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Methods in Cognitive, Affective, and Developmental Psychology and Neuroscience

Module description

In this module you will be familiarised with a wide range of methodologies used in Cognitive, Affective, and Developmental Psychology and Neuroscience, and explore multiple examples of cutting edge research on cognitive, affective and developmental processes. Across a range of topics, you will obtain a thorough understanding of both theoretical and practical approaches to understanding brain and behaviour relationships. You will learn the fundamentals in techniques developed for understanding behaviour, as well as brain functions.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to develop a critical awareness of a comprehensive set of the most widely used methods at the disposal of psychologists and neuroscientists investigating cognitive, affective and developmental processes, using the considerable pool of expertise among the Department’s academic staff. Each session is delivered by an expert in the method under scrutiny. The module will enable you to sample and learn from a wide range of examples of historical and current cutting-edge research within these research areas. The module also aims to develop expertise in critical analysis and research design, and provide experience in the communication of ideas in a concise and engaging manner.

Through attending the weekly seminars and completing the assessments, you will further develop the following academic and professional skills:

• problem solving (linking theory to practice, developing your own ideas with confidence, showing research and policy awareness, being able to respond to novel and unfamiliar problems)
• time management (managing time effectively individually and within a group)
• collaboration (respecting the views and values of others, taking initiative and leading others)
• supporting others in their work, maintaining group cohesiveness and purpose), and audience awareness (presenting ideas effectively, informing others of your views effectively, responding positively to questions to develop ideas).

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Describe extensively research methods in Cognitive, Affective, and Developmental Psychology and Neuroscience, discussing the basic uses of each method and some of its developments, clarify the assumptions underlying each method, explain the major limitations or uncertainties of the method, and recall some illustrative applications
• 2. Give detailed examples of the applications of these methods to testing psychological theories of cognitive, affective and developmental processes
• 3. Discuss at an advanced level an illustrative range of research questions being addressed in the above areas of research
• 4. Evaluate critically research on cognitive, affective and developmental processes
• 5. Illustrate at an advanced level the application of one methodology (or group of methodologies) to a particular/specific research theme/issue

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of a range of methodologies
• 7. Adequately relate specific research questions to appropriate methodology
• 8. Command a variety of research skills to address research questions
• 9. Communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively, fluently and professionally by written, graphic and oral means

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 10. Engage in advanced critical analysis of research design
• 11. Assimilate a wide array of information for problem solving, utilise theory to derive predictions, develop new questions that may help guide theoretical developments
• 12. Debate arguments presented in class in open discussion
• 13. Discuss research with instructors and peers

Syllabus plan

The following is an indicative syllabus. Details and running order may vary as a result of staff availability. A more detailed syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the academic year.

Indicative syllabus:

• Introduction to scope, coverage and assessment
• Introspection
• Basic performance measures
• Mental chronometry using RT
• Eye-movements as an index of attention and other cognitive processes
• Electrophysiology and event-related potentials
• Psychophysiological measures of arousal and emotion
• Temporal and spatial localisation of function with transcranial magnetic stimulation
• Neuroimaging techniques
• Research methods in developmental psychology
• Computational modelling of cognitive function

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The module mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit further assessments based on which assessments were failed originally. The module mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Meyer DE, Osman AM, Irwin DE, Yantis Y (1988) Modern mental chronometry. Biological Psychology, 26, 3-67
• Posner (2005) Timing the brain: mental chronometry as a tool in neuroscience. PLoS Biology, 3,(2) e51.
• Sternberg, S. (2004) RT experimentation. Notes from Penn Psychology-600-301 Proseminar in Psychological Methods. Can be downloaded from http://www.psych.upenn.edu/~saul/]
• Ratcliff R, & McKoon, G. (2008) The Diffusion Decision Model: Theory and Data for Two-Choice Decision Tasks. Neural Computation, 20, 873-922.
• Liversedge, S. P., Findlay, J. M. (2000). Saccadic eye movements and cognition. Trends in Cognitive Science, 6-14.
• Rayner, K. (2009). Eye movements and attention in reading, scene perception, and visual search Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 62, 1457-1506.
• Walsh, V. & Cowey, A. (2000). Transcranial magnetic stimulation and cognitive neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 1(1), 73-79.
• Hallett, M. (2007). Transcranial magnetic stimulation: A primer. Neuron, 55(2), 187-99.
• Luck, S. J. (2005). An introduction to the event-related potential technique. The MIT Press, Cam., Mass.
• Andreassi, J.L. (2007). Psychophysiology: Human Behavior and Physiological Response. (5th Ed.) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
• Tong, F., & Pratte, M. S. (2012). Decoding patterns of human brain activity. Annual review of psychology, 63, 483-509.
• Matthews, P. M., Honey, G. D., & Bullmore, E. T. (2006). Applications of fMRI in translational medicine and clinical practice. Nature Reviews Neuroscience,7(9), 732-744.
• Poldrack, R. A. (2012). The future of fMRI in cognitive neuroscience. Neuroimage, 62(2), 1216-1220.
• McClelland, J. L. (2009). The place of modeling in cognitive science. Topics in Cognitive Science, 1, 11-38.
• Shallice, T., & Cooper, R. P. (2011). The organisation of mind. (parts of) Chs 1,2,4. Oxford: OUP.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Web-based and electronic resources:

• ELE page: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=2929

Key words search

Methods, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, affective neuroscience, neuropsychology