An interdisciplinary introduction to the discovery of the mind through philosophical texts, psychological experiments, artificial intelligence, the study of nerve cells and neural networks and investigations into language. The purpose of the course is to foster an appreciation of the wonder and complexity of minds and brains, both human and otherwise. Not open to seniors in spring semester.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: MATH/SCI
Cognitive Science
Overview | Requirements | Courses | Faculty
Overview
Cognitive Science is the science of the mind. Drawing on the fields of mathematics, philosophy, psychology, neurobiology, computer science and linguistics, Cognitive Science studies the nature of consciousness, the interaction of mind and matter, and the relationship between thought and language. Cognitive Science addresses long-standing questions about the nature of thought, intelligence, perception, emotion, and other aspects of our mental life by employing the methodologies of the contributing disciplines mentioned above, including philosophical reflection and argument, experimental psychology, the modeling of intelligence with machines, and the investigation of the biological basis of cognition.
The Cognitive Science Program includes courses in biology, linguistics, mathematics, philosophy, and psychology, as well as introductory and advanced courses in Cognitive Science. The Cognitive Science major has three parts: first, a basic course requirement which introduces the student to the field and its contributing subfields, and second, an emphasis requirement where students begin to focus on the aspect of cognitive science which interests them most. Finally, students complete a senior comprehensive project within their cognitive science emphasis.
Requirements
MAJOR: All cognitive science majors take the following eight fundamental courses: Cognitive Science 101: Introduction to Cognitive Science; Cognitive Science 242: Computational Approaches to Cognition; Philosophy 225: Formal Logic; Psychology 306: Cognitive Psychology; Cognitive Science 310: Research Methods in Cognitive Science; Cognitive Science 320: Cognitive Neuroscience; Cognitive Science 330: Linguistics for Cognitive Science, Linguistics 301: Introduction to Linguistic Structure or Linguistics 350: Psycholinguistics; and Cognitive Science 490: Senior Seminar.
By the spring semester of the junior year, the cognitive science major declares an emphasis in one of the tracks listed below, and then completes three courses in the Computation, Philosophy or Psychology emphasis or four courses in the Bioscience emphasis.
Neuroscience Emphasis: Biology 115: General Zoology, Biology 130: Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biochemistry, Biology 240: Vertebrate Physiology, and either Biology 333: Neurobiology or Biology 340: Advanced Animal Physiology.
Computation Emphasis: Three of the following courses: Cognitive Science 210: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence; Math 186: Network Models; Math 350: Mathematical Logic or Philosophy 325: Metalogic; Math 354: Set Theory and Foundations of Mathematics; Computer Science 311: Data Structures and Algorithms; Math 352: Computability and Complexity; Cognitive Science 343: Probabilistic Models of Cognition;
Philosophy Emphasis: Three of the following courses: Philosophy 360: Philosophy of Mind; Philosophy 365: Philosophy of Science, Philosophy 370: Philosophy of Language; Philosophy 375: Theory of Knowledge; Philosophy 380: Wittgenstein.
Psychology Emphasis: Three of the following courses: Psychology 200: Methods in Psychological Science; Psychology 201: Statistics in Psychological Science; Cognitive Science 230: Mind, Brain, and Behavior; Cognitive Science 301: Applied Cognitive Science and Education; Psychology 301: Learning; Psychology 302: Perception; Psychology 303: Psychophysiology; Psychology 322: Physiological Psychology.
WRITING REQUIREMENT: Students majoring in Cognitive Science will satisfy the final component of Occidental College's college-wide writing requirement by arranging (with the instructor) for a 300-level course counting towards the major (from Cognitive Science or a related field) to be designated as the student's writing course. A grade of B- or better must be attained in this course. The writing requirement must be satisfactorily completed by May of the student's junior year. Students who fail the requirement or who fail to meet the deadline will be required to take both a composition course in the senior year and demonstrate acceptable writing skills in the senior comprehensive in order to graduate. Students should familiarize themselves with the departmental requirement at the time of declaring the major. See the Writing Program and consult the department chair for additional information.
COMPREHENSIVE REQUIREMENT: In the senior year the student carries out a project or writes a thesis on a topic in Cognitive Science related to the chosen emphasis. The project or thesis is coordinated with the work of the Cognitive Science Senior Seminar. All majors take the Senior Seminar in the fall semester of the senior year.
