Cognitive Psychology

2025/2026

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

Delivered at:

Department of Sociology

Course type:

Elective course

When:

3 year, 1, 2 module

Instructor

Alenina, Evgeniia

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Every day our mind performs incredibly complex computations. It helps us to make sense of sensory information, memorize different things, learn new concepts and categories, make decisions, and creatively solve problems. All these topics are studied by cognitive psychology. The course is designed for students that already have basic knowledge in psychology and want to deepen their understanding of human cognition. Students will learn about the most influential theories and empirical studies of perception, attention, memory, learning, thinking, and consciousness. Seminar activities will help to develop critical thinking and communication competence, while group projects and home assignments promote the ability to apply knowledge to real-life problems.

Learning Objectives

• • describe major concepts in cognitive psychology • analyze and critically evaluate theories and empirical studies in cognitive psychology • understand the connection between basic and applied research in cognitive psychology • apply major concepts and theories of cognitive psychology to real-life problems

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Apply memory principles to real-life problems
• Critically evaluate direct and indirect theories of perception
• Critically evaluate theoretical perspectives on human decision-making
• Define terms: attention, divided attention, selective attention, inattention blindness, change blindness
• Describe and provide examples of memory processes (encoding, storage, and retrieval)
• Describe different heuristics and biases in decision-making (anchoring, framing, representativeness, availability, and etc.)
• Describe the structure of long-term memory (E. Tulving)
• Describe theories of forgetting (displacement, trace decay, repression, interference)
• Describe types of sensations and distinguish between distant vs. contact senses; general vs. special senses.
• Explain the relationship between applied and basic research in cognitive psychology
• Find, evaluate and use the necessary information from different sources in order to develop a critical test that allows to evaluate if an artificial intelligent system is conscious
• List the assumptions of the information processing approach to cognition
• Describe cognitive psychology as a part of cognitive science
• Describe the multi-store memory model (Atkinson & Shiffrin)

Course Contents

• Cognitive Psychology: Introduction & Historical Overview
• Sensation & Perception. Attention.
• Memory
• Learning, Thinking, and Decision-Making
• Consciousness. Human vs. Artificial Intelligence.
• Trends and challenges in cognitive psychology

Assessment Elements

• Seminar Participation 1
• Seminar Participation 2
• Project 1
• Project 2
• Exam test
  In cognitive psychology, the effects of technology use on human cognitive functions (attention, memory, thinking, speech, etc.) are actively studied. The possibility of developing developmental interfaces (so-called brain training) is discussed, but many works are clearly technophobic. Create a presentation (up to 10 minutes) or a written report (3-4 pages) describing the results of your project. Task Formulate a specific topic along the general lines of “Effects of technology use on human cognitive function,” divide into groups and record in a table. Find and analyze articles on the chosen topic, present a literature review, and draw conclusions Formulate practical recommendations on how this technology can be used for human benefit.
• Intermediate test
  10 questions of multiple choice test.

Interim Assessment

• 2025/2026 1st module
  0.1 * Intermediate test + 0.6 * Project 1 + 0.3 * Seminar Participation 1
• 2025/2026 2nd module
  0.3 * Exam test + 0.4 * Project 2 + 0.3 * Seminar Participation 2

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Cognitive pragmatics : mindreading, inferences, consciousness, Mazzone, M., 2018
• Cognitive psychology : connecting mind, research, and everyday experience, Goldstein, E. B., 2008
• Cognitive psychology, Sternberg, R. J., 2009
• Eysenck, M. W., & Keane, M. T. (2015). Cognitive Psychology : A Student’s Handbook (Vol. Seventh edition). Hove, East Sussex: Psychology Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=955932
• Goldstein, E. B., & Hooff, J. van. (2018). Cognitive Psychology: Vol. 1st EMEA edition. Cengage Learning.
• In 1974, Baddeley and Hitch proposed a three-component model of working memory. Over the years, this has been successful in giving an integrated account not only of data from normal adults, but also neuropsychological, developmental and neuroimaging data. There are, however, a number of phenomena that are not readily captured by the original model. These are outlined here and a fourth component to the model, the episodic buffer, is proposed. It comprises a limited capacity system that provides temporary storage of information held in a multimodal code, which is capable of binding information from the subsidiary systems, and from long-term memory, into a unitary episodic representation. Conscious awareness is assumed to be the principal mode of retrieval from the buffer. The revised model differs from the old principally in focussing attention on the processes of integrating information, rather than on the isolation of the subsystems. In doing so, it provides a better basis for tackling the more complex aspects of executive control in working memory.
• Rastogi, C., Zhang, Y., Wei, D., Varshney, K. R., Dhurandhar, A., & Tomsett, R. (2020). Deciding Fast and Slow: The Role of Cognitive Biases in AI-assisted Decision-making.
• Rethinking consciousness : a scientific theory of subjective experience, Graziano, M. S. A., 2019
• Thinking and reasoning : an introduction to the psychology of reason, judgment and decision making, Manktelow, K., 2012
• Weisberg, R. W., & Reeves, L. (2013). Cognition : From Memory to Creativity. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=531239
• Yaple, Z., & Arsalidou, M. (2018). N-back Working Memory Task: Meta-analysis of Normative fMRI Studies With Children. Child Development, 89(6), 2010–2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13080

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Chalmers, D. J. (1996). The Conscious Mind : In Search of a Fundamental Theory. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=55770
• Dennett, D. C. (2005). Sweet Dreams : Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness. Cambridge, Mass: A Bradford Book. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=138505
• Levitin, D. J. (2002). Foundations of Cognitive Psychology : Core Readings. Cambridge, Mass: A Bradford Book. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=78136

Authors

• Alenina Evgeniia Alekseevna