The goal of this course is to provide an integrated overview of major topics in cognitive science. The study of mind and brain raises some of the deepest and most complex issues facing science, and no single discipline can lay claim to privileged status when it comes to making progress. Indeed, much of the recent excitement in the field has come from approaches that draw on the ideas and methods of multiple disciplines. In this course we'll get a taste of some of that excitement.

Topics covered in the course include: language, perception, rationality, decision-making, emotion, attention, and morality. With each topic, we will examine it across multiple levels: functional, psychological, computational, and neural. The aim is to arrive at an overview of the big ideas of cognitive science—the theoretical principles that constitute our current understanding of how our minds work.

Course Requirements:

Quizzes, homework, and tests.

Intended Audience:

This is an undergraduate survey course and no particular background is needed.

Class Format:

Instruction Mode
As a DC (Distance due to COVID) course, all aspects of this course will be fully compatible with online learning.

Learning Mode
The weekly meetings for this course will be conducted synchronously at the times listed.

Course Assessment
All exams and/or quizzes will be conducted asynchronously. All quizzes and/or exams must be completed within a specific time window.

Synchronous Expectations
For the synchronous components of this course, students are expected to be virtually present at the listed time. Students who need to miss a meeting due to technological issues, illness, caregiving obligations, etc., will have access to missed materials on Canvas (which may include worksheets, slides, and/or video recordings.)