Postgraduate Course: Seminar in Intelligence (PSYL11078)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Like Seminar in Personality, this course follows the successful format of student presentations on a curated set of papers defining a core curriculum.
The class is a core unit for MSc. PID students, reflecting the fact that, along with personality, intelligence is a central topic of individual differences.
The course immerses students in the intelligence literature and reinforces your understanding of advanced methods and designs (e.g., Mendelian Randomization, longitudinal studies). The primary reading for the course is based on influential articles, both recent and past. Students with less experience will be able to draw upon an optional textbook and attend 4th year lectures.
Each week students will present on and lead a discussion covering either one or two large related articles or several smaller related articles. The presenter meets with one or both lecturers at least 1 week prior to their presentation. On the day, they present, and handle discussion. You receive feedback from the lecturer(s) both during the presentation and more formally shortly after the presentation. |
| Course description |
The syllabus will also highlight the breakdown of marks in the course. It will also provide a list of papers under each topic that can be read and discussed by the students. This is because, aside from an introductory lecture, there is no week-to-week plan for the course and that the schedule depends entirely on what students will present each week.
Topics covered would be:
1) The definitions and structure of intelligence
2) The nature of general intelligence (underlying causal structure or something else)
3) Genetic and familial influences on intelligence
4) Intelligence and lower-level cognitive processes
5) The biological foundations of intelligence
6) The evolutionary psychology of intelligence and intelligence in in nonhuman animals
7) The influences of intelligence on health, well-being, and psychopathology
8) Intelligence, culture, national and cohort differences
9) Intelligence, development and ageing
10) Intelligence and personality: empirical relations and conceptual similarities and differences
11) Intelligence and society
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2014/15, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1. A 1-2 page summary of the research papers to be handed out to fellow students (10%)
2. Performance when leading discussion group (10%)
3. Participation in discussion groups during the other weeks (10%)
4. Editing or creating a Wikipedia page on the topic of presentation (70%)
Assessment Deadline: Thursday 16th April 2015, 12 noon
Return Date: 8th May 2015 |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge of major research conducted in intelligence
Knowledge of how to conduct intelligence research (methodological design issues, etc.)
Ability to summarize and present scientific papers
Leading and participating in small discussion groups
Being able to write a text on the topic of presentation that is accessible to public and yet scientifically accurate
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Reading List
| An online list of citation classics and recent papers from a high impact journals focussed on intelligence, individual differences, behaviour genetics, medical sciences, and animal behaviour will be used. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Reading and evaluating scientific papers and methods
Drafting the equivalent of an introduction section for an MSc thesis or large paper
Leading small group discussions
Public speaking |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Rene Mottus
Tel: (0131 6)50 3410
Email: rene.mottus@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: Toni.noble@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 12 January 2015 4:42 am
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