Psychology 445

Location: 209 O'Brian

Memory

Syllabus

Course Goals / Course Outline / Readings / Course_Requirements

Fall 2008

Mon, Wed, Fri

12:00-12:50 pm

Instructor: James R. Sawusch

Office: 360 Park Hall

Email: jsawusch@buffalo.edu

Phone: (716) 645-0238

Office Hours:

Mon 1:00-4:00

or by Appointment

Course Goals

As a course on human memory, topics include working memory, permanent memory, factors that influence learning and forgetting, autobiographical memory, eyewitness testimony, theories of memory, and disorders of memory.

The basic goals of the course are two-fold.  First, students should acquire a sufficient background in memory to know some of the classic studies and the nature of the underlying concepts, issues, and theories that guide memory research today.  This is essential for understanding cognitive psychology and also for many other areas of psychology, including human factors, social psychology, developmental psychology and some aspects of clinical psychology.  Thus, the material is relevant for students doing independent research or an honors project and is essential to a basic understanding of human behavior. Second, as a 400 level course, we will explore the topics of memory by looking into contemporary research on various topics. This provides some depth for students on the study of memory that is not found in other courses. This foundation is essential for understanding the nature of memory in humans in the real world (e.g. eyewitness testimory) and various disorders that affect memory.

Mastery of these goals is demonstrated on the short answer exam questions and the short papers. Answering these questions requires that students identify the essential concepts that can be used to answer the question and describe how research into memory addresses the question. For the short papers, this will entail integrating results across two or more studies to provide a reasonable answer.

Tentative Course Outline:

DATE

TOPIC

READING

C5

C6

Readings

Text:

Radvansky, G. Human Memory. New York: Pearson Education Group, 2006.

Logan, G. D. (1988). Toward an instance theory of automatization. Psychological Review, 95, 492-527.

Class Requirements

The class is a lecture-discussion format. Material is from the text, readings, and lecture. The additional reading is a journal article and is available on-line through the University Libraries electronic journals. There will be three (3) examinations (25%, 25%, and 20% of the final grade) and three (3) short papers (each is 10% of the final grade). The final grade is based on a fixed scale using your cumulative score across the short papers and examinations, expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible score. Plus and minus grades will be given for scores in the upper and lower thirds of each grade range. The scale is given in the table below.

The examinations. The three examinations will be given in class. The first two are in regular class periods and the third will be during finals week. The exams are not cumulative, but later course material does build upon earlier course material. All three exams are designed to be done in about 45 minutes (one class period). The exams are mostly short answer (about 80%) plus some multiple choice. Sample questions will be posted with the lecture notes (see below).

The short papers. Each of these papers is on a topic that is similar to a short answer question on one of the exams. They give students an opportunity to go into more depth than the questions on the exams. Each is designed to be done in one or two pages.

On the web. The lecture notes will be posted on the web and can be accessed through the topic in the tentative course outline. Notes will include sample exam questions that are designed to assist you in learning and applying the concepts of the course. Answers to the sample questions will be posted with a subsequent lecture. If you have trouble with the sample questions or problems, or with the comments provided on the written assignments or the exams, discuss them with the instructor. The topics for the short papers will be posted and will include the due date.

Academic Integrity

The University has a responsibility to promote academic honesty and integrity and to develop procedures to deal effectively with instances of academic dishonesty. Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for respect for others' academic endeavors. By placing their name on academic work, students certify the originality of all work not otherwise identified by appropriate acknowledgments.

Students with Disabilities

Any student with a disability that may require note-takers, readers or extended time on examinations should contact the instructor and the Office of Disability Services (25 Capen Hall; phone 645-2608), preferably during the first two weeks of class. The Office of Disability Services will provide information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations.

Make-up Exams & Late Papers

Make up exams are only given for legitimate reasons per University recommendations. Similarly, extensions for due dates for the short papers will only be given for legitimate reasons. If a short paper is up to 48 hrs late, it will receive only one half of the score it would have gotten otherwise. It will not be accepted more than 48 hours late.

Incompletes

Incompletes are only given for a legitimate reason that precludes the student from finishing the course work before the end of the semester.  Please refer to the university policy on incompletes.