| CODE | CGS5061 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Future Directions in Cognitive Science | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Cognitive Science | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This unit will examine those areas of cognitive science that are currently new or “hot” topics, those likely to see increasing research interest in the near future. The unit will be organized as a short, intensive course, with a week of reading, a week of face-to-face contact and a week for producing a written assignment. As the goal of the unit is to provide a snapshot of current research activity, the precise topics will necessarily change from year-to-year. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit aims to enable students to identify and describe areas of research that are currently popular and/or controversial. It also aims to provide the practical skills necessary to read a grant application and to modify an example application to reflect one area of study, by way of course assessment. Each topic will be accompanied by recommended book chapter or research article reading assignments. These readings will form the basis of in class discussion, so that critical thinking and oral presentation skills will also be reinforced. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - critically evaluate the range of research areas discussed in class; - demonstrate subject knowledge and critical thinking during in-class discussions; - describe, in detail, one topic area and generate a written proposal for an imaginary plan of research work. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - critically evaluate ideas presented in journal papers and to discuss these ideas in class, reinforcing presentation skills; - critically evaluate presented research designs and identify specific strengths and weaknesses; - produce a structured written assignment on one of the topic areas that will be the primary mode of assessment for this study-unit. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: 1) VR - Tarr, M. J., & Warren, W. H. (2002). Virtual reality in behavioral neuroscience and beyond. Nature Neuroscience, 5, 1089-1092. - Pilz, K. S., Vuong, Q. C., Bülthoff, H. H., & Thornton, I. M. (2011). Walk this way: approaching bodies can influence the processing of faces. Cognition, 118(1), 17-31. 2) Brain Stimulation - Fox, D. (2011). Neuroscience: brain buzz. Nature News, 472(7342), 156-159. - Kadosh, R. C., Levy, N., O'Shea, J., Shea, N., & Savulescu, J. (2012). The neuroethics of non-invasive brain stimulation. Current Biology, 22(4), R108-R111. 3) Epigenetics - Arshavsky, Y. I. (2003). Cellular and network properties in the functioning of the nervous system: from central pattern generators to cognition. Brain research reviews, 41(2), 229-267. - Day, J. J., & Sweatt, J. D. (2011). Cognitive neuroepigenetics: a role for epigenetic mechanisms in learning and memory. Neurobiology of learning and memory, 96(1), 2-12. 4) Embodied Cognition - Wilson, A. D., & Golonka, S. (2013). Embodied cognition is not what you think it is. Frontiers in Psychology, 4:58.doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00058. - Wilson, M. (2002). Six views of embodied cognition. Psychonomic bulletin & review. 5) Mobile devices - Miller, G. (2012). The smartphone psychology manifesto. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(3), 221-237. - Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006), 932-932. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Ian M Thornton |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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