|
 The
graduate program in cognition and development at LSU
combines the study of cognition and development from
a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives.
Our graduate program emphasizes research training
using multiple methodological tools, including both
laboratory and field research methods. A life-span
developmental approach serves as an integrating focus
for graduate training.
Our goal is to prepare students for professional
careers in a variety of settings such as:
• Academic careers
• Basic research careers in cognition or development
• Program evaluation institutes
• Child development in pediatric settings
• Matching educational programs to needs of
children
• Technical advisors in government and human
service organizations
• Designing training programs in industrial
organizations
• Helping apply new technologies to enhance
human development
• Agencies involved with long-term care and
health and wellness of older adults
In addition to basic studies in memory, language,
decision-making, and problem solving, students are
encouraged to study applications of cognitive science
to real life situations. Practical experiences are
offered in curriculum design, multi-media development,
and working with the elderly adults. Each student’s
program is individually designed by the student and
faculty advisors to provide a working knowledge of
this broad field and intensive study in the student’s
areas of special interest. Courses and seminars in
cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, other
areas of psychology, and in other departments constitute
the academic core of the student’s program of
study. Human development courses and seminars focus
on chronological segments of the life span (early
childhood through adulthood and aging), as well as
specific topics such as cognitive, social, methods,
theory, and memory development.
Minors are encouraged in industrial/organizational
psychology, experimental statistics, or computer science.
Research Opportunities
Research training continues throughout the student’s
program at increasing levels of responsibility. This
training includes applied as well as traditional laboratory
methods. Students work closely with faculty members
on research of mutual interest.
The University Lab School and cooperating school
systems provide convenient access to children. Other
resources include community facilities for elderly
adults such as adult day care centers and nursing
homes. Cooperative relations exist with other universities
in the state, providing access to a wide range of
unique research populations.
Two opportunities exist for students to get practical
experience applying their knowledge:
1. The Department's Office of Applied Cognition (http://www.lsu.edu/psychology/oac)
seeks to take the knowledge, theories, and methodologies
of Cognitive Science and apply them in ways that improve
performance and other measures of success in real-world
settings (e.g., in education, medicine, or everyday
problem solving). A second goal is to take what is
learned from studying cognition in these settings
to understand the basic mechanisms of cognition (and
other determinants of behavior). Recent projects include
development of an interactive web-based Cognitive
Toolbox and an NSF-funded study of the effect of technology
on medical practice in a Baton-Rouge area hospital.
The experiences provided by the OAC have proven very
valuable in expanding career opportunities for students
seeking jobs in industry and other applied research
settings. Many of our recent graduates have gotten
excellent jobs in industry (Compaq, Microsoft, Internet
educational technology firms) allowing them to use
the skills they have gained in the program to problems
in the real world.
2. The Life Course and Aging Center recognizes that
successful aging begins at birth and continues through
the rest of our lives. By the year 2020, more than
20 percent of the population is expected to reach
the age of retirement. With the increase in the number
of older adults living in Louisiana, there will come
a greater need to ensure the successful aging of the
population of our state. Therefore, faculty associated
with the Life Course and Aging Center are committed
to identifying the keys to successful aging and educating
the public about these important issues.
The mission of the Life Course and Aging Center is
to promote collaborative research activities across
many fields including the biological, social, and
psychological sciences; to develop life course and
aging education and curriculum; and to collaborate
with senior service organizations throughout the state.
Specific areas of research include the following:
• Childhood, family, education, and social policy.
• Biochemical aspects of aging.
• Memory aging in older adults.
• Memory interventions for persons with probably
Alzheimer’s disease.
• Health-care service delivery alternatives
for the elderly.
• Role of physical activity in preventing and
reversing disability in older adults.
