Cognitive Studies 201
Psychology 201
Computer Science 201

Cognitive Science in Context Laboratory
Fall 2000

COGST 201/PSYCH 201/COM S 201 helps satisfy requirements in several Colleges within Cornell University. Check this table to see how it could work for you.

Laboratory Module Authors
Driving Module Manual
Mr. Leon G. Rozenblit	Yale University	leonid.rozenblit@yale.edu
Touch Screen Module Manual
Dr. Scott H. Johnson	Gettysburg College	scjohnso@gettysburg.edu
Subliminal Perception Module Manual
Mr. Nicholas Epley	Cornell University	ne12@cornell.edu
Neural Network Module Manual
Mr.Elvis Au	Computer Sciences Corporation	ea25@cornell.edu
Dr. Whitney Tabor (Consultant)	University of Connecticut	tabor@cs.cornell.edu

Cognitive Studies in Context Program Directors
Professor Bruce P. Halpern	bph1@cornell.edu
Professor Ulric Neisser	un13@cornell.edu

Cornell Course Roster listing for
COGST 201 (times, locations)
PSYCH 201 (times, locations)
COM S 201 (times, locations)

Courseinfo web page for this course:
http://courseinfo.cit.cornell.edu/courses/csic201/

• Course Description for Fall 2000

  A laboratory course that explores the theories of cognitive science and provides direct experience with the techniques of cognitive science, in relation to the full range of both present and anticipated-future activities in the workplace, the classroom, and in everyday life. Discussions of laboratory exercise results, supplementation of laboratory topics, and analyses of challenging primary research literature are done in meetings of the entire class. Laboratory exercises, which are done on an individual or small group basis, include both pre-planned investigations and student-developed experiments. Use of digital computers as well as the Internet, electronic mail, and Web sites are integral components of the course.

  State of the art computing, display (visual, auditory, and other perceptual/sensory systems), digital communication, and simulation approaches are used to apply cognitive science principles and concepts to the analysis, exploration, and direct testing of human-machine interfaces. The focus is on human-computer interactions that are intended to permit effective and efficient exchange of information and control of functions or operations.

  This approach is applied to real life settings such as interactions with touch screen displays, effects of very brief sensory inputs on subsequent decisions, computer-based natural language recognition and processing, use of 'neural networks', and personal and group transportation vehicles and systems. Students are expected to come to each discussion meeting having read and thought about assigned materials, and to come to scheduled laboratory meetings fully prepared to perform the laboratory exercises. Laboratory facilities will be available to students at all times so that statistical analysis of data, preparation of laboratory reports, and collection of experimental data will be facilitated.

  4 Credits. Prior completion of "Introduction to Cognitive Science" PSYCH 102/COGST 101/COM S 101/LING170/PHIL 191 or equivalent is recommended. Knowledge of programming languages is neither assumed nor required. Limited to 24 students. Disc and demos, MW 11:15-12:05; lab, MW 1:25-3:20, plus additional hours to be arranged. B. Halpern, D. Elrod, and Staff.

