GL-PSYC3390
Memory (W25), York University - Glendon Campus
Expanded course description:
Why do we forget some things, while others last a lifetime? How do we learn? What types of memory exist? How can we measure these forms of memory? What biological changes accompany learning and memory loss? Can memory impairments be rehabilitated?
These are all important—and mostly unanswered—questions that reinforce how the human memory system has far-reaching impacts on our daily lives. This course will tackle these issues by exploring historically influential ideas, current theoretical debates, and the cognitive, neuroimaging, & neuropsychological methods which have formed the backbone of memory research. This course invites you to become part of the conversation, and decide for yourself how we can best understand memory.
Course objectives and learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, you will be able to identify and describe a wide range of memory phenomena. This includes being able to contextualize them within models and theories of memory, propose methods to study them, and generate new hypotheses about them. Finally, you will be able to critically evaluate claims, hypotheses, and theories of memory in both academic and real-world contexts.
Schedule of readings and activities
| Week - Date | Topic(s) | Readings | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – Jan 8 | Course Introduction What Is Memory? | Chapter 1 | |
| 2 – Jan 15 | Memory and the Brain | Chapter 2 | |
| 3 – Jan 22 | Short-Term Memory Working Memory | Chapters 3 and 4 | |
| 4 – Jan 29 | Learning Episodic Memory (Part 1) | Chapters 5 and 6 | Research Proposal (First Draft) |
| 5 – Feb 5 | Episodic Memory (Part 2) Semantic Memory | Chapter 7 | |
| 6 – Feb 12 | Retrieval Incidental Forgetting | Chapters 8 and 9 | Research Proposal (Peer Review) |
| 7 – Feb 19 | NONE – READING WEEK | ||
| 8 – Feb 26 | MIDTERM (IN-PERSON) | ||
| 9 – Mar 5 | Autobiographical Memory Eyewitness Memory | Chapters 11 and 12 | |
| 10 – Mar 12 | Memory and Aging When Memory Systems Fail | Chapters 15 and 16 | |
| 11 – Mar 19 | GROUP PRESENTATIONS | ||
| 12 – Mar 26 | GROUP PRESENTATIONS | ||
| 13 – Apr 2 | Special Topics in Memory Students’ Choice (Workshop? Panel?) | Research Proposal (Revision) |