Psych 315: Paper Topics

Select one topic from the list below. Be sure to read the Guide to Writing the Paper. If you are not sure you understand what is required for any of these topics, please ask us about it. Once you have finished your paper, submit it electronically through Spark, which will route it through TurnItIn to compare the text against a database of sources to detect plagiarism. Papers are due by 11:59 pm on the dates given below. If you have any problem submitting the paper through Spark, e-mail a copy to psy315@psych.umass.edu before the deadline, and then submit a copy through Spark as soon as you can.

1. History of Cognitive Psychology
   Due Feb 6
   Discuss the history behind cognitive psychology and what important people, events, and movements led us to where we are today in the field. Discuss your thoughts on the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive science and what benefits can come from such interdisciplinary practices.
   
   
2. Neuroimaging
   Due Feb 9
   Find a journal article that uses some type of neuroimaging technique. Briefly summarize the article and discuss why you think the researchers chose to use this technique as opposed to the other techniques we discussed in class. Is there another imagining technique that may have also been appropriate to use in this study? How would the information gained from the study differ with a different technique?
   
   
3. Ambiguous Figures
   Due Feb 13
   Explain ambiguous figures. What does the fact that we perceive them in this ambiguous way tell us about how the visual system works?
   
   
4. The Word Superiority Effect
   Due Feb 25
   Explain how the word superiority effect has been demonstrated experimentally. What does it tell us about word recognition? How do neural net models such as McClelland and Rumelhart's model explain this effect?
   
   
5. Recognition
   Due Feb 27
   Compare face recognition and object recognition. Does recognizing a face as belonging to a particular person require a different set of operations than recognizing an object? Does the experimental evidence suggest that faces and objects are recognized by the same mechanism, or by different mechanisms?
   
   
6. Automaticity
   Due Mar 6
   Explain the differences between automatic and controlled processes. How can these differences be explored experimentally?
   
   
7. Working Memory
   Due Mar 13
   What evidence led Baddeley to conclude that the visuospatial sketchpad and the articulatory buffer operated separately from the central executive and from each other? Is his conclusion valid? Why or why not?
   
   
8. Different Types of Retrieval
   Due Mar 30
   Explain the difference between familiarity and source memory. Summarize the experimental evidence for these different types of retrieval. In what specific ways are these two different memory systems? What are the implications for everyday life?
   
   
9. Long-Term vs. Working Memory
   Due Apr 3
   Discuss the distinction between long-term memory and working memory, and evidence for the involvement of the hippocampus in memory. Consider studies of the hippocampus specifically and discuss potential differences at the neural level between and long-term memory and working memory.
   
   
10. Reconstructive Memory
    Due Apr 10
    Summarize and evaluate the evidence that memory recall is a reconstructive process.
    
    
11. Network Memory Models
    Due Apr 15
    What are the advantages and disadvantages of network models of Long Term Memory?
    
    
12. Concepts as Implicit Theories
    Due Apr 27
    Explain and evaluate the experimental evidence that suggests that concepts are encoded as implicit theories rather than as prototypes or collections of exemplars.
    
    
13. The Mind-Body Problem
    Due Apr 29
    What is the mind-body problem. What do you think is the best solution to this problem and why? (You should only choose this topic if you are prepared to read some philosophy. If this topic interests you, you might want to discuss it with us before writing.)
    
    
14. Universal Grammar
    Due May 1
    Chomsky claims that all human languages are built on the same "Universal Grammar". What does Universal Grammar consist of, according to Chomsky? Does the evidence support Chomsky's claim that this mechanism is innate?
    
    
15. Neural Basis of Visual Imagery
    Due May 4
    Does the information that neuroscientists have learned about the neural organization of the visual system help to explain our imagery abilities to recall, manipulate, and examine visual memories?
    
    
16. Confirmation Bias
    Due May 11
    What is confirmation bias? Explain the experimental evidence demonstrating confirmation bias. How is this research relevant to everyday life? What does it indicate more generally about our deductive abilities?
    
    

Psych 315: Cognitive Psychology Kyle Cave Psychology Dept. U. Mass.