PSK 205 - Cognitive Psychology I

The aim of this course is to enable students to acquire an understanding of the fundamental concepts, research questions, and scientific methods of cognitive psychology and to explain the functioning of basic cognitive processes, including perception, attention, and memory, in light of behavioral and neuroscientific evidence. The course also aims to help students understand the relationship between environmental stimuli, perceptual experience, and memory representations; evaluate the interactions among cognitive processes and brain functions; interpret findings obtained from experimental research; and apply knowledge of cognitive psychology to situations encountered in everyday life.

This course covers the fundamental concepts, questions, and historical development of cognitive psychology; the cognitive revolution; the relationship between cognitive processes and the brain; and the basic approaches of cognitive neuroscience. Topics include the distinction between sensation and perception, bottom-up and top-down processing, perceptual organization, pattern and object recognition, selective and divided attention, controlled and automatic processing, visual attention, and cognitive load. The course also examines the basic structure of memory; sensory, short-term, working, and long-term memory systems; and the duration, capacity, coding formats, functions, and interactions of these systems within the framework of behavioral, experimental, neuropsychological, and neuroscientific evidence.

1.Cognitive Psychology, 7th edition by Robert J. Sternberg and Karin Sternberg  

      2. Cognitive Psychology.  (2025)  Robert L. Solso , Otto H. Maclin , M. Kimberly Maclin , Eight Edition.

There will be one midterm and one final exam. The exam questions will consist of multiple choice and open-ended questions.

40% of the midterm exam grade

60% of the final exam grade will be factored into the final grade.

70% attendance is mandatory.