  ---

  General Information for
  COGST 201/PSYCH 201/COM S 201, F00

  1. Laboratory Access
     • Students in the course will normally have full access to the Cognitive Science in Context Teaching Laboratory (CSICTL) rooms 203, 257, and 259 in Uris Hall during the Fall 2000 semester. In addition, Uris 205 will be available for COGST 201/PSYCH 201/COM S 201 use on Mondays and Wednesdays, during and immediately before and after scheduled class meetings, and can be scheduled for other times through the Cognitive Studies Program Office, 282 Uris Hall, csic@cornell.edu, 5-3913.
  2. Necessary Equipment to Purchase
     • Zip disk (two are recommended, so that a backup can be made).
     • 3.5" floppy disk, formatted for IBM-compatibles (two are recommended, so that a backup can be made).
     • There is no textbook. Assigned and background readings are on reserve at Uris Library and/or in Uris 259. The course WWW page, which you are reading now, should also be consulted.
  3. General Course Writing Requirements
     • Comments and questions on the assigned readings in the laboratory module presently being done in the CSICTL must be submitted to the course mailing list, CogStudInContextLab201-L, IN ADVANCE of each Monday or Wednesday morning class period. In order to submit comments and questions to the mailing list, students must subscribe to CogStudInContextLab201-L. The mailing list is described below.
     • Brief, Informal Reports of Each Component of a Laboratory Module. The laboratory modules are divided into a series of exercises. After each exercise is completed in the laboratory, and an initial data analysis done, a brief, informal, one or two page description of the results, and of any problems or special situations encountered, will be submitted to CogStudInContextLab201-L by each student. This will essentially be an electronic version of a laboratory notebook. It is intended to briefly indicate what actually was done, what the general results were, and what difficulties were encountered.
  4. Grading
     • The emphasis of this course will be on experiments. You will be discussing, commenting on, and performing some fundamental experiments in cognitive science, and analyzing your data from them. You will also have the opportunity to design, carry out, and analyze your own experiments. Within each module, you will prepare and submit to the mailing list brief, informal reports on each component experiment. These brief reports are roughly comparable to the abstracts that researchers typically submit before a scientific meeting. They are snapshots of in-progress research.

       For each series of experiments that constitutes a module, you will prepare a formal report on the underlying reasoning of the series of experiments, the procedures that you followed, the data that were obtained, your analyses of those data, your rationale for those analyses, and your interpretation of those data. Such formal reports are an integral part of the scientific process. Experiments that are not reported in sufficient detail to allow others to repeat or extend the studies, as well as to reach their own judgments on the reliability and validity of the data, are rarely accepted as meaningful by the scientific community. Timely reporting is also important, both in the normal world of research, and in this course.

       Most scientific manuscripts submitted to refereed journals or edited books are returned to the author one or more times for revision, clarification, and modification. After a series of such exchanges, the manuscript may be accepted. Your formal reports will be reviewed and, in many if not all instances, will be returned to you with suggestions for changes. This sequence may occur several times before your improved report is accepted.

     Grade Weighting
     Comments and questions on assigned readings, to CogStudInContextLab201-L	10%
     Brief, informal, description of each experiment's results, and of any problems or special situations encountered, sent to CogStudInContextLab201-L	10%
     The Formal Report for each module (four reports)	80%

  ---

  The Cognitive Studies 201 Electronic Mailing List

  SUBSCRIBING TO THE MAILING LIST AND SUBMITTING COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS ARE REQUIREMENTS OF THE COURSE. The mailing list will distribute submissions to all subscribed students and to the course staff. Course staff will from time to time submit comments and other materials to the mailing list. SUBSCRIPTION PROCEDURE: To subscribe to CogStudInContextLab201-L send the following command string via electronic mail to listserv@cornell.edu:

  subscribe CogStudInContextLab201-L@cornell.edu firstname lastname

  (where "firstname" is your first name and "lastname" is your last name).

  NOTE:

  1. The mailing list name must be entered EXACTLY as shown, that is
     1. No blank spaces within the name.
     2. The C in Cog, the S in Stud, the I in In, the C in Context, the L in Lab, and the final L, are capitalized, while all other letters are lower case.
     3. There must be a dash - between the 1 or 201 and the final L of the mailing list, that is, 1-L
     4. The easiest way to avoid errors in the mailing list name is to copy the entire subscription command string, as given above, paste it into the body of an email message addressed to listserv@cornell.edu and replace firstname lastname in the command string with your first name and last name. There should be NO text in your message before the beginning of the command string.
  2. Your name should be entered as it appears on the Cornell electronic mail system. That is most typically your 'formal' first name and your last name. If you are unsure how your name appears, use Electronic Directory from the Bear Access Launch Pad or Directory Services (Special pull-down menu) from Eudora, to check. Enter your last name, or first and last names, and click on the Ph button, or your NetID (e.g., xyz99) and click on Finger. When you enter your first and last name into the command string to send to listserv@cornell.edu do NOT include middle initials.
  3. If you have a problem subscribing, contact the Listserve Manager at listmgr@cornell.edu.

  This page maintained by Doug Elrod