PSY 320 Syllabus Grading Rubrics

During our first meeting, we’ll discuss why we’re here, outline our roles & expectations, review the syllabus & schedule, and conclude with a historical overview of Cognitive Psychology.

After providing a brief a historical overview of Cognitive Psychology, this module examines key aspects of perceptual processing, beginning with how we recognize visual objects and the roles of top-down processing and specialized recognition systems. It then turns to auditory perception, particularly speech, highlighting how these processes transform raw sensory input into usable information for higher-level cognition like reading.

This week’s module introduces attention by distinguishing between divided and selective attention, followed by a look at experimental tasks used to study them. It then explores biological and theoretical explanations of attention before concluding with a discussion of consciousness and self-awareness.

This week’s module begins with classic research on short-term memory before shifting to the concept of working memory and its key components. It concludes by examining how working memory capacity limits affect various cognitive domains and applications in cognitive science.

This week’s module introduces long-term memory, focusing on how information is stored, accessed, and retrieved. It concludes with an exploration of autobiographical memory, emphasizing personal experiences and events.

This week’s module focuses on practical strategies for memory improvement, both for academic learning and everyday tasks. It also emphasizes the role of metacognition - understanding and regulating your own cognitive processes - in choosing effective strategies and using them more efficiently.

This week’s module explores imagery, beginning with the nature of visual images and the factors that shape mental imagery. It then examines auditory images and concludes with cognitive maps, or mental representations of geographic information.

After briefly reviewing the course concepts covered in this 1st half of our course, we’ll complete the midterm exam and preview the 2nd half of PSY 320.