Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior (Psychology 641)

Th 10-12.30, M/2/628C

 

Professor:        Dr. Zsuzsa Kaldy

Office:             M/4/212

Lab:                 M/3/507

Phone:             617-287-6393

Email:               zsuzsa.kaldy@umb.edu

Website:         http://psych.umb.edu/faculty/kaldy/courses/psy641/

Class blog:     http://psych641.blogspot.com/

Office hours:   T 10.00-12.00, W 2.00-3.00

 

CLICK HERE FOR CLASS SCHEDULE

 

WHO IS PRESENTING WHAT? FINAL SCHEDULE

 

EVALUATION FORM

 

Course Description:

This graduate course is designed to introduce students to human cognitive and affective processes. The broad range of topics covers areas in the field of cognitive psychology, and presents the current thinking in this discipline. Topics include: vision, attention, memory, language, emotions, social cognition and cognitive development. We will discuss some of the most recent findings with a focus on the neuroscientific and developmental aspects of these fields.

            The in-class presentations are intended to prepare students to present scientific findings at conferences.

 

Requirements:

 

Presentations (40%):

2 paper presentations

Based on the assigned paper and some background research (min. 5 related papers), please prepare an approx. 25-30-minute-long PowerPoint presentation.

 

Comments (20%):

After reading the assigned papers, please formulate one comment for each paper in writing. The comment can be a discussion question or a genuine comment. We will use these comments during the paper discussions. Please post your comment on this blog no later than Thursday, 10 am. (You cannot repeat the same comment that someone has already made, so itŐs a good idea to post your comment as soon as you can.)

http://psych641.blogspot.com/

 

Final paper (40%):

Min. 10-page-long paper related to the topic of one of the journal articles discussed in class (Cannot be the one that you presented!). The paper should argue for or against the theory/position put forward in the paper. You should use a minimum of 10 references. 3 weeks before submitting the paper, a draft version is due (outline form preferred).

 

Attendance:

I expect everyone to attend class. You can miss one class during the semester without a penalty.

 

Readings:

See page 3.

 

Final paper due: Monday, Dec 11, 12 pm.

 

FINAL LIST OF READINGS

11 ARTICLES FOR TOPICS 1-10, 2 FOR EACH STUDENT. ZK

 

Neuroscience basics, methods

Abbott, A. (2006). Neuroprosthetics: in search of the sixth sense. Nature, 442(7099):125-7. [pdf]

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/suppinfo/nature04970.html

 

Raichle ME. (1998). Behind the scenes of functional brain imaging: a historical and physiological perspective. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 95(3):765-72. [pdf]

 

1. Vision

Goodale MA, Westwood DA. (2004). An evolving view of duplex vision: separate but interacting cortical pathways for perception and action. Curr Opin Neurobiol., 14(2):203-11. [pdf]

Ostrovsky, Y., Andalman, A. and Sinha, P. (under review). Vision following extended congenital blindness. [pdf]

 

2. More on plasticity

Harrison, R.V., Gordon, K.A., Mount, R.J. (2005). Is there a critical period for cochlear implantation in congenitally deaf children? Analyses of hearing and speech perception performance after implantation. Dev Psychobiol. 46(3):252-61. [pdf]

Pantev C, Oostenveld R, Engelien A, Ross B, Roberts LE, Hoke M. (1998) Increased auditory cortical representation in musicians. Nature, 392(6678):811-4. [pdf]

 

3. Decision making

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185, 1124-1131. [pdf]

Bechara A, Damasio H, Tranel D, Damasio AR. (1997). Deciding advantageously before knowing the advantageous strategy. Science, 275(5304):1293-5. [pdf]

 

4. Language

Hauser MD, Chomsky N, Fitch WT. The faculty of language: what is it, who has it, and how did it evolve? Science. 2002 Nov 22;298(5598):1569-79. [pdf]

Hernandez AE, Dapretto M, Mazziotta J, Bookheimer S. (2001). Language switching and language representation in Spanish-English bilinguals: an fMRI study. Neuroimage. 14(2):510-20.[pdf]

 

5. Emotions

Adolphs R. (2003). Investigating the cognitive neuroscience of social behavior. Neuropsychologia, 41(2):119-26. [pdf]

LeDoux, J.E. (2000) Emotion circuits in the brain. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 23:155-184. (skip section from p.161-172) [pdf]

 

6. Social cognition

Preston SD, de Waal FB. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behav Brain Sci. 25(1):1-20. (skip the following sections: Section 1.1.2., 2.1, 3.3, 4.) [pdf]

Onishi KH, Baillargeon R. (2005). Do 15-month-old infants understand false beliefs? Science, 308(5719):255-8. [pdf] - together with Leslie (2005). Developmental parallels in understanding minds and bodies. Trends Cogn Sci. 9(10):459-62.[pdf]

 

7. Cognitive Development

Wynn K. (1992). Addition and subtraction by human infants. Nature, 358(6389):749-50. [pdf]

Gergely G, Bekkering H, Kiraly I. (2002). Rational imitation in preverbal infants. Nature, 415(6873):755. [pdf]

Keen, R.  (2003). Representation of objects and events: Why do infants look so smart and toddlers look so dumb?  Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 79-83. [pdf]  

 

8. Aging

German TP, Hehman JA. (2006). Representational and executive selection resources in 'theory of mind': evidence from compromised belief-desire reasoning in old age. Cognition, 101(1):129-52. [pdf]

Buckner RL. (2004). Memory and executive function in aging and AD: multiple factors that cause decline and reserve factors that compensate. Neuron, 44(1):195-208.[pdf]

 

9. Neurodevelopmental disorders 1.

Baron-Cohen S, Leslie AM, Frith U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a "theory of mind"? Cognition, 21(1):37-46. [pdf]

Frith U. (2004). Emanuel Miller lecture: confusions and controversies about Asperger syndrome. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 45(4):672-86. [pdf]

 

10. Neurodevelopmental disorders 2.

Singer HS. (2005). Tourette's syndrome: from behaviour to biology. Lancet Neurol. 4(3):149-59. [pdf]

Meyer-Lindenberg A, Mervis CB, Berman KF (2006). Neural mechanisms in Williams Syndrome: a unique window to genetic influences on cognition and behaviour. Nat Rev Neurosci. 7(5):380-93. [pdf]

Bellugi U, Lichtenberger L, Jones W, Lai Z, St George M. I. (2000). The neurocognitive profile of Williams Syndrome: a complex pattern of strengths and weaknesses. J Cogn Neurosci.;12 Suppl 1:7-29. [pdf]

 

Class Policies: In accordance with Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, UMass Boston attempts to accommodate all students with a documented disability. Students with these needs can find appropriate services at the Lillian Semper Ross Center for Disability Services. The Ross Center for Disability Services, located on the first floor of the McCormack building, provides language interpretation, readers, testing accommodations, and counseling. If you require any of these services, contact the Center as soon as possible at (617) 287-7430.

 

Student Conduct: Students are required to adhere to the University Policy on Academic Standards and Cheating, to the University Statement on Plagiarism and the Documentation of Written Work, and to the Code of Student Conduct as delineated in the catalog of Undergraduate Programs, pp. 44-45, and 48-52. The Code is available online at: http://www.umb.edu/student_services/student_rights/code_conduct.html.

 

Incomplete Grades: Incomplete grades can only be given if a student is in good standing and is prevented from completing the course by documented circumstances that are beyond his/her control.