PSYCH 3600
Cognitive Psychology
Introduction to the study of thought processing from an information-processing approach. Emphasis will be placed on theoretical models that are grounded in empirical support. Topics include pattern recognition, attention, memory, reasoning, language processes, decision making, and problem solving. PREREQ: Psych 100B.
Instructors
Andrew Aschenbrenner, Aschenbrenner, Balota, David Balota, Kool, Wouter Kool
Reviews
2 or less hrs/week
If you've taken any psych class before this is fine. He repeated slides kinda excessively which made lecture boring but tests easy
7/28/2025
2-4 hrs/week
i would never ever ever take this class ever again in my life. andy aschenbrenner was too monotonous especially with such boring content.. literally a recipe for disaster. i will say though that the exams weren’t too bad and with studying and a little common sense, securing a good grade is not hard at all
5/23/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Great lecturer! Go to lecture since the exams cover all lecture content. Memorize the slides and you will be good.
5/22/2024
6-8 hrs/week
Lots of content to cover in a class. Slides can be unclear at times but explanation and lecture style is good. Poll everywhere takes participation in class. Need to do work and be careful of almost all material in the lectures.
5/20/2024
The tests are really straightforward and if you go to all the lectures and study a little before the test, you'll be able to do well! Lectures aren't always super interesting and a lot of it is memorization though.
5/11/2024
Super nice guy! Not the best lecturer but is receptive to feedback and simplifies the concepts so that they're easier to understand. Most of the class is rote memorization and based on what he says so take pretty thorough notes. Pretty easy class, but the whole thing is based on exams so if you're not a good test taker, you're gonna have to study.
5/10/2024
Looks, dresses, and talks like Kevin Spacey. Decent lecturer with good humor. Advice to Andy: Reduce exams from 5 to 4. Use Canvas announcements instead of Canvas DMs. Make lecture material more accessible (recorded lectures and/or study guides with detailed guide of what you would like us to know). Fix microphone issues so students can hear you.
4/25/2024
His lectures are extremely fast and you may miss something important that will be on the exam, and he is also just not a very nice guy
11/4/2019
This class is quite different from other psych classes. You must not only memorize the experimental procedures and results, but also who did them. And even if you've memorized very clearly everything, you would fail his test if you don't understand fully implications of each experiment. His tests are very tricky and challenging.
12/20/2018
He's awful and writes ridiculously hard tests. If you don't show up to his 9AM (AMMM) class, you will fail. Don't take this class.
5/5/2016
As a senior Psychology major, I can definitely say that Balota's Cognitive Psychology course is one of the most challenging courses I have taken. Although the material is difficult to wrap around, Balota's teaching methods are not encouraging and inconsistent. In addition, the book was unbelievably expensive for the little amount of it we covered.
3/6/2016
So difficult and an absolute horrible professor. When someone asked him to repeat himself, he flat out said no.
9/4/2013
Balota is incredibly difficult to understand and often seems very unhappy to be in class. His tests are ridiculously difficult even though very little material is covered.
8/19/2013
Great professor; high expectations but takes plenty of time to explain the material.
5/29/2012
He doesn't write much on the board, so you have to stay awake and take good notes. He likes experiments and graphs, so flash cards help a lot. Also his multiple choice are sometimes tricky, so pay attention. But very interesting information! And he's very easy to talk to after class.
5/14/2012
smart guy, but doesn't write notes down so you have to constantly write down every word he says. strict on grading rules, missed a grade by one point, students don't get to keep exams. won't be taking any other psych classes after this.
5/9/2012
exams are based on lecture;no slides or lecture notes;blackboard is as disorganized as it can be
4/12/2012
good prof, horrible handwriting. good lab to work in too, if you can.
4/21/2009
Cognitive Psychology has been one of the most difficult courses I have ever taken. While the material was not exceptionally difficult, the exams were impossibly hard. You'll learn a lot in this class if you keep up!
4/14/2009