New Bulgarian University

This course will be based on active research-based learning. Participants will design and perform various experiments using various experimental paradigms: priming and context effects studies, reaction time experiments, thinking aloud methods, autobiographical experiments, explicit and implicit memory tasks. Participants will work in teams and will review and criticise each others work.

Class 1. Reaction Time, Choice, Free Generation

Readings:

Kahana, M., Loftus, G. (1999). Response time versus Accuracy in Human Memory. In: Stenberg, R. (ed.) The Nature of Cognition. MIT Press.

Class 2. Priming and Context Effects

Readings:

Kokinov, B. (1990). Associative Memory-Based Reasoning: Some Experimental Results. In: Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

Kokinov, B., Yoveva, M. (1996). Context Effects on Problem Solving. In: Proceedings of the 18th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

Class 3. Thinking Aloud and Protocol Analysis

Readings:

Ericson, Simon, H. (1993). Protocol Analysis. MIT Press.

Class 4. Explicit and Implicit Memory and Learning Tasks

Readings:

Reber, A., Allen, R., Reber, P. (1999). Implicit versus Explicit Learning. In: Stenberg, R. (ed.) The Nature of Cognition. MIT Press.

Class 5. Autobiographical Memory experiments, Diaries, Family Surveys

Readings:

Ceci, S., Rosenbloom, T., DeBruyn, E. (1999). Laboratory versus Field Approaches to Cognition. In: Stenberg, R. (ed.) The Nature of Cognition. MIT Press.

Small Groups
Participants will work in groups to design experiemts, they will then work in pairs to run the experiments, and finally they will work in groups in interpreting the results.

Assignments
Each participant who wish to get credits should design and fully run one experiment and write a paper describing and analysing the results.

Boicho Kokinov is Assistant Professor in Cognitive Science and Computer Science and Co-Director of the Central and East European Center for Cognitive Science at the New Bulgarian University. His research is in the field of human analogy-making and problem solving, the interaction between memory and thinking, and context and priming effects on high-level cognitive processes.