
Course Dates
Course details
Tutors
Course details
Tutors
Course details
Tutors
Key Features
Aims of the course
- To introduce participants to key theories and concepts in psychology of social cognition and emotions.
- To learn the key methods to study emotional and social cognition: how to measure our ability to recognise facial expressions and the feelings of others.
- To study the foundations of the theories of embodied cognition: we are what we feel.
Course content overview
Psychology is the study of the human mind. Cognitive psychologists primarily focus on how our mind works when interacting with other minds and bodies as well as interacting with itself, such as with our own memories and sensations. This course is an introduction to a fascinating discipline. It is intended for anyone with an interest in psychology. We will explore the key theories and findings on emotions and social embodied cognition, the key methods to measure our ability to understand the feelings of others. We will focus on the main theories of embodiment and hypotheses, and on how researchers investigate and address them. In doing so, we will learn about the main methods and materials used to explore emotional embodiment and to measure our ability to recognise other people’s facial expressions. This will include the main experimental designs, behavioural and neuroimaging methods adopted. This course will show that psychology is not just about the mind; it will introduce participants to the idea that our mind is rooted in our body and that perhaps it is time to move on from this dichotomy.
Target audience
Anyone with an interest in psychology. This course will touch on the fundamental principles of cognitive psychology with a specific focus on emotional, social and embodied cognition.
Welcome week (Week 0)
Purpose:
- personal introductions
- introducing the course
- useful reading
- personal objectives
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week, the students should have:
- become familiar with navigating around the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and from VLE to links and back
- test your ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sort out any problems with the help of the Technology Enhanced Learning team
- learn how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
- contribute to a discussion forum to introduce yourself to other students and discuss why you are interested in the course and what you hope to get out of your studies
Teaching week 1: What is Cognitive Psychology: an overview
Purpose:
This week will provide an overview of key findings, theories and research methods of cognitive psychology.
Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of the mind as an input and output processor. Cognitive psychologists base their research on models of how people's minds process information and how different areas of the brain interact with each other to do it. These models relate to various cognitive functions including perception, attention, language, memory, thinking, and consciousness.
This week will explore:
- history and key findings of cognitive psychology
- what is the purpose of cognitive psychology
- what is the literature framework of the major models
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week, participants should:
- learn about the key findings and assumptions of cognitive psychology
- familiarize themselves with some of the central debates in cognitive psychology concerning the role of nature vs nurture in shaping the human mind
- understand the relationship between the mind and the brain and the role of automatic vs controlled processes in shaping human behaviour
Teaching week 2: How we feel emotions: introduction to the psychology of facial expressions and to theories of embodied emotional processing
Purpose:
This week will provide an introduction to the main concepts and theories of social cognition. In particular, this week explores the extent to which mirror neurons shape our ability to understand others and our ability to understand that others might have mental states that differ from our own (theory of mind reasoning).
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week, participants should:
- learn key concepts and theories in studying emotional and social cognition
- become familiar with core debates on the role of facial expressions and on the embodiment of emotional recognition
- understand how the production and perception of emotional facial expressions is explored from different angles by different theories
Teaching week 3: How do we study emotions? Emotional processing and social cognition research methods
Purpose:
This week explores the key research methods of embodied emotional processing and social cognition:
- it will outline the most important techniques in the broader cognitive psychology and evaluate the contribution they can make to emotional processing research and embodiment theories
- it will also introduce the role of neuropsychological research in understanding how brain lesions can help us understand how the brain normally functions
- key methods of neuroimaging techniques covered will be specifically focused on electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyography (EMG)
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week participants should:
- understand of the main methods in Cognitive Psychology
- learn neuroimaging techniques and neuropsychological findings and how they contribute to our knowledge on emotional processing and embodied cognition
- develop a critical approach to methods and how each of them helps answer to specific research questions
Teaching week 4: How do we recognise the emotional facial expressions of others? Feeling me to feel you - from theory-theories to the simulation theory
Purpose:
This week will provide an introduction to the main theories of emotional facial expression recognition:
- it will include an overview of the theory models as well as of the simulation theory models
- it will also illustrate the key findings on facial mimicry often associated with better facial expression recognition
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week participants should:
- learn the main theories of emotional facial expression recognition and to critically evaluate the extent to which empirical studies support different theoretical claims
- understand how the simulation models account for the facilitating role of sensorimotor simulations during emotion mind-reading process
- develop a critical approach towards the literature on production and recognition of emotional facial expressions and the mechanisms involving both sensorimotor simulation and theory-theory processing
Teaching week 5 - Is it always easy to understand others' emotions? The influence of context and expression ambiguity on mimicry during emotional recognition
Purpose:
Any emotional expression is a communication channel that has the intrinsic intention of conveying a message. The expression finds its meaning in the interaction with another person and its sense in the social context. This week provides an overview of the factors that influence the emotional understanding in a natural social situation. This week will outline some of the main factors that are thought to affect the way we have insights about other’s feeling and intentions. This includes our attitude towards the other (for instance our motivation to understand their emotions), prior knowledge that we have about them and the ambiguity of the facial expression itself.
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week participants should:
- learn that the embodied understanding of other’s emotions is an interpretation of emotional signals
- understand that the embodied understanding of other’s emotions is influenced by contingent factors of the reader and the expresser
- develop a critical approach to the literature and research questions of the field
Week 6: what next?
- assessment of student learning
- assessment of student satisfaction
- encouragement of further study
This course is open to everyone, and you don’t need any previous knowledge or experience of the subject to attend.
Our short courses are designed especially for adult learners who want to advance their personal or professional development. They are taught by tutors who are expert in both their subjects and in teaching students of all ages and experiences.
Please note that all teaching is in English. You should have near-native command of the English language to get the maximum benefit from the course.
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours of self-study time, for example, reading materials, although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the VLE so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (using discussion boards etc).
Fees
The course fee includes access to the course on our VLE, personal feedback on your work from an expert tutor, a certificate of participation (if you complete work and take part in discussions), and access to the class resources for two years after your course finishes.
Concessions
For more information, please see our concessions information page.
Alison Fordham Bursary
University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education is proud to offer the Alison Fordham bursary, which is awarded to students who wish to study on one of our short online courses via our VLE, reducing the fee paid by 50%. The bursary is limited to a single award for each set of online courses.
Application criteria:
- applicants should set out their personal learning motivations since priority will be given to those who are returning to learning after an extended break, or have not previously engaged with fully online learning, or are seeking to use the online short course as a bridge towards undergraduate award-bearing study
- applicants who can demonstrate financial need
For more information, please see our bursaries information page.
A certificate of participation and a digital credential will be awarded to those who contribute constructively to weekly discussions, exercises and assignments for the duration of the course.