Course Work for the Doctoral
Degree**
| |
|
Qualifying Core Courses |
Credit
Hours |
| |
|
Must pass by the end of the 2nd Year |
|
| PSYC |
4008 |
History
of Modern Psychology |
3 |
| PSYC |
7030 |
CognitiveBasis
of Behavior |
3 |
| PSYC |
7034 |
Biological
Basis of Behavior |
3 |
| PSYC |
7040 |
Social
Basis of Behavior |
3 |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
Must Take 2 of the 4 |
|
| PSYC |
7020 |
Measurement
of Behavior |
3 |
| PSYC |
7117 |
Methodology
& Research Design† |
3 |
| PSYC |
4111 |
Intermediate
Statistics† |
3 |
| PSYC |
7111 |
Advanced
Statistics |
3 |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
Cognitive Core Courses |
|
| |
|
Must take 21 seminar hours of the following |
|
| PSYC |
7938 |
Seminar
in Experimental Psychology |
3 |
| PSYC |
7939 |
Seminar
in Experimental Psychology |
3 |
| PSYC |
7754 |
Psycholinguistics:
Linguistics Perspective |
3 |
| PSYC |
7978 |
Current
Problems in Developmental Psychology |
3 |
| PSYC |
7979 |
Current
Problems in Developmental Psychology |
3 |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
‡
Up to 6 credit hours of this pair may be substituted
for seminars |
|
| PSYC |
7670 |
Practicumin
Developmental Psychology ‡ |
3* |
| PSYC |
7671 |
Practicumin
Developmental Psychology ‡ |
3* |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
+
The following pair of courses may be taken to
substitute for 3 seminar hours |
|
| PSYC |
7990 |
Teaching
of Psychology + |
3 |
| PSYC |
7690 |
Teaching
of Psychology Practicum + |
3 |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
Other Required Courses |
|
| PSYC |
4111 |
Intermediate
Statistics† |
3 |
| PSYC |
7117 |
Methodology
& Research Design† |
3 |
| PSYC |
8000 |
Thesis
Research |
6* |
| PSYC |
9000 |
Dissertation
Research |
12* |
| PSYC |
8939 |
Independent
Research: Experimental Psychology |
15* |
| PSYC |
4999 |
Independent
Research |
6* |
| |
|
|
|
* Additional hours may be taken, but number listed
is the maximum allowed applied to degree.
** This list is intended as an example of courses
for the degree and is subject to change. All students
will be informed of their requirements upon entry
to the program.
† PSYC 4111 & PSYC 7117 double as Qualifying
Core Courses and Required Courses
Cognitive/Developmental Faculty
Melissa Beck
• Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Kent State
University •Visual memory and attention;
the roles of encoding, retrieval, decision-making
and metacognition in the perception of a continuous
and stable visual world; employing techniques such
as eye-tracking, visual change detection and cognitive
modeling.
Katie E.
Cherry • Professor; Emogene
Pliner Professor for the Study of Aging; Ph.D., University
of Georgia • Cognitive aging, especially
memory processes in healthy older adults; memory interventions
for cognitive-impaired older adults; interdisciplinary
studies of healthy aging in the oldest-old
Emily
M. Elliott • Assistant Professor;
Ph.D., University of Missouri • Memory
and the development of memory in children, attention,
and especially the interaction of attention and immediate
memory
Kevin
Grobman • Assistant Professor;
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania • Developmental
psychology: How we solve problems in our everyday
lives, from the origins of domain general problem
solving strategies during infancy to creative problem
solving efforts in pre-schoolers and adolescents;
problem solving as related to other aspects of our
development, such as social skills (e.g., help-seeking),
conceptual change (e.g., inquiry learning), and cognitive
processes (e.g., working memory).
Jason L.
Hicks •Associate Professor;
Director of Undergraduate Studies; Ph.D., The University
of Georgia • Human learning and memory:
source memory (memory for the origin of past experience);
false memory; prospective memory (remembering to complete
delayed intentions); recognition memory; unconscious
plagiarism (cryptomnesia); decision processes in memory
retrieval.
Sean M. Lane
• Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Kent State
University • Memory and cognitive processes:
memory for eyewitness situations; source memory; metacognition
in learning and decision making.
Robert
C. Mathews • Professor; Ph.D.,
Yale University • Applying cognitive theory
to real-world problems (e.g., detecting drug interaction
and acquiring expertise) and interactions between
conscious problem-solving processes and nonconscious,
or implicit learning processes.
Janet
L. McDonald • Professor; Director
of Graduate Studies; Ph.D., Carnegie-Mellon University
• Language acquisition: age of acquisition (critical
period hypothesis) and grammatical mastery; acquisition
of linguistic subcategories such as gender subclasses;
bilingualism; specific language impairment; language
comprehension.
For more information on Cognitive and Developmental
Psychology, please contact Dr. Mathews at psmath@lsu.edu.
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