Laboratory Exercises for Cognitive Science and Psychology

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

Psychology - Cognitive (73) There has been an explosion of interest in matters relating cognition, brain, and behavior in the undergraduate curriculum. New courses in cognitive science are being introduced, while standard courses in neurobiology and psychology are being infused with material from cognitive science. Learning is most effective when students actively engage the subject. Thus psychology textbooks have traditionally used visual illusions to stimulate interest. Although compelling, such demonstrations are static and necessarily limited in scope. Ideally, students would not only experience illusions, but actively perform experiments, test modalities other than vision, and experience material from all areas of cognitive science. In general, it is not practical to provide full-fledged laboratories for large lecture courses such as introductory psychology, introductory neurobiology, or the emerging cognitive science courses. However, such courses often have discussion sections that would be enriched by experiments and interactive demonstrations. This project addresses these needs by development of a CD-ROM of experiments and demonstrations that can be used by students at their own computers or by instructors with projection equipment. Computers are now standard tools in the psychology research lab, and can be similarly used in teaching. Although many fine examples of illusions are scattered across the internet, they are heavily weighted toward vision, often lack explanation, and engage one only as a passive observer. This CD-ROM goes much further, using interactivity for experiments as well as demonstrations. Furthermore, it goes beyond vision to cover hearing, and beyond perception to allow students to replicate classic experiments in all areas of cognitive science. The CD-ROM covers several broad areas, including vision, hearing, language, learning and memory, attention, cognition, and practical applications. There are several modules devoted to each broad area. Each module generally includes (1) a demonstration of the phenomenon, taken from the real world where possible, (2) a demonstration with the salient features isolated, (3) a self-experiment to quantify the phenomenon, and (4) questions that stimulate students to form hypotheses and test them using the CD-ROM. Most modules are suitable for students at all levels, with introductory students simply viewing the demonstrations, and advanced students doing experiments and testing their own hypotheses. At all levels, the approach is open-ended and exploratory rather than strictly didactic. Faculty from Cornell's Department of Psychology and Cognitive Studies Program are active researchers in these fields and are available to assist us in choosing appropriate topics and recent experiments that are not yet covered in textbooks. Faculty from Cornell and elsewhere are also active in evaluating the CD-ROM during its development, both from their research expertise and by testing beta versions in their classrooms. Preliminary contacts with faculty from a variety of colleges and universities indicate considerable interest in this material. In addition, several publishers have shown interest in this project, making nationwide dissemination certain.