Robert Jacobs (Instructor)
Office: Meliora 416
Phone: 585-275-0753
E-mail:
Office Hours: Fridays 10:15am-11:30am (or by appointment)
Jennifer Merickel (TA)
Office: Meliora 414
Phone: 585-275-3075
Email:
Office Hours: Mondays 2:00pm-3:15pm (or by appointment)
A. Emin Orhan (TA)
Office: Meliora 403
Phone: 585-275-7187
Email:
Office Hours: Wednesdays 2:00pm-3:15pm (or by appointment)
Reading Materials and Assignments
All readings may be accessed via Blackboard. You must be enrolled in the course
to view the readings.
Chapters from Textbooks
Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M. W., & Anderson, M. C. (2009). Memory. New York: Psychology Press.
Gleitman, L. R. & Newport, E. L. (1995). The invention of language by children: Environmental and biological influences on the acquisition of language. In L. R. Gleitman & M. Liberman (Eds.), An Invitation to Cognitive Science: Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1988). The Computer and the Mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Matlin, M. W. (2005). Cognition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Pinker, S. (1994). The Language Instinct. New York: William Morrow.
Pinker, S. (1997). How the Mind Works. New York: W. W. Norton.
Reisberg, D. (2006). Cognition: Exploring the Science of the Mind. New York: W.W. Norton.
Journal Articles & Other Materials
Boroditsky, L. (2010). Lost in translation: Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? [Article from The Wall Street Journal (July 24, 2010).]
Busey, T. A. & Loftus, G. R. (2007). Cognitive science and the law. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 111-117.
Dennett, D. C. (1998). Brainchildren: Essays on Designing Minds. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [Chapter 1 titled "Can Machines Think?".]
Ernst, M. O. & Bülthoff, H. H. (2004). Merging the senses into a robust percept. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8, 162-169.
Gardner, H. (2011). The theory of multiple intelligences: In a nutshell. In D. J. Levitin (Ed.), Foundations of Cognitive Psychology: Core Readings. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Hayhoe, M. & Ballard, D. (2005). Eye movements in natural behavior. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 188-194.
Medin, D. L. (1989). Concepts and conceptual structure. American Psychologist, 44, 1469-1481.
Neisser, U. (1997). Rising scores on intelligence tests. American Scientist, 85, 440-447.
Saffran, J. R. (2003). Statistical language learning: Mechanisms and constraints. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 110-114.
Wolfe, J. M. (2003). Moving towards solutions to some enduring controversies in visual search. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 70-76.
Laurie Santos: A Monkey Economy as Irrational as Ours
Exams
There are three "midterm" exams (Exams I, II, and III). These exams are not cumulative. Exam I covers the materials from
classes 1-7; Exam II covers the materials from classes 9-17; Exam III covers the materials from classes 19-27.
There is a final exam (Exam IV). It covers all the materials in the course. The final exam is scheduled for
Monday, May 7 at 8:30am.
Each exam will consist of 40-50 multiple-choice questions. Answers to questions must be written on "scantron" answer
sheets using a #2 pencil. Remember to bring #2 pencils to each exam.
Exams may only be missed in the event of an emergency. If you are unable to take an exam at the scheduled time for a
legitimate reason, and you know in advance, contact the instructor. You will need to present appropriate documentation
supporting your reason for missing the exam. If you miss an exam due to an unexpected illness or emergency, contact the
instructor as soon as possible. Again, you will need to present appropriate documentation.
Recitation Sections
Recitation sections will occur (nearly) every week of the semester starting Wednesday, February 1. Attendance is
strongly recommended.
Wednesdays at 4:40pm in Meliora 205
Office Hours
The instructor will stay an extra 5-10 minutes at the end of each class to answer questions.
The teaching assistants will have regularly scheduled office hours
Jennifer Merickel: Mondays 2:00pm-3:15pm (or by appointment)
Emin Orhan: Wednesdays 2:00pm-3:15pm (or by appointment)
The instructor will have regularly scheduled office hours
Robert Jacobs: Fridays 10:15am-11:30am (or by appointment)
Grading Policy
The final course grade is based on relative performance; that is, a student's exam scores can only be interpreted relative
to other students' scores.
Each exam counts for 25% of a student's final course grade.
Each student's exam answers must come solely from that student. The use of books, notes, etc. during an exam is not
permitted. Cases of suspected cheating will not be evaluated directly by the instructor, but will be referred to the College
Board on Academic Honesty.