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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2013/2014 -
- ARCHIVE as at 1 September 2013 for reference only
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Psychology

Postgraduate Course: Concepts and Categorisation (PSYL11005)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Course typeStandard AvailabilityAvailable to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) Credits10
Home subject areaPsychology Other subject areaNone
Course website Please use Learn Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionThis course aims to provide a high level of understanding about how humans, as language machines, categorise their experiences from the world around them. The course will cover questions such as how similar objects are categorised as the same or different concepts (e.g., are penguins and canaries more different than they are similar?) and whether similar types of objects (e.g., all fish) might be tagged with linguistically similar names. We'll also ask how categories are encoded at basic levels in the brain using evidence from anomic patients (who might be unable to name fruit, for example, but not animals). Finally, we'll consider how the brain creates abstract linguistic representations for concrete sensory experiences. We'll look at how categories pertaining to the senses are likely retrieved by re-activation of those same sensory regions in the brain (e.g., does merely thinking of food-names activates regions involved in taste perception?). We'll also consider cases of synaesthesia, where this sensory-conceptual categorisation gives rise to overt sensory perception during reading (e.g., tasting food in the mouth when reading food-names).

Formative feedback;
- students are given immediate verbal feedback after the class where they give their in-class presentation
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?No
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2013/14 Block 3 (Sem 2), Available to all students (SV1) Learn enabled:  Yes Quota:  None
Web Timetable Web Timetable
Course Start Date 13/01/2014
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 98 )
Additional Notes
Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
No Exam Information
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
An advanced understanding of research in concepts and categorisation.
Assessment Information
One 2500 word assignment and satisfactory course presentation

Assignment deadline: Tuesday 4th March 2014 by 12 noon
Word limit: 2500 words maximum
Return deadline: Wednesday 26th March 2014
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
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Julia Simner
Tel: (0131 6)50 3450
Email: j.simner@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: Toni.noble@ed.ac.uk
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