Psychology of Language

Required Text: Whitney, P. (1998). The Psychology of Language.Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Required Book Chapter: Christiansen, M.H. & Chater, N. (2001). Connectionist psycholinguistics in perspective. In M.H. Christiansen & N. Chater (Eds.), Connectionist psycholinguistics (pp. 19-75). Westport, CT: Ablex. (click here for an electronic copy).

Supplementary Texts: Additional readings can be downloaded here.

Course Description: This course will provide an introduction to the psychology of language. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the scientific study of psycholinguistic phenomena. It will cover a broad range of topics from psycholinguistics, including the origin of language, the different components of language (phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics), processes involved in reading, computational modeling of language processes, the acquisition of language (both under normal and special circumstances), and the brain bases of language.

Course Syllabus: Click here for a PDF version of the course syllabus.

Lecture Notes: Click here to get to the page with lecture slides for this course.

Study Guide: The study guide lists the most important issues that have been discussed in class. It also lists important references from the textbook. Each chapter is treated separately. Please note that the study guide should NOT be used as a substitute for reading the textbook, but as a guide to it.

Each study guide will be made available prior to the prelims.

• Prelim 1: Study guide for chapters 1 - 3 and Christiansen & Chater (2001)
  
  
• Prelim 2: Study guide for chapters 5 - 7 and Christiansen & Chater (2001)
  
  
• Prelim 3: Study guide for chapters 9 - 12 and Christiansen & Chater (2001)

[For instructions how to print several slides on one piece of paper, go to the lecture note page.]

Review Session: An evening review session will be scheduled shortly before each of the exams.

• The review session for Prelim 1 will be held Monday, February 18, at 7:30PM in 202 Uris Hall.
  
  
• The review session for Prelim 2 will be held Tuesday, March 25, at 7:30PM in 202 Uris Hall.
  
  
• The review session for Prelim 3 will be held Tuesday, April 29, at 7:30PM in 202 Uris Hall.
  

Grading/Prelims: The performance in this course will be evaluated based on a total of 200 points distributed over 3 non-cumulative prelims and a final 3-page essay. Each prelim consists of a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions and will be worth 55 points. The prelims will be based on material covered in class and in the readings. Note that not all lecture material is covered in the readings, and vice versa. The prelims take place in class and there is no final exam. In the final essay, students are asked to answer one of three questions that cut across the course as a whole. The essay will be due the Final Exam period and is worth 35 points.

Final Examination Essay: The essay should be 3 pages long using 1.5 line spacing and is due before 4PM Monday, May 12. It should be delivered by hand or email to one of the two TAs, Jennifer in B72 Uris Hall or Catalina in B84 Uris Hall before the deadline.

• Essay Exam Questions
  
  

Extra Credit: Up to 6 points can be earned through extra credit participation in approved research experiments conducted by Cornell faculty and students. Details of participation will be outlined in class and on the class web site. One point can be earned for each "hour" of participation (that is, at least 30 minutes but no more than an hour). Students should sign up on-line for experiments on the SUSAN system (NB: only some experiments offer credit for this course).

Please make sure to note the experiment name and, if possible, the experimenter's name as well before you arrive for participation. You should also keep a log of dates, times, and the various experiments in which you have participated (in case any discrepancy arises later).

Academic Integrity: Each student in this courser is expected to abide by the Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity. Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student's own work. Failure to adhere to the Code of Academic Integrity will result in an F in the course.

Final Grade: : The final grade will be computed based on the sum of the three prelim scores, the score for the final essay, and any extra credit points earned, and then calculated as a percentage of 200. Grades will be assigned based on the following table.