CSCI 350
Cognitive Science
Coordinator: stephanie Schwartz
Credits: 4.0
Description
Basic introduction to cognitive science. Reviews attempts to understand cognition in psychology, artificial intelligence, philosophy, linguistics and the neurosciences and examines the synthesis of these attempts in the emerging field of cognitive science. No credit toward computer science major. Offered infrequently.
Prerequisites
Completion of general education curriculum fundamentals component; 24 s.h. in liberal arts core.
Sample Textbooks
Course Outcomes
Major Topics Covered
I. What is Cognitive Science?
a. Representation
b. Computation
c. An interdisciplinary perspective
i. Philosophy of mind
ii. Psychological models
iii. Brain anatomy
iv. Linguistic representations
v. Representing emotions
vi. Artificial intelligence & robotics
II. Philosophical approach
a. Monism vs. dualism
b. Functionalism
c. Meta-knowledge
d. Consciousness
III. Psychology
a. Structures of the mind
b. Functions of the mind
c. Gestalt theory
d. Behaviorism
e. Experimental psychology
IV. Cognitive Psychology
a. Vision
b. Pattern recognition
c. Attention
d. Memory
e. Problem solving
V. Neuroscience
a. Brain imaging techniques
b. General Anatomy
c. Specialization of brain centers
d. Object recognition
e. Attention
f. Memory
VI. Networking Approach
a. Neural networks
b. Semantic networks
VII. Changes Over Time
a. Adaptation
b. Evolutionary psychology
VIII. Language and Cognitive Science
a. The nature of language
b. Language acquisition
c. Natural language models in machines
IX. Emotions
a. Theories of emotion
b. Impact of emotions
X. Social Neuroscience
a. Attitudes
b. Impressions
c. Stereotypes
d. Prejudice
XI. Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
a. Centers of identity
b. Development of identity
c. Gender development
d. Brain chemistry and configuration as related to sexual orientation
XII. Artificial Intelligence
a. Turing’s Contributions
b. Machine learning
c. Intelligent agents
d. Computer models of brain functions
e. Expert systems
f. Robotics as an extension of intelligent systems
g. Emulation vs simulation