Cognitive Psychology

To what extent are our perceptions representative of reality? How much can we attend to at once, and what are the implications of this for, say, talking on a cell phone while driving? How accurate are our memories--do we ever "remember" things that didn't happen? Does language influence how and what we perceive, remember, or even think? How do we make decisions, and to what extent are humans rational? What simple things can people do to improve their study habits?  This course addresses these questions and many others by critically examining theory and experimental evidence contributing to an understanding of fundamental cognitive processes, including those involved in perception, attention, memory, knowledge representation, language, problem solving, judgment, and decision making.   Readings, lectures, in-class and online experiments, and class discussions will all be used to help students foster an understanding of course topics and their implications for everyday problems.