MINOR: A minor in Cognitive Science consists of Cog Sci 101, 242, 310, one of Cognitive Science 330: Linguistics for Cognitive Science, Linguistics 301: Introduction to Linguistic Structure or Linguistics 350: Psycholinguistics; and two other courses in cognitive science or from the list of courses included in the four emphases.
HONORS: Honors in Cognitive Science may be awarded to graduating seniors who demonstrate excellence in their course work and distinction in their senior comprehensive project. To be eligible, students must have a 3.5 grade point average in the major and a 3.25 overall grade point average. In addition, the comprehensive project or thesis must be judged as a "pass with distinction." See the Honors Program and consult the program chair for further details.
Courses
101 - Introduction to Cognitive Sciences
104 - Introduction to Neuroscience
This course provides a basic introduction to the nervous system [for students with little or no experience in this area]. It will include an introduction to how nerve and glial cells contribute to different brain functions. Brain structures and systems and how they act to produce sensory experience, thought, emotion, and memory will also be covered. Other topics might include: factors that affect embryonic development of the nervous system, and the effect of drugs, environment, stress, education, and age on the brain. This course is not open to students who have taken Biology 333, Cognitive Science 320, Kinesiology 301 or Psychology 322.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: MATH/SCI
210 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Can one create intelligent machines-machines capable of posing and solving problems and of interacting effectively with a complex and dynamic environment? If so, how? And what insights into natural cognition do we gain through efforts to create artificial intelligence? Fundamental principles, architectures, and algorithms for machine perception, control, and problem-solving will be addressed. We will also look in detail at strategies for developing intelligent machines, including traditional Artificial Intelligence and the more recent perspectives of situated and embodied cognition. The laboratory component of the course will involve computing and simple robotic devices. Prerequisite: COGS 242, or MATH 186, or MATH 210, or permission
of instructor
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: MATH/SCI
230 - Mind, Brain, and Behaviour
The course will examine questions from cognitive science at the levels of the mind, the brain, and behavior. By bringing together these different perspectives, the course will explore how the nervous system can give rise to the diversity of human cognition and behavior, both normal and abnormal. We also will apply these perspectives to inform relevant issues in today's world such as medications for cognitive enhancement, neuroimaging for lie detection, and the use of cell phones while driving.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: MATH/SCI
241 - Cognition of Music and Sound
As part of human cognition, our perception, production, and understanding of music has elicited many questions: What is music in relation to "sound"? Is music an evolutionary adaptation? What is the relationship of music and emotions, or memory? Can music influence perception in other modalities? What is the meaning of music? Can music make us smarter? Is music a language? What is biological and what is cultural in the esthetics of music? This course will reframe many of these questions from the interdisciplinary standpoint of cognitive science, acoustics, music theory, and semiotics to explore music as a cognitive process Topics will include the perception of pitch, timbre, rhythm, and localization; music and the brain; cognitive aspect of the esthetics of music; the relationship between music and language in terms of their structures and neurological processing; music and memory; music and emotions; music and meaning. We will also discuss the role music plays in cross-modal interactions, either in the real world, or in films and multimedia art works. Same as MUSC 241. Prerequisite: Any Cognitive Science class or Music class, or instructor's approval
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: MATH/SCIENCE ● FINE ARTS
242 - Computational Approaches to Cognition
Computational modeling provides important insights into how the mind/brain may work. We will examine three different approaches that have been used to provide insights into cognition: symbolic methods, connectionism, and probabilistic methods. We will use computer software to explore how these approaches work in practice. Specific applications such as perception, language, and memory will be covered. The assumptions and limitations of each approach, as well as the metaphor of mind/brain as a computer, will be critically considered. This course has a mandatory laboratory component which will include both experimentation and computer programming. No previous programming background is required. Prerequisite: Cog Sci 101 as prereq or coreq
OR prereq of Phil 225, Math 186, 210, 214, 252, or CS 157, 161, 165, or 211 OR permission of instructor
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: LAB-SCI
295 - Topics in Cognitive Science
Intelligent Agents.This course explores the some of the issues in the nature of intelligent agents: Concepts are the building blocks of thoughts; they are what allow intelligent agents to think about, reason about, and understand the world around them. This course will explore major theories of the nature of concepts from philosophy, psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, and related fields. The goal will be to gain a better appreciation of what concepts are, and how the study of concepts ties together different fields in the study of cognition. Pre-req: Any cog sci course or permission of instructor.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: MATH/SCI
