Master 2020/2021

Psychology of Thinking and Reasoning

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Elective course (Politics. Economics. Philosophy)

Area of studies: Political Science

Delivered by: School of Psychology

Where: Faculty of Social Sciences

When: 1 year, 1, 2 module

Mode of studies: distance learning

Instructors: Anatoly V. Kharkhurin

Master’s programme: Политика. Экономика. Философия

Language: English

ECTS credits: 5

Contact hours: 42

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course reviews the core theories of organization of human thought, general reasoning and thinking, and behavioural outcomes of thinking. These three overarching themes provide a broad theoretical framework with which to explore wider issues in human cognition such as decision making, problem-solving, motivation, language, and creative thinking. These concepts will be related to classical and recent empirical cognitive research. Students will apply these theories to contemporary cases of human thought work. During the seminars, students learn about the practical aspects of experiments in cognition using a project-oriented approach.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize fundamental theories of cognition.
• Relate phenomena of thinking to theories in cognition on an intuitive level and using professional terminology.
• Engage the critical thinking skills that are characteristics of behavioral scientists.
• Organize effective forms of interpersonal communication as part of group work.
• Use academic sources to research and understand mental states and processes underlying thinking.
• Test theories about mental states and processes underlying thinking empirically.
• Present results of individual and group work to the professional community in written, oral and visual formats.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Recognize fundamental theories of cognition
• Relate phenomena of thinking to theories in cognition on an intuitive level and using professional terminology.
• Engage the critical thinking skills that are characteristics of behavioral scientists
• Organize effective forms of interpersonal communication as part of group work.
• Present results of individual and group work to the professional community in written, oral and visual formats.
• Use academic sources to research and understand mental states and processes underlying thinking.
• Test theories about mental states and processes underlying thinking empirically.

Course Contents

• The organization of human thought
  This theme introduces the basic concepts related to the organization of human thought. It presents the core aspect of how people think - similarity - which involves the comparison of existing states, stimuli, or precepts with past experience. This process operates on concepts and categories, which are represented as a knowledge base in our memory. Finally, we discuss the interaction between language, culture, and thought. This idea goes back as far as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis in the middle of the twentieth century and continues to be of interest to psychologists, anthropologists, and linguists. The Psychology of Thinking The Psychology of Similarity Knowledge and Memory Concepts and Categories Language and Thought
• Thinking and Reasoning
  This theme deals with general reasoning and thinking, and devotes to how and why people engage in reasoning. Reasoning is at the core of the psychological study of thinking and this theme explores deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, and causal reasoning. Another topic discusses the role of contextual, motivational, and affective correlates of thinking. Inference and Induction Deductive Reasoning Context, Motivation, and Mood
• Thinking in Action
  This theme focuses on the applications of the theories of thinking in the areas of decision-making, problem-solving, and expertise and expert-level thinking. Decision-Making Problem-Solving Expertise and expert thinking
• Multilingual Creative Cognition
  This theme presents one of the paradoxes of thinking, namely the interaction between multilingual and creative practices. We discuss the state of the art theories in multilingualism, creativity and the interaction of these two.

Assessment Elements

• Quiz
• Midterm Exam
• Final Exam
• Critical thinking questions (CTQ)
• In-class participation (Q&A)
• Project
• Poster
• Oral presentation

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (2 module)
  0.05 * Critical thinking questions (CTQ) + 0.2 * Final Exam + 0.05 * In-class participation (Q&A) + 0.2 * Midterm Exam + 0.05 * Oral presentation + 0.05 * Poster + 0.35 * Project + 0.05 * Quiz

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Assoc. Prof. Anatoliy V. Kharkhurin. (2012). Multilingualism and Creativity. Multilingual Matters.
• John Paul Minda. (2015). The Psychology of Thinking : Reasoning, Decision-Making and Problem-Solving. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• The Psychology of Human Thought : An Introduction. (2019). Heidelberg University Publishing (heiUP).