Letter of Recommendation Policy

Getting a good letter of recommendation (LOR) is an important part of the graduate school admissions process.  As a professor, writing LORs for students is one of the highlights of my job.   Prospective grad students  need excellent letters, and many students don’t realize that all LORs are NOT created equal.  I will only ever agree to write an LOR for students I know will excel in grad school and whom I can confidently recommend.

To help me balance time constraints with my LOR standards, I have the following policy regarding LOR requests.  Note that the following requirements are for students requesting an LOR but do NOT work in my lab.  Research assistants are not held to this policy.

  1. Student must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0
  2. Student must have had at least 2 classes with me
  3. Student must have achieved at least an A- in each class
  4. Student must have attended office hours or met me for advisement prior to requesting a LOR
  5. All student LORs must be requested at least 6 weeks prior to the application deadline
  6. Student LORs will only ever be disseminated by me and I do not provide students copies of my LORs under any circumstance.

* I also strongly recommend students waive their right to view LORs in their application packets – however this is not a requirement for receiving an LOR from me*

Please keep in mind that this policy is there to help you be confident that you are receiving a good LOR.  Don’t be offended if I do not agree to write you a letter – it’s likely a case of me not knowing you well enough to be able to confidently recommend you.  As always feel free to reach out to me with questions/concerns.

Psy317-Episode-10-False-Total-Recall.mp3

How far can we trust our memories?  When we remember the past how much of it actually happened to us?  How do we tell the difference between reality and dreams?  These are among the questions we explore in our latest episode.  We’ll explore the phenomenon of false memory and hopefully get a better understanding of just how easily our memories can be fooled.

Psy317-Episode-10-False-Total-Recall.mp3

Psy317-Episode-8-One does not Simply Walk into Problem Solving.mp3

Today we cover the cognitive process of problem solving.  We will start by going over how problems are conceptualized in cognitive theory into problem, goal states, and operators.  We’ll also discuss various heuristics we use to solve problems.  Finally we’ll go over some problem solving pitfalls stemming