Overview

This course is an introduction to human cognition and how it is explored. You will explore how Psychology was born as a separate discipline and how we began to study the nervous system in terms of functions, abilities and traits linking brain, mind, behavior and relationship with the environment. With this course we will also explore the main cognitive functions, such as memory, language, attention and perception and look at how they are investigated.

Syllabus

Welcome to the course
Module 1 - What is Cognitive Psychology? History and current core debates

This module will give an overview of the main ideas that underlie modern research in psychology. Content will explore key debates such as the nature and nurture discussion and their role in forming personality and behaviour; the relationship between brain, mind and behaviour and the extent to which the mind-body system can be observed and investigated scientifically; the extent of plasticity in the adult brain; and the extent to which the mind can be conceived in a modular way, with different functions regulated by different neural paths. This will stimulate a critical understanding of psychology in a broad way and of the principles at the heart of its research.

Module 2 - How do we measure the mind? Introduction to psychology’s main research methods

This module explores the key research methods of psychology. It will outline the most important techniques at the heart of cognitive psychology and evaluate the contribution they can make to what we now know about the mind and its development. Content will introduce the role of neuropsychological research in understanding how brain lesions can help us understand how the brain normally functions. A review of the key neuroimaging techniques will be given, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emotion tomography (PET), electroencephalogram (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and single cell recordings. The podcast will also consider techniques for actively manipulating neural activity (e.g. transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).

Module 3 - Introduction to the psychology of human language

This module provides an introduction to the study of language and to the core aspects of language processing. Particular focus will be given to how we learn language and whether we have an innate predisposition to language acquisition. Content will provide an overview of the main theories of language acquisition and the nature of the learning context, discussing the theory of shared attentional orienting (between the parent and the infant) during language development. Lectures will also provide an overview of the different components of language from phonology and morphology to semantics and syntax.

Module 4 - Introduction to memory, perception and cross-modal interactions

This module will introduce the concepts of working memory and the most influential models theorised to explain its role. We will also explore evidences for the idea of a ‘phonological loop’ and ‘visuo-spatial’ sketchpad for short term memory. Content will also highlight how language and memory interact with perception to facilitate some aspects of our daily life. In particular, cross-modal effects will be explored, that is how one sensory system (for example what we see) can influence another sense (what we hear); or how perception and language have an influence on each other (such as how language influence how we see colours); or how perception influences memorization.

Module 5 - Introduction to attention, consciousness and free will

This module will explore the idea of attention and the idea that our experience is shaped by what we focus on. In particular, this week will be dedicated to the influence of attention in our mind’s life and on how our internal and external landscape is designed by our attention (such as the role of attention on memory, language and perception). Videos will also discuss cases of impaired attention and the symptoms it causes (such as the visual spatial neglect). Finally, the session will also provide an overview of the relationship between attention and consciousness, of their co-dependency as well as dissociation. Content will also be dedicated to the relationship between consciousness and free will.