PS415-5-SP-CO:
Memory Attention and Language

The details
2023/24
Psychology
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 5
ReassessmentOnly
Monday 15 January 2024
Friday 22 March 2024
15
29 March 2022

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

PS491

Key module for

BSC C800JS Psychology,
BSC C800NS Psychology,
BSC C680 Sport and Exercise Psychology,
BSC C681 Sport and Exercise Psychology (including Year Abroad),
BSC C682 Sport and Exercise Psychology (including Placement Year)

Module description

This includes coverage of three major areas of cognitive psychology as defined by the British Psychological Society: Memory, Attention and Language. Students will be introduced to and will be encouraged to critically evaluate major theories, empirical approaches, and key experimental outcomes in each of these areas.

Module aims

The module aims to provide students with a broad introduction to and analysis of important theoretical issues in the cognitive psychology of memory, attention and language. Students will examine a range of key methods and techniques used to investigate the cognitive processes underlying memory, attention, and language. Lectures will also, provide a detailed body of knowledge relating to the core empirical findings of historically and theoretically important cognitive psychological studies of memory, attention and language.

Module learning outcomes

The lecture course will introduce students to the major theories related to memory, attention and language, and will examine the specific empirical findings on which these theories are based. Through this empirical focus in the lectures students will gain an appreciation of how to analyse and interpret quantitative information relevant to psychological research, in graphs, figures and tables.

In addition at the end of the lecture course students will be able to:

1. ) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the psychological theory and empirical findings related to memory, attention, and language processing.

2. ) Demonstrate an awareness of the relative strengths of a range of theories and empirical techniques related to the cognitive psychology of memory attention and language.

Outcomes 1 and 2 will be assessed using a Multiple Choice Examination.

Students will also participate in a laboratory class in which they will test a novel research question related to memory, attention, or language under guidance. Through this activity students will gain an appreciation of how to:

3. ) Plan, undertake and report an empirical project
4. ) Effectively test research hypotheses using standard statistical techniques
5. ) Communicate ideas effectively by producing a written laboratory report.

Outcomes 3-5 will be assessed in the laboratory report that students will submit at the end of the module.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

The module contains 10 lectures and is supported by a laboratory class, that runs over the second five weeks of term 2, ending with the submission of a laboratory report.

Bibliography*

This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   Lab Report    100% 
Exam  Main exam: Remote, Open Book, 180 minutes during Summer (Main Period) 
Exam  Reassessment Main exam: Remote, Open Book, 180 minutes during September (Reassessment Period) 

Additional coursework information

All students must contribute to data collection for a laboratory class, and all students must produce a laboratory report based on their assigned class. The Summer examination will take the form of a multiple choice examination, that will include equal coverage of all three components, memory, attention and language.

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
25% 75%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
25% 75%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Kevin Dent, email: kdent@essex.ac.uk.
(lecturers) Dr Kevin Dent, Dr Eva Gutierrez, Dr Bettina Zengel
kdent@essex.ac.uk

 

Availability
Yes
No
No

External examiner

No external examiner information available for this module.
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 6 hours, 6 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

 

Further information
Psychology

* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.

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