Cognitive and Developmental Psychology - Q3

Participation Prerequisites

Good command of english, since the course will be held in english.

Course Content

Cognitive psychology takes an information-processing approach and looks at all processes needed to encode, transform, store, and retrieve information from memory. To better understand these processes we will focus on the different ways information may be learned and how memory functions. Finally, everyday experiences show us the importance of judgment and decision making. In more complex situations, problem-solving and reasoning come into play. 

Developmental psychology takes a life-span approach and views human development as the product of inherited and environmental factors. We will follow this path and discuss current theories of development. Connecting to the first part of this course we take a closer look at how cognitive functions develop and change across the lifespan.

Intended Learning Outcomes and Competencies

To know the research areas of cognitive psychology

To understand the infomration-processing approach and to be able to apply the involved processes to specific behavior

To know mechanisms of cognitive learning

To know features of memory and to distinguish its components

To apply mechanisms of long-term storage

To develop an impression of how knowledge is represented in memory

To know experiments and results on problem-solving

To know the basic processes of thinking, judgment, and decision-making and to apply them to specific situations

To know the research areas of developmental psychology

To comprehend the life-span approach

To understand the nature-nurture debate

To trace the development of cognitive functions across the lifespan

Instruction Type

Präsenzstudium

Form of Examination

There will be 3 types of assessment (for a total of 100 points = 100%):

1.   Individual reflection paper (25%, max. 25 points)

2.   Group work and presentation in class (25%, max. 25 points)

3.   Final exam (50%, max. 50 points)

Literature

Eysenck, M. W., & Brysbaert, M. (2023). Fundamentals of cognition (4th ed.). London: Psychology Press.

Santrock, J. W. (2022). Essentials of life-span development (7th ed.; international student edition). New York: McGraw-Hill.