HCCK03001U COG Introduction to Cognitive Science

Volume 2024/2025
Education

The Master’s Programme in Cognition and Communication, 2024-curriculum: 

Introduction to Cognitive Science 

 

 

Content

The course aims to provide students with knowledge and understanding of contemporary cognitive models of the mind. The course trains students’ ability to describe and explain the various research designs used by cognitive scientists and the relationship between experimental designs and cognitive models. The aim is for students to acquire competencies in demonstrating an adequate understanding of experimental designs, understanding and critically assessing contemporary research in a given domain of cognitive science, and independently presenting and arguing in favour of relevant positions in writing.

The course is divided into two main parts. The first part introduces students to a number of core topics in cognitive science (e.g., perception, attention, memory, communication) as well as to general methodologies and methodological discussions in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. The second part of the course introduces students to different cognitive frameworks (e.g., predictive processing, embodied cognition, connectionism, deep learning), as well as to the formal operations and philosophical assumptions that motivate these frameworks.

Learning Outcome

The academic targets for the course are:

 

Knowledge and understanding of

• contemporary models of cognitive phenomena such as perception, action, attention, reasoning, emotion, social cognition and communication.

• ways in which cognitive processes and human behaviour can be described and explained at various levels (ranging from descriptions of cognitive tasks to neurobiological implementation).

• the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive science and its different frameworks - from classical computational model and connectionism to situated and embodied approaches.

• various research designs used in cognitive science research.

• key notions in contemporary philosophy of psychology and philosophy of mind.

 

Skills in

• describing and explaining how insights from cognitive science may have relevance for communication.

• describing and explaining the various research designs and modelling tools used in cognitive science.

• describing and explaining the relationship between experimental design, experimental manipulations, and cognitive models.

 

Competencies in

• critically assessing contemporary research in a given domain of cognitive science.

• independently presenting and arguing in favour of various academic positions in writing.

Literature

The course literature consists of introductory textbooks in cognitive science and classic and new research papers.

No background in psychology or cognitive science is assumed.
The course involves both weekly lectures, seminars and scheduled group work. The method of instruction is a mixture between lectures, class discussion, group work, group presentations, and writing exercises.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 56
  • Preparation
  • 353,5
  • Total
  • 409,5
Written
Oral
Individual
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral exam on basis of previous submission
Type of assessment details
Oral exam. Scope: 30 minutes incl. 5 minutes of assessment. The material is a report of
11-15 standard pages.
Exam registration requirements

The active class participation consists of: • Minimum 75% class attendance • Approval of three exercises (form and extend are described in the course description at http://kurser.ku.dk) • Student peer feedback on two of the exercises.

Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period

January 2025

Re-exam

February 2025