L1: What is Cognition?

This module presents an overview of Cognitive Psychology along with a tutorial on reading primary research articles. Read Chapter 1 from the textbook, attend class and view slides, and complete the quiz and/or writing assignment by the due date.

This is the first content learning module for PSYC 2040.

Goals

  • Present an overview of Cognitive Psychology
  • Provide examples of primary research about cognitive abilities
  • Develop familiarity with reading primary research articles

Instructions

Work through each of the following Read, View/Watch/listen, and Engage sections. You have the full week to complete any quizzes or assignments for this module.

Read

Textbook Chapter: What is Cognition?

Overview of questions, methods, findings, explanations, applications and implications of cognitive psychology.

QALMRI method for reading primary research articles in cognitive psychology.

Reading time: 30 minutes

Read

View/Watch/Listen

View the slides (Uploaded before class)


L1: Slides

View the articles

We will do an in-class activity with the following three articles:

  • Mueller, P. A., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159–1168. Link
  • Urry, H. L., Crittle, C. S., Floerke, V. A., Leonard, M. Z., Perry, C. S., Akdilek, N., Albert, E. R., Block, A. J., Bollinger, C. A., Bowers, E. M., Brody, R. S., Burk, K. C., Burnstein, A., Chan, A. K., Chan, P. C., Chang, L. J., Chen, E., Chiarawongse, C. P., Chin, G., … Zarrow, J. E. (2021). Don’t Ditch the Laptop Just Yet: A Direct Replication of Mueller and Oppenheimer’s (2014) Study 1 Plus Mini Meta-Analyses Across Similar Studies. Psychological Science, 32(3), 326–339. Link
  • Voyer, D., Ronis, S. T., & Byers, N. (2022). The effect of notetaking method on academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 68, 102025.Link

Engage

When you are ready, complete the assignments posted on Canvas for this module. Each quiz or assignment is worth 3 points. Remember that you can do as many quizzes and or assignments as you want throughout the semester, but only your highest scoring assignment per week will count towards your final grade, and weekly assignments can earn you a maximum of 30 total points.

  1. QUIZ (on Canvas): Complete the L1: What is Cognition quiz
  2. WRITING (see instructions below, submit on Canvas)
  3. REFLECT: Submit a meme for the Memer of the Semester contest on Canvas (1 extra credit point for winner at the end of the semester)

Submit your work on Canvas. Then, move on to the next learning module.


Writing Option 1: What can cognitive science do for people?

Your assignment is to read a short article, and then write down your thoughts and reactions to the ideas expressed in the paper. Your written reaction should be at least 250 words.

Your assigned reading is:

Prather, R. W. et al. (2022). What can Cognitive Science do for people?. Cognitive Science, 46(6), e13167.

Link to paper

This paper is also available on Canvas. You can find it in the assignment for learning module 1.

Instructions:

  1. Download and read the paper
  2. Write down your reactions to the ideas in the papers in at least 250 words. Your reaction could include questions you had as you read the article, identifying and discussing topics you found interesting, your point view on the topics, and how these issues might relate yourself and society in general. These are only suggestions, feel free to explore writing what it means to react to this paper.
  3. Submit your written work to this assignment posted on Canvas.

Writing Option 2: Answer two short answer questions

Answer the following questions:

  • Describe two effective study strategies and at least one empirical study per strategy that has demonstrated the effectiveness of the strategy. Your description of the study should include the independent and dependent variable(s) and key findings.

  • Describe the controversial research on notetaking (mention at least 2 studies) that we discussed in class and your main takeaway from this review of the literature