Lauren N. Hecht, PhD

 
 

Teaching

Below is a description of the courses I have taught or am teaching at Gustavus.

Psychology of Attention (PSY-344/345)

Attention is a broad term that includes such things as the influence of our expectations and how we allocate our limited mental resources. Theory and research on attention takes both a cognitive psychology and a cognitive neuroscience perspective in an attempt to answer the questions: What is attention? What are its manifestations and its functions? What is the neural basis of attention? Students will consider the same questions while examining 1) the theories or models of attentional mechanisms, 2) the modulation of attention in relation to other cognitive processes, 3) the experimental paradigms used by researchers to investigate the different aspects and problems regarding attention, and 4) the problems implied in the study of attention. To accomplish this, students will read a broad sampling of literature on attention. Topics include attentional selection, attentional limitations, role of attention in perception and memory, attentional control and attentional disorders. By studying these topics, students will also learn theory that will allow them to answer questions more relevant to everyday life such as the following: Can I actually mistake a rubber hand for my own? How do I manage to find my friend at a rock concert? Is it really harmful to text while I drive? Why do I make more mistakes when I think about how my hands are moving to type on a keyboard? How can I not see something that is right in front of me?

Cognitive Psychology (PSY-230)

This course is intended to introduce the basic concepts and findings of cognitive psychology, including the topics of perception, attention, memory, language, categorization, imagery, judgment and decision-making, reasoning, and problem solving. These topics are vast, complex, interconnected areas. To help deal with this complexity, these areas will be examined within the context of a course thesis which is as follows: Cognition can be explained and understood by examining the way in which the brain processes, acts, and adapts upon the occurrence of a given event and a given goal.

Statistics & Research Methods II (PSY-225)

The purpose of this course is to provide a foundation for understanding and conducting psychological research. An important guiding principle of psychology is that conclusions regarding the bases of behavior are driven by data. Consequently, psychologists use the scientific method to answer empirical questions; students will experience this process first-hand in laboratory sessions through the completion of a group or individual research project. Through the laboratory projects and lectures, you will learn how to conduct psychological research, how to contribute to the research community, and how to critically evaluate psychological research.

Sensation & Perception (PSY-244)

This course focuses on the perception and interpretation of sensory information. The sensory systems (i.e., those parts of the nervous system that are involved in processing sensory information, be it light, vibration, or chemicals) manage to yield appropriate perceptions and guide behavior despite the fact that the information with which they work is intrinsically ambiguous. During the course, we will consider the function of sensory systems starting from the energy to which they are sensitive (e.g., light) to transduction at the sensory organ (e.g., photoreceptors on the retina) to interpretation of the information that is carried in the signal at higher brain centers (e.g., “Is that a ball flying at my head or a shadow? Should I move?”).

Although hearing, touch, smell and taste will be covered, a greater portion of the course will be dedicated to vision. This is because more research has been done on vision than any other sense, and because it is useful to work with one model system as a foundation. Nonetheless, a major theme of the course will be the fact that sensory systems have much in common, differing primarily in the energy to which they are sensitive and the type of information they carry.

Perception (PSY-344/345)

Every day our brains process and interpret an enormous amount of sensory information, creating our perception of the world. Theory and research on perception takes both a cognitive psychology and a cognitive neuroscience perspective in an attempt to answer the questions: What is a perception? How is a perception established? How does a perception align with what’s really in the world? Students will consider these and other questions while examining 1) the theories or models of perceptual mechanisms, 2) the experimental paradigms used by researchers to investigate the different aspects and problems regarding perception, and 4) the problems implied in the study of perception. To accomplish this, students will read a broad sampling of literature. Discussions will include specific topics within visual and auditory perception, and are likely to include topics within touch, smell, and taste perception.

General Psychology (PSY-100)

This course will provide an introduction to the field of psychology. Psychology is a broad discipline that includes many domains of knowledge about human and animal behavior, such as physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social domains. The goals of psychological science include describing, predicting, and (occasionally) changing behavior. Once a behavior is well-described, research goals shift toward understanding the mechanisms that govern the same behavior. It’s not enough to know that two behaviors are correlated; psychologists strive to understand why the correlation exists. During the course, we will explore ways in which psychologists accomplish these goals, become familiar with some of the major research findings and theories in various subfields of psychology, and learn how to critically evaluate psychological information. Along the way, I hope that you will acquire some practical information that you can apply to your own lives as well as acquire an appreciation (or even a love!) for the field of psychology.