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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2010/2011
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Psychology

Postgraduate Course: Sentence Comprehension (PSYL11001)

Course Outline
School School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences College College of Humanities and Social Science
Course type Standard Availability Available to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken) SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) Credits 10
Home subject area Psychology Other subject area None
Course website None Taught in Gaelic? No
Course description This course is designed to provide an advanced understanding of current psycholinguistic research in sentence comprehension. We study the nature of the human sentence processor, looking at its architecture particularly in relation to the mechanisms used to resolve syntactic and semantic ambiguities. Methodological and theoretical issues are considered alongside each other.

The course pays special attention to evidence for the ways in which different types of information come into play as sentences are understood, looking in turn at syntactic, semantic, and frequency information and their effects on the processing of local and long-distance (unbounded) dependencies. Evidence is presented from studies which use a number of methodologies, including self-paced reading, eyetracking, and event-related potentials (ERPs).

Where relevant, we will discuss the interaction between sentence processing and other levels of processing, such as lexical processing.
Entry Requirements
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites None
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? No
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2010/11 Block 2 (Sem 1), Available to all students (SV1) WebCT enabled:  Yes Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
CentralLecture7-11 09:00 - 10:50
First Class Week 7, Friday, 09:00 - 10:50, Zone: Central. S37, 7 George Square
No Exam Information
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Students will obtain an advanced understanding of the core issues in current research on sentence processing. They will understand some of the key findings relating to garden path sentences, unbounded dependencies, and syntactic and semantic anomalies, and they will appreciate the main experimental techniques that are used in the field.

Students will also be able to evaluate the primary scientific literature critically and independently. These skills are essential for students to be able to design their own research projects and to write clear and persuasive scholarly reports.
Assessment Information
One 3,000 word essay and satisfactory course presentation
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus Not entered
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list Not entered
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Not entered
Keywords Not entered
Contacts
Course organiser Dr Martin Corley
Tel: (0131 6)50 6682
Email: Martin.Corley@ed.ac.uk
Course secretary Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: Toni.noble@ed.ac.uk
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copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh - 31 January 2011 8:16 am