Study of Behavior
The Department of Cognitive Science offers five areas of specialization that undergraduate students pursuing a B.S. Cognitive Science major have the option of declaring depending on their interests. Though aspects of behavior are encapsulated in each specialization, students interested in this particular area have most often declared a human cognition, human computer interaction, or clinical aspects of cognition specialization. The 101 core sequence provides students with a basic foundation in cognitive theory and phenomena. The 102 core sequence provides students with a basic foundation in distributed and everyday cognition as well as cognitive engineering.
The 101 and 102 Core Sequences
COGS 101A Sensation and Perception
An introduction to the experimental study of cognition with a focus on sensation and perception.
COGS 101B Learning, Memory, and Attention
A survey of the experimental study of learning, memory, and attention. Topics include conditioning, automaticity, divided attention, memory systems, and the nature of mental representation.
COGS 101C Language
An introduction to structure of natural language, and to the cognitive processes that underline its acquisition, comprehension, and production. This course covers findings from linguistics, computer science, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience to provide an integrated perspective on human language abilities.
COGS 102A Distributed Cognition
Distributed cognition extends beyond the boundaries of the person to include the environment, artifacts, social interactions, and culture. Major themes are the study of socially distributed cognition and the role of artifacts in human cognition.
COGS 102B Everyday Cognition
This course examines memory, reasoning, language understanding, learning, and planning directly in everyday, real-world settings. The coursework will include discussions of both the findings and the methodology of naturalistic studies of cognition.
COGS 102C Cognitive Engineering
Applications of cognitive science for the design of human-centered systems are explored. An extensive project analyzing an existing system or product or designing a new prototype application is required.