This course will help you to understand how the brain enables us to see, hear, speak, remember and think. Cognitive scientists, neuropsychologists and psychologists from across Cambridge will explore how the scientific method is being applied to the study of the mind, brain and behaviour.
Focusing on some of the most advanced areas of research in modern cognitive psychology, including perception, memory and language, we will explore how humans think, what is meant by intelligence and social cognition.
This course will also provide a conceptual introduction into the behavioural research methods used in cognitive psychology; we will complete a number of replications of important findings in psychology, and learn how to report the results of these experiments in the format of a science-journal article.
What will I be studying?
Michaelmas Term
Unit 1: History, Core Themes and Methods
Teaching will take place on four day-schools: 9 September, 30 September, 21 October, 11 November 2019*
This first unit introduces the history, core themes, and methods in the scientific study of the mind, brain and behaviour. The unit reviews the historical dominance of behaviourism in the early 20th century, the shift to cognitive science in the 1950s/1960s and the eventual adoption of the broader ‘cognitive neurosciences’. This unit explores a number of core themes in psychological research, and a number of key debates, such as the extent to which behaviour is learned or innate and the extent to which functions in the brain are localized to specific areas. Finally this unit introduces some of the key methods in modern psychology, from behavioural experiments, to neuroimaging and neuromodulatory techniques, to the study of clinical populations and individual differences.
Lent Term
Unit 2: Memory, Language and Perception
Teaching will take place on four-day schools: 13 January, 3 February, 17 February, 9 March 2020*
This unit provides an introduction to the study of memory, language and perception. This introduces you to the core distinctions between different memory systems (episodic, semantic, procedural), and explores their distinct neural underpinnings. Students are introduced to both auditory and visual perception, paying particular attention to how physical stimulation is converted into electrical signals at the cochlea and retina, and exploring how those signals are processed in the cortex. This until also introduces the nature of language processing, with a particular focus on language deficits in different patient groups.
Easter Term
Unit 3: Executive Functions, Intelligence and Social Cognition
Teaching will take place on four day-schools: 6 April, 27 April, 18 May, 8 June 2020*
This unit provides an introduction into some of the core topics in cognition, starting with classical models of executive function, and its relation to short term memory. It also explores the notion of general intelligence, and neural mechanisms involved in domain general problem solving. This unit also explores some of the core topics in social cognition, from theory of mind reasoning to the concept and implications of ‘mirror neurons’.
* Whilst every effort is made to avoid changes to the day school dates, these dates still may be subject to change
Full details of each Unit; including learning objectives, outcomes and assessment, are given in the 2019/20 Course Guide, available under documents.
Accommodation
Although this is a non-residential course, students requiring residential accommodation may be able to book B&B at Madingley Hall, as availability permits, at a discounted student rate. Please enquire via the General Enquiries contact on the Enquiries tab.
Find out more
If you have any questions about the application process, contact our Admissions team: ice.admissions@ice.cam.ac.uk or +44 (0)1223 746262.
