Undergraduate Course: Causal cognition (PSYL10160)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course will provide an introduction to the multifarious roles of causal models in cognition, from predictive and diagnostic reasoning, and responsibility attribution, to problem solving, active learning, mental simulation and control. |
| Course description |
This course will explore how humans and animals form beliefs about the causal structure of the world, and how these beliefs guide their thoughts and actions. It will cover a range of topics related to causality in thought, including (but not limited to):
(a) A history of theories of causality from Hume's dual definition to Pearl's causal model framework for inference
(b) The role of causal learning in development
(c) How causal models support reasoning and simulation
(d) Learning from actively intervening vs. passively observing
(e) Intro to probability theory; causal Bayesian networks and Bayesian model selection
(f) The role of time in causal learning and reasoning
(g) Causality and responsibility
(h) From causality to control
The course will develop students' skills at analytic writing and thinking. It will teach students how to critically evaluate theories and construct computational models. It will take a broader more philosophical perspective than many other courses so will give students opportunities to reflect on cognition as a whole and to link different topics under a unifying philosophical perspective.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should be studying Psychology as their degree major, and have completed at least 3 Psychology courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. **Please note that upper level Psychology courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.** These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 45 |
| 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
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
30% Midterm factual short answer«br /»«br /»
70% Final exam - 1 essay and 5 short answers |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Evaluate behavioural evidence for causal model based cognition.
- Understand the major recent advances, debates, and challenges in the causal cognition literature.
- Appreciate roles of probability theory and information theory as tools for studying learning and the structure of beliefs.
- Understand and reason about the evidential value of interventions for revealing causal structure.
- Construct and use simple causal models to analyse data.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical analysis of theories, experiments and results. Engagement with philosophical issues surrounding causality and representation. Understanding of contemporary active debates. Introduction to the roles of probability and information theory in studying cognition's primary functions and processes. Introduction to rational analysis approach to cognitive science. |
| Keywords | Psychology,cognition |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Neil Bramley
Tel: (0131 6)50 4643
Email: Neil.Bramley@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Alex MacAndrew
Tel: (0131 6)51 3733
Email: alexandra.macandrew@ed.ac.uk |
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