor:  George

LING 3400:  Structure of English
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Description of course contents:  This course provides students with a foundation in the grammar of the English language. Topics include phonology, morphology, and syntax, with a focus on structural analysis. Students will gain confidence in discussing the form, function, and usage of linguistic structures. These topics will also be related to the teaching and tutoring of English as a second language, including error correction and feedback.
Instructor:  Crabtree

LNGS 3250:  Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Analysis
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  None
Description of course contents:  Introduces sign systems, language as a sign system, and approaches to linguistics description. Emphasizes the application of descriptive techniques to data.
Instructor:  Elson

LNGS 3251:  Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Methodology Discussion
Credits:  1
Prerequisites:  Simultaneous enrollment in LNGS 3250
Description of course contents:  Discussion for the course which introduces sign systems, language as a sign system, and approaches to linguistics description. Emphasizes the application of descriptive techniques to data.
Instructor:  Marsh-Soloway

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Philosophy

PHIL 2420:  Introduction to Symbolic Logic
Credits:  3
Prerequisites:  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:  Humphreys

PHIL 3330:  Philosophy of Mind
Credits:  3
Prerequisite:  None
Description of course contents:  What is the nature of the mind and why do we find its nature so puzzling? We shall critically examine various theories about the nature of the mind; we shall also discuss the nature of particular kinds of mental states and events, such as beliefs, desires, feelings, sensory experiences, and others. We shall be especially concerned with the relations between the mind and the body, and, more generally, between the mental and the physical. Most of the readings will be by contemporary philosophers.
**Course May Meet Second Writing Requirement**  
Instructor:  Gertler

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Computer Science

All Computer Science courses are acceptable except CS 1010 and CS 1020.  Note:  ECE 2066:  Science of Information will count for major credit but does not fulfill the CS area requirement.

The most common introductory-level Computer Science courses for Cognitive Science majors are:

CS 1110:  Introduction to Programming  (Previously CS 101)

CS 1120:  From Ada and Euclid to Quantum Computing and the World Wide Web  (Previously CS 150)

CS 2102:  Discrete Mathematics I  (Previously CS 202)

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