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PSYCH 121 - First-Year Seminar in Psychology as a Natural Science
Fall 2022, Section 002 - Mind, Machine, and Mathematics
Instruction Mode: Section 002 is  In Person (see other Sections below)
Subject: Psychology (PSYCH)
Department: LSA Psychology
See additional student enrollment and course instructor information to guide you in your decision making.
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 Details  Description  Schedule  Textbooks/Other Materials  Syllabi

Details

Credits:
3
Requirements & Distribution:
BS, NS
Other:
Honors, FYSem
Waitlist Capacity:
unlimited
Advisory Prerequisites:
Enrollment restricted to first-year students, including those with sophomore standing.
Other Course Info:
Does not count toward the requirements for the Psychology major nor the major in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience.
BS:
This course counts toward the 60 credits of math/science required for a Bachelor of Science degree.
Repeatability:
May not be repeated for credit.
Primary Instructor:
Zhang,Jun

Description

This First Year Seminar will introduce to Honors students cognitive roots to human intelligence, with a goal of designing artificial general intelligence. It will examine in-depth the concept of rationality in reasoning, memory, and decision making. What are the principles of rational
decision making? Can we teach machines to reason, in a way that understand us better than we do ourselves? Why are there different memory systems and how they support cognition? By in- class demonstrations of various pitfalls and failures of rationality of the human mind, this seminar aims to instigate students’ curiosity into cognitive science and machine intelligence, while exploring the intertwining topics of mind and cognition, machine intelligence, and mathematical reasoning.

The instructor strives to provide a supportive environment for self-motivated students who intend to pursue Cognitive Science, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Neuroscience, etc, as they settle into their college life.


Course Requirements:

Performance assessment will be based on quizzes, short essays/reaction papers, and a final research paper with presentation.

Intended Audience:

The course is suited for students interested in artificial/machine intelligence with strong preparation for Calculus, Physics, Psychology, and/or Computer Science, in the form of AP classes/exams or equivalent academic experience in high school. 

Students are incoming freshmen admitted into the LSA Honors Program. 

Schedule

PSYCH 121 - First-Year Seminar in Psychology as a Natural Science
Schedule Listing
002 (SEM)
 In Person
37602
Open
1
3LSA Hnrs Y1
 
-
M 2:30PM - 5:30PMARR
Note: Psych 121-002 meets in the Pillsbury Room, East Hall. Take the elevator near the Church St entrance to floor "4M" (Fall 2022).

Textbooks/Other Materials

The partner U-M / Barnes & Noble Education textbook website is the official way for U-M students to view their upcoming textbook or course material needs, whether they choose to buy from Barnes & Noble Education or not. Students also can view a customized list of their specific textbook needs by clicking a "View/Buy Textbooks" link in their course schedule in Wolverine Access.

Click the button below to view and buy textbooks for PSYCH 121.002

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Syllabi

Syllabi are available to current LSA students. IMPORTANT: These syllabi are provided to give students a general idea about the courses, as offered by LSA departments and programs in prior academic terms. The syllabi do not necessarily reflect the assignments, sequence of course materials, and/or course expectations that the faculty and departments/programs have for these same courses in the current and/or future terms.

Click the button below to view historical syllabi for PSYCH 121 (UM login required)

View Historical Syllabi

CourseProfile (Atlas)

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CourseProfile (Atlas)