Instructor: Kyle Cave
phone: 413-545-2787
Office hours: Wednesday 2:00-3:00 pm or by appointment
(This page last updated 27 January 2025.)
Readings:
The textbook for this course is Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction by Susan Blackmore. It is available from eCampus, and also from other sources. Be sure that you are using the 2nd edition, and don't confuse it with one of the other books on consciousness by the same author. A used copy is fine. A copy of this book is on reserve in Du Bois Library.
Most or all of the other assigned readings will be available on the course Canvas site. Canvas will also have the class schedule, which lists the different topics to be covered.
Over the years there have been many experiments exploring consciousness, and a number of different theories have been proposed. Therefore, the reading list for this course is fairly extensive. Many of the readings will be research papers from scientific journals. Be prepared to spend some time reading them carefully and thinking through the details of the experiments they describe. There may be terms you do not understand, or details of the experiments that are not fully explained. If you have questions about a reading, contact me.
Communicating
Outside of Class:You are encouraged to contact me with questions and comments about any aspect of the class. You can reach me at the email address or at the phone number at the top of this page.
If I need to reach you in between classes, I will send e-mail to your UMass account.
There is a Canvas site for this class with this syllabus, class notes, the Zoom link for office hours,and other materials.
Thought Questions:For some topics, there will be a thought question posted on Canvas. Be sure to submit your answer to the thought question before the posted deadline.
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Unless specified otherwise, your answer to each thought question should be no more than 300 words, not including references. |
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Because of the short word limit, you will want to think carefully about how to convey the most information possible in just a few words, and in a clear and reliable way. |
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As with all assignments, you should include references telling which sources provided the information that you have included. |
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Don't just express your opinions, but justify them in a way that will convince readers that you are right. |
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Your thought paper submissions, like all assignments in this class, should be written entirely in your own words by you alone. None of the text should come from other written sources or from text-generating software such as ChatGPT. |
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See the Guide to Writing Assignments. |
In-Class Quizzes and Assignments:
Read this carefully. Ask if there is any part you do not understand. |
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Some classes will include a quiz or other type of written assignment. They will not be announced in advance. |
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Each quiz or assignment may cover the material in the assigned reading, the material covered in class that day, or material from previous days. |
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The format of the quizzes and assignments may vary. There could be essay questions, multiple choice, or other formats. |
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Time for completing the quiz or assignment will be limited. |
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Make-ups will not be offered for missed quizzes or assignments. |
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Unless specified otherwise, you should not access any outside sources while completing in-class quizzes and assignments. |
Presentations:
Many of the classes will include a student presentation. Most presentations will be given by a pair of students working together.
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Your presentation should be based on sources beyond the required course readings. There are some suggestions for relevant sources on Canvas. |
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You should send me a list of your sources two weeks before your presentation. If you find other sources after you send me the list, you are free to include them as well. |
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Your presentation will be graded on its informativeness and its organization. Be sure to give careful thought as to how to structure your presentation so that it is clear and easy to understand. |
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Each presentation should be about 20-30 minutes long. |
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During your presentation you will be able to share slides that you have prepared beforehand. After your presentation, you should upload a file with the slides you displayed during your presentation to Canvas. |
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You can collaborate with another undergrad student on your presentation. |
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You can sign up for your presentation on Canvas between 7:00 am on Wednesday, Feb 5 and the end of the day Friday, Feb 7. |
Exams:
Read this carefully. Ask if there is any part you do not understand. |
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There will be two exams during the semester and a final exam at the end. You will need to be in class to take the exams. |
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The exams will cover both material from class and material from the reading. |
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The final exam will be cumulative, covering material from the entire class. |
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You should not consult any outside sources or communicate with anyone other then Prof. Cave while completing the exams. |
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The exams may inlude multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, essay questions, and other formats as well. |
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Make-ups will not be offered for missed exams. |
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See the Guide to Exams and Quizzes. |
Other
Assignments:There may be other assignments throughout the class. These assignments are likely to include questions and other activities that will be done during class, and you will need to be present during the class in order to hand them in. Unless we specifically say otherwise, the work you turn in for the assignments must be entirely your own.
Tech Disasters and Other Calamaties:If a failure of university technology such as Canvas or Zoom interferes with your ability to complete an assignment, notify us as soon as possible. Give us a thorough description as possible, with all details that might help in finding and fixing the problem. If you can send us a screenshot of any error messages, that might help.
Do everything you can to keep your own computer and internet connection functioning well. Be sure that your internet provider is providing you with adequate network speed. At critical times (such as quizzes and exams), be sure that your laptop is charged and that you are positioned to get the best wifi reception. Plan for technology problems as you work on your paper: back up your files often, and don't wait until the last minute to hand it in. Computer failure is not a good excuse for missing the paper deadline.
If some other emergency prevents you from completing something that is required for the course, you should first do what you need to do to deal with the emergency, and then contact us as soon as possible, providing as many details as you can about the situation.
Experimental
Participation:There is an opportunity to earn bonus points for SONA credits in this course. SONA credits can be earned by participating in research studies or through an alternative. Each SONA credit will increase your course grade by 0.5 points on a 100 point scale. In this class, you can use a maximum of 6 SONA credits to increase your course grade by a maximum of 3 points. To earn SONA credits and assign them to this course, start by registering for a SONA account or logging into your existing account. Instructions for accessing SONA are available here: https://www.pbs.umass.edu/undergraduate/sona-and-research-participation/sona-instructions
Experiment participation: You are encouraged to earn SONA credits by participating in research studies. The ability of scientists to conduct human subjects research depends on volunteers like you. Much of the science that is taught in psychology courses is based on participation of undergraduate students in research studies. To earn SONA credits for research participation:
1. Complete the mandatory, brief, non-credited survey the first time you login to SONA.
2. You are encouraged to participate in the study titled “Long Prescreen Spring 2025”, for 1-2 credits, which is only available until February 20th at 2 pm. Participating in this online study may make you eligible for studies you would otherwise not know about.
3. Check experiment availability frequently. Make sure you meet the eligibility requirements described in a study’s description before signing up.
4. Make a note of the time and specific location of the study. There will be reminders, but it is your responsibility to attend an experimental session that you signed up for.
5. After your participation, confirm the researcher gave you the correct number of SONA credits (1 credit for every 30 minutes of participation).
6. Assign your SONA credits to Course number – Instructor’s last name. Some courses have more than one instructor and some instructors teach more than one course. Be careful about selecting the correct one.
7. Experiments must be completed by May 9th at 11:59 pm and must be assigned to this course by May 15th at 4:00 pm in order to receive the bonus points. There will be no opportunities for credit after May 9th.
Other ways to earn SONA credits: Some students are ineligible to participate in research (e.g.,not yet 18-years old) or choose not to participate in the research studies that are available. To earn SONA credits through an alternative activity:
1. When completing the mandatory brief survey the first time you login to SONA, be sure to mark that you are unable or unwilling to participate in research studies when asked.
2. Check for the availability of ALTERNATIVE activities frequently. These will typically include attending an in-person research talk or in-person research demonstrations similar to what you might do in a psychology class.
3. See instructions 4-6 above
Regardless of how you earn your SONA credits, please make note of the following: SONA credits will not show up on Canvas. You can confirm that you have earned credits and assigned them to this course in SONA. The instructor will be sent the number of SONA credits that you earned at the end of the semester before submitting your final grade for the course.
Attend the sessions you sign up for. Some research costs a great deal of time and money once a session is scheduled regardless of whether the participant shows up or not.
1. If you, an experimenter, or a session organizer needs to cancel a session with more than 24 hours notice for any reason, no SONA credit will be assigned and no penalty will be assigned.
2. For online studies that can be completed at any time, if you sign up but fail to participate by the deadline, no SONA credit will be assigned and no penalty will be assigned (marked as excused).
3. For in-person sessions and online sessions scheduled at a specified time, you must either cancel more than 24 hours before the scheduled time or arrive at the designated place within 5 minutes of the scheduled time. Otherwise, the experimenter or session organizer will assign an unexcused “no-show” regardless of the reason.
4. If you are assigned three unexcused “no-shows” in a semester you will be unable to sign up for any more experiments or alternatives.
5. If you have a valid reason for missing the session and fail to provide 24-hour notice, email psychsona@umass.edu within 48 hours with the reason. Your history of no-shows will be reviewed and if your reason is, unexcused “no-shows” will be changed to excused absences, which will also reinstate your access to SONA and the previously earned SONA credits.
6. If the researcher does not show up within ten minutes of the scheduled appointment, you will be compensated with 1 SONA credit for showing up. Please email psychsona@umass.edu and inform them. You should be able to reschedule if you still want to participate in the study.
If you have a disability and are registered with Disability Services, you can request an accommodation if neither experiment participation nor the alternative can work for you. With your instructor cc’d, please email psychsona@umass.edu for an alternative assignment (e.g., written summary of research articles) that will fully accommodate your needs.
If you are having any problems accessing SONA or SONA credit opportunities, please contact psychsona@umass.edu. Neither instructors nor teaching assistants for this class will be able to help. The department will provide sufficient opportunities for you to earn SONA credits if you want them and address the issues you are having within the first 8 weeks of the semester.
Academic
Honesty:Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent (http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/codeofconduct/acadhonesty/).
Everything that you turn in for this class should be written entirely in your own words. For guidelines about plagiarism, see https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/plagiarism.html. If you are ever in doubt about when and how to give credit for the ideas and experimental results you include in your written assignments and presentations, consult us.
Integrative Experience Requirement:When combined with Psych 494PI this course will satisfy the three Integrative Experience
requirements for psychology majors.
Accommodation:The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements. For further information, please visit Disability Services (https://www.umass.edu/disability/)
Diversity:In recognition and affirmation of the worth and dignity of all persons, the instructor of this class is dedicated to upholding the values of diversity and inclusion and to minimizing disparities in access to learning. All students who are willing to learn are equally welcome without regard to age, race, ethnicity, birthplace, sex, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or identity, socioeconomic status, political party or beliefs, or other group affiliation or personal characteristics. All students are likewise expected to accord each other the same level of respect, bearing in mind that becoming more respectful and inclusive is a journey rather than a destination. We will all have stumbling points along the way, including the instructor, and these are often valuable learning opportunities. If I ever say or do anything insensitive in this class, I sincerely welcome students to call me out or communicate their discomfort to me in person after class, during office hours, by email, or anonymously.
Title IX Statement:In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits gender-based discrimination in educational settings that receive federal funds, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing a safe learning environment for all students, free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and retaliation. This includes interactions in person or online through digital platforms and social media. Title IX also protects against discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or related conditions, including recovery. There are resources here on campus to support you. A summary of the available Title IX resources (confidential and non-confidential) can be found at the following link: https://www.umass.edu/titleix/resources. You do not need to make a formal report to access them. If you need immediate support, you are not alone. Free and confidential support is available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week / 365 days a year at the SASA Hotline 413-545-0800.
Final
grade:
Exams: 35%
In-Class Quizzes and other assignments:
20%
Presentation: 20%
Thought Questions:
25%
Extra credit
is available through experimental participation. See above.
An updated version of syllabus is available on the World Wide Web at: http://courses.umass.edu/psych391sc-kcave/
Psych 391SC: Scientific Studies of Consciousness
Kyle Cave
Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences
U.
Mass.