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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2015/2016

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Psychology

Undergraduate Course: Thinking and Reasoning (PSYL10111)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis course will cover the main contemporary theories of human reasoning, including logical reasoning, probabilistic reasoning, and analogical reasoning. In addition, it will cover classic research on problem solving and decision making, including problem space theory, insight, as well as heuristics and biases in judgement.
Course description Not entered
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Psychology 2 (PSYL08002)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have at least 3 Psychology courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Block 1 (Sem 1)
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 12, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 86 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 20 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Peer-led discussions will be used in an on-going, informal manner to check students' understanding.

Coursework 20% (600-word summary of a critical paper)

Examination 80%
Feedback Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)Thinking and Reasoning1:30
Resit Exam Diet (August)Thinking and Reasoning1:30
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. To critically assess the experimental evidence for and against current cognitive theories
  2. To explain two or three major issues of dispute, and demonstrate why these issues are important within cognitive psychology.
  3. To understand normative and descriptive models of cognition and assess the value of different approaches to modelling cognitive processes
Reading List
Lecture 1 reading:
Assigned reading : Baron, J. (2008). Thinking and Deciding (4th Edn). New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapters 1-3.

Lecture 2 reading:
(one of the following interchangeable readings):
Anderson, J. R. (2005). Cognitive Psychology and its implications (7th Edn). New York: Freeman. Chapter 8-9.
Ashcraft, M. H. (2002). Cognition (3rd Edn). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Chapter 12.
Eysenck, M.W. & Keane, M. T. (2005). Cognitive Psychology: A Student¿s Handbook (5th Ed). East Sussex: Psychology Press Ltd. Chapter 13.

Lecture 3 reading:
Gentner, D. & Markman, A. B. (1997). Structure mapping in analogy and similarity. American Psychologist, 52, 45-56.
Holyoak, K. J. & Thagard, P. (1997). The analogical mind. American Psychologist, 52, 35-44.
Suggested:
Johnson-Laird, P. N. (2005). Flying bicycles: How the Wright brothers invented the airplane. Mind & Society, 4, 27-48.

Lecture 4 reading:
Markman & Gentner (2001). Thinking. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 223-247.
Suggested: Johnson-Laird, P. N. (2001). Mental models and deduction. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 5, 434-442.

Lecture 5 reading:
TBA
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Adam Moore
Tel: (0131 6)50 3369
Email: amoore23@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Stephanie Fong
Tel: (0131 6)50 3628
Email: S.Fong@ed.ac.uk
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