PSYC307 - Cognitive Psychology

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

(PSYC206 Research Design and Statistics II AND PSYC213 Individual Differences ) OR (PSYC206 Research Design and Statistics II AND PSYC214 Learning and Behaviour ) OR (PSYC226 Research Design and Data Analysis 2 AND PSYC227 Social Psychology ) OR (PSYC226 Research Design and Data Analysis 2 AND PSYC220 Personality and Individual Differences )

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Central to an undergraduate degree in psychology is the ability to understand and critically analyse core knowledge areas in psychology, to understand and demonstrate practical skills in research methods, to apply the values and ethics of the discipline and to communicate effectively in various formats. As such, this unit will concentrate on the core area of Cognitive Psychology. This unit provides an overview of traditional models and approaches to cognition, as well as a contemporary perspective on the main areas of cognition including perception, attention, memory, knowledge, imagery and higher order processes like problem solving, reasoning, and decision making. Further, it examines current approaches to research including methods from neuroscience, examples of applied research and the application of knowledge to the real-world, and cross cultural issues. The aim of this unit is to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the models, approaches and research methods in the area of cognitive psychology.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include: 

• Overview of the history of cognitive psychology and the key research methods and paradigms in cognitive psychology.
• Perception – bottom-up, top-down and Gestalt approaches to perception; face, word and object recognition; relationship between visual imagery and perception; and perceptual disturbances. 
• Attention – selective attention, automatic versus controlled processing, divided attention.
• Short term/working memory - traditional model, Baddeley’s working memory model.
• Long term memory – traditional view, episodic and semantic memory, encoding specificity, implicit memory, metamemory, levels of processing model.
• Applied memory – eyewitness memory, autobiographical memory, recovered versus false memories, mnemonics and improving memory, memory dysfunction, emotions and memory.
• Language processing- language perception and representation.
• Knowledge representation – mental representation, manipulation and organisation of knowledge; including categorisation, semantic networks, connectionist approaches and visual imagery.
• Thought - decision-making, logic and reasoning, problem solving, emotions and thought.
• The neuropsychological findings related to the above topics.
• Practical/everyday applications to the above topics.
• Cross-cultural issues– the relationship between cognitive processing and culture, in particular in relation to the cultural context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Students have the equivalent of 3 contact hours per week over a 12 week period which involves lectures and tutorials. This mode of delivery is designed to enhance discussion and engagement in the content covered in the unit. The lectures are to aid students with the acquisition and understanding of knowledge while the tutorials are designed to enhance application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation of that knowledge. The unit is also supplemented with online activities to support understanding and application of the research methodologies used in cognitive psychology. Learning and teaching strategies include active learning, case-based learning, individual and group activities, cooperative learning, web-based learning, and reflective/critical thinking activities. This range of strategies will provide students with appropriate access to required knowledge and understanding of unit content and allow students to meet the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit. Learning and teaching strategies will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively within group activities.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to successfully complete this unit, students must:

• complete and submit all of the assessment tasks listed in the table below
• obtain an aggregate mark of at least 50%
• demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome

To best enable students to demonstrate unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessments are utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements, a range of assessment strategies are used. To demonstrate understanding of methodological and ethical issues in research, students will explore and critique psychological research projects that are being conducted at ACU. The online quizzes are designed to scaffold understanding and application of the content of the unit. Students will complete an APA style laboratory report to demonstrate the ability to evaluate and synthesise the research literature to develop arguments and testable hypotheses and to interpret and evaluate contemporary research findings. Students will also complete a portfolio which provides the opportunity to demonstrate understanding, consolidation and application of the content covered in the unit.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Goldstein, E B. (2018). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience. (5th ed). Wadsworth.

Galotti, K,M. (2017). Cognitive psychology in and out of the laboratory (6th ed). Sage

Kelly, L. (2016). The memory code. Allen and Unwin

Reisberg, D. (2021). Cognition: Exploring the science of the mind (8th ed). W.W Norton & Co.

Rolls, G. (2019). Classic case studies in psychology (4th ed). Routledge

Sternberg, R.J. & Sternberg, K. (2017). Cognitive psychology (7th ed). Cengage.