Cognitive Science 0298 - Words, Faces and Other Minds

Human social interaction relies upon the ability to correctly attribute beliefs, goals, and percepts to other people. This set of meta-representational abilities--a "theory of mind"--allows us to understand the behavior of others. Individuals with autism are often thought to lack a theory of mind as they show impairments on tasks testing this ability, as well as impairments on tasks involving language and face processing. The goal of this course was to examine the links between these three domains: language, face processing and social cognition, and the role each plays in helping us navigate the social world. Prerequisite: One prior course in cognitive science, cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, physiological psychology, comparative psychology, linguistics, neuroscience or any other relevant area.

Writing and Research In this course, students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. This time includes reading, writing, research.