301 - Applied Cognitive Science and Education
This course will address current cognitive science research as applied to learning and education. The concept of multiple intelligences, as well as strengths and weaknesses of individuals in acquisition of information will be emphasized. We will also cover specific learning disabilities/differences and cognitive styles. Prerequisite: Cognitive Science 101, declared minor in Education, or permission of instructor.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: MATH/SCI
310 - Research Methods in Cognitive Science
The aim for this course is to provide students with the necessary foundation to think critically about research in cognitive science and to lay the groundwork for the original research that will be done in the senior thesis/project. We will extensively examine primary literature, considering carefully the processes involved in moving from a general idea to a specific research question. We will consider the strengths and weaknesses of a range of approaches, such as psychological experimentation, neuroscience methods, and computational modeling. In addition, we will generate and analyze experimental data, including a basic overview of common statistical techniques. The course will culminate in an original research proposal. Prerequisite: Cognitive Science 101
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: INTERCULTURAL ● MATH/SCI
320 - Cognitive Neuroscience
This course is an introduction to the biology and physiology of the nervous system from the perspective of cognition. The material that the course covers will start with membrane biophysics and the production of electrical signals by nerve cells. Then studies of synapses, learning, memory, and plasticity of neural connections will be covered. Finally, the course will conclude examining models of simple nervous systems (non-human and computer-generated). Prerequisite: Cognitive Science 101, Biology 130, or Psychology 322, or permission of the instructor. Familiarity with high school or college physics is beneficial. Co-requisite: Cognitive Science 320L
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: LAB-SCI
330 - Linguistics for Cognitive Science
Language and cognition are intimately related. For this reason Linguistics has had an extremely strong influence on Cognitive Science. This course studies language and linguistics in the context of Cognitive Science. We will address such questions as how are language and thought related? How is language represented in the brain? How do we process language? To what extent is the human capacity for language innate? Is there a language of thought? What are the best ways to model language acquisition and language processing? We will cover some topics in traditional linguistics, and we will look at current research on connectionist and traditional artificial intelligence approaches to modeling language. Reading will include work by Chomsky, Pinker, McClelland, Rumelhart, Fodor and Elman. Prerequisite: Cognitive Science 101 or 242.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: MATH/SCI
343 - Probabilistic Models of Cognition
Probabilistic models have increasingly been applied to understand how the mind works across domains such as motor control, decision-making, and causal inference. We will learn how such models work, learning the mathematical tools necessary to implement them, such as Bayesian inference, graphical models, and Markov models. We will consider both how human cognition can inform machine learning and how computational approaches can lead to new ideas about cognition.
Prerequisite: Cognitive Science 242, Co-requisite: Cognitive Science 343L
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: LAB-SCI
395 - Directed Research in Cognitive Science
Directed research with a faculty member.
Prerequisite: COGS 101 or permission of instructor
2 or 4
397 - Independent Study in Cognitive Science
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
2 or 4 units
490 - Senior Seminar in Cognitive Science
The seminar will cover special topics in cognitive science. Senior cognitive science majors will integrate their senior thesis/project into the work of the seminar. Prerequisite: Cognitive Science 101, senior standing in Cognitive Science; or permission of instructor
Faculty
Regular Faculty
Carolyn Brighouse, chair
Associate Professor, Philosophy; Advisory Committee, Cognitive Science
B.A., University of Liverpool; M.A., Ph.D., USC
Advisory Committee
Associate Professor, Philosophy; Advisory Committee, Cognitive Science
B.A., University of Liverpool; M.A., Ph.D., USC
Associate Professor, Mathematics; Advisory Committee, Cognitive Science
B.A., Oberlin College; Sc.M., Ph.D., Brown University
Director of the Keck Language and Culture Studio, Adjunct Associate Professor, Music and Cognitive Science
B.S., M.Sc., Université Pierre et Marie Curie; M.A., Ph.D., UCLA
Associate Professor, Spanish and French Studies; Advisory Committee, Cognitive Science; Affiliated Faculty, Linguistics; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies; Advisory Committee, Group Language
B.S., St. Cloud State University; M.A., Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
Associate Professor, Psychology; Advisory Committee, Cognitive Science
B.A., Princeton University; Ph.D., Harvard University
Professor of Philosophy; Professor of Cognitive Science
B.A., State University of New York, Binghamton M.A., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh