PSY481 Introduction to cognitive science

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2009
Extent and Intensity
1/0/0. 3 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Michal Vavrečka, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Michal Vavrečka, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Michal Vavrečka, Ph.D.
Timetable
Thu 18:00–19:30 U33
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Cognitive Science, as a discipline, is concerned with learning how animals (and machines) acquire knowledge, represent that knowledge, and how they manipulate those representations. The study of Cognitive Science is fundamentally interdisciplinary. To understand functions of mind, scientists must increasingly apply the tools, methodology, and findings of one discipline to the problems of another. Cognitive psychologists, for example, must be familiar with computer science and artificial intelligence in order to design sophisticated models that emulate mental processes. Artificial intelligence researchers must understand advances in psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience in order to base their theories on psychologically and neurologically plausible foundations. Advances in such applied fields as robotics, computer speech recognition, and computer vision may stem from research on human action and perception by researchers in psychology and linguistics. Work on machine learning can take advantage of what is known about human learning and development, as well as by studies of animal learning and cognition. Theories of problem solving and creative thinking can be informed by the work of philosophers of science who examine the course of conceptual change in science. Theories of human reasoning can make use of analyses of the formal structure of natural-language concepts by linguists and philosophers.
Syllabus
  • Cognitive science is interdisciplinary study that attempts to explain the cognitive processes of humans and some higher animals in terms of the manipulation of symbols using computational rules. The field draws particularly on the disciplines of artificial intelligence, psychology , linguistics, neuroscience, and philosophy. Some chief areas of research in cognitive science have been vision, thinking and reasoning, memory, attention, learning, and language processing.
Literature
  • PSTRUŽINA, Karel. Svět poznání : k filozofickým základům kognitivní vědy. 1. aut. vyd. Olomouc: Nakladatelství Olomouc, 1998, 183.00. ISBN 80-7182-074-1. info
  • MAŘÍK, Vladimír, Olga ŠTĚPÁNKOVÁ and Jiří LAŽANSKÝ. Umělá inteligence. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1997, 373 s. ISBN 8020005021. info
  • MAŘÍK, Vladimír, Olga ŠTĚPÁNKOVÁ and Jiří LAŽANSKÝ. Umělá inteligence. 1. vyd. Praha: Academia, 2001, 328 s. ISBN 8020005021. info
  • MAŘÍK, Vladimír, Olga ŠTĚPÁNKOVÁ and Jiří LAŽANSKÝ. Umělá inteligence. 1. vyd. Praha: Academia, 2003, 475 s. ISBN 8020010440. info
  • THAGARD, Paul. Úvod do kognitivní vědy :mysl a myšlení. Vyd. 1. Praha: Portál, 2001, 231 s. ISBN 80-7178-445-1. info
  • PEREGRIN, Jaroslav. Úvod do teoretické sémantiky : principy formálního modelování významu. 1. vyd. Praha: Karolinum, 1998, 206 s. ISBN 8071846856. info
Teaching methods
homeworks - article reading discussion lectures practical examples
Assessment methods
Lectures, homeworks Oral or written exam
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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