Entry requirements
All 60 ec of the first-year in Psychology obtained.
Description
What can we do to prevent human errors in the workplace? How can we design products and interfaces such as apps and websites so that they are the most intuitive and efficient to use? What information should automated vehicles share with drivers and pedestrians? What is the influence of sleep or diet on human performance? How can we evaluate the accuracy of witness statements in court? How does distraction and workload affect task performance? These questions and many more fall within the scope of Applied Cognitive Psychology (ACP): the application of fundamental knowledge of cognitive psychology to almost all aspects of every-day modern life. Students will be introduced to important topics and methodologies within the field of ACP, learn to apply their knowledge of psychology to real life cases and apply critical and creative thinking to identify possible solutions.
Course objectives
Students will learn to:
Identify and characterize the topics and theories related to Applied Cognitive Psychology (ACP);
Critically evaluate the current state of research in the field of ACP; and
Analyse real-world problems and to provide practical solutions based on their theoretical knowledge of cognitive psychology.
Timetable
For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
This course is offered twice a year. Students follow the course in one block (Block 1 or 3)
Registration
Education
Students must register themselves for all course components (lectures, tutorials and practicals) they wish to follow. You can register up to 5 days prior to the start of the course.
Exams
You must register for each exam in My Studymap at least 10 days before the exam date. Don’t forget! For more information, see the enrolment procedure.
You cannot take an exam without a valid registration in My Studymap.
Carefully read all information about the procedures and deadlines for registering for courses and exams.
Students who take this course as part of a LDE minor or a premaster programme, exchange students and external guest students will be informed by the education administration about the current registration procedure.
Mode of instruction
7 2-hour lectures and 2 series of 4 2-hour compulsory work group sessions.
Attendance at the work group sessions is mandatory. See Brightspace for more information.
In the lectures the basics of cognitive psychology are revisited in the light of applied psychology, important methodological principles are introduced, and 7 different topics in the applied cognitive field are discussed. In each series of the work group sessions, students will work in a small group on one ACP topic, and will learn to apply methods important in the field. For instance, by performing a case study, doing a task analysis or designing an experiment. In the work group sessions, students will discuss their progress, as well as review the work of their peers. The lectures are in English, as are the work group sessions.
Assessment method
Assessment will consist of a combined grade for both projects (60%), and an individual exam (40%).
Students will be graded individually for each project; this includes their engagement during peer-review and the quality of the final product. The final exam consists of 4 essay questions and several multiple-choice questions, and tests the knowledge acquired during the lectures and from self-study (literature, lecture slides). Exam questions are in English. There is an optional online mid-term exam to prepare for the final exam, consisting of representative essay questions and multiple-choice questions. The mid-term will not be graded, but exemplary answers will be made available.
Resits of study assignments will be evaluated with a maximum grade of 6. Resit assignments are identical to the original ones (i.e. second submission). Students can rely on feedback provided to the original assignment.
This course is offered twice a year. Students follow the course in one block (Block 1 or 3). The exam opportunities for the course take place after the blocks in which the course is offered: i.e. after Block 1, after Block 3. There is a third exam opportunity in the Summer resit period.
The Institute of Psychology uses fixed rules for grade calculation. Lectures are not recorded. The Institute also follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. All students are required to take and pass the Scientific Integrity Test with a score of 100% in order to learn about the practice of integrity in scientific writing. Students are given access to the quiz via a module on Brightspace. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of these two policies.
Reading list
Readings will be announced via Bright Space. Exemplary literature includes:
Wickens, C. D., & Carswell, C. M. (2012). Information Processing. In G. Salvendy (Ed.), Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics (4th ed., pp. 117–161). Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118131350.ch5
Preece, J., Sharp, H. & Rogers, Y. (2015). Interaction Design, beyond Human Computer Interaction (4th ed., pp. 1–33). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Chapter 1).
Dekker, S., Cilliers, P., & Hofmeyr, J. H. (2011). The complexity of failure: Implications of complexity theory for safety investigations. Safety Science, 49(6), 939–945. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2011.01.008
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., & Howerter, A. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: a latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49-100. https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1999.0734 ONLY pages 49-58, 60, 86-92.
Theeuwes, J. (1992). Perceptual selectivity for color and form. Perception & psychophysics, 51(6), 599-606. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211656
Loftus, E. (2011). Intelligence gathering post-9/11. American Psychologist, 66, 532-541. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024614
Carsten, O., & Martens, M. H. (2019). How can humans understand their automated cars? HMI principles, problems and solutions. Cognition, Technology and Work, 21(1), 3–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-018-0484-0
Contact information
- Dr. F. Walker f.walker@fsw.leidenuniv.nl