• University of York

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology: An Experimental Science

Learn how to use cognitive psychology experiments to explore the internal workings of the mind with this online psychology course.

28,463 enrolled on this course

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  • Duration

    3 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours

Learn how to conduct, analyse and understand cognitive psychology experiments

Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of internal mental processes. On this course, you will be introduced to two key areas of cognitive psychology: reasoning and thinking and mental imagery.

You will explore cognitive psychology as an experimental science, as you consider the psychology of thinking and reasoning and the psychology of imagination and thinking visually. You will learn how to run an experiment, how to collect data, and understand the science behind memory and behaviour through experiments. You will also explore the effectiveness of experiments for the study of the mind.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 6 seconds How can you study the Mind? Why do people make errors in judgment, like falling for internet scams? Do we think with pictures? The University of York brings you this short online course on… Cognitive Psychology, the area of psychology that tries to understand how we think, reason and remember. We will introduce you to this experimental Science and you’ll learn about the methods that we use to study these mental processes. In fact you’ll set up and run your own simple experiments. You also find out what those methods have taught us about how we solve problems and make judgments in the real world and also how and indeed if we think in mental images.

Skip to 0 minutes and 55 seconds In this course we’ll try to answer questions around this fascinating area. How can we study something as subjective as the workings of the mind? What methods can we use to study how we think and remember? What is the psychology behind our common mistakes and bias in our thinking and judgment? Can Psychology help us avoid simple everyday errors? Do we think with images? Can these “mental images” help us solve problems? What do we know about how the mind hold images from the real world? Join us as we try to answer these questions and take your first steps in the exciting world of the study of the mind.

What topics will you cover?

  • Psychology as an experimental science.
  • How to run an experiment in psychology
  • How Psychology studies memory using experiments
  • Key aspects of the Psychology of thinking and reasoning
  • Key aspects of the Psychology of imagination and thinking visually

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Demonstrate an understanding of how the mind can be studied in a scientific way using experiments
  • Develop your knowledge of the psychology of reasoning and thinking
  • Demonstrate a knowledge of the psychology of mental imagery
  • Perform a simple experiment in cognitive psychology

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone with an interest in the workings of the mind and how to study this through experiments.

This course will be of particular interest to those looking to study Psychology at university, and those thinking of applying to study degree level Psychology at the University of York.

Who will you learn with?

I am an experimental cognitive psychologist who has spent all his working life at various universities in the UK. I am passionate about cognitive psychology and hope that you will soon learn why.

Who developed the course?

University of York

The University of York combines the pursuit of academic excellence with a culture of inclusion, which encourages everyone – from a variety of backgrounds – to achieve their best.

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  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

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  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
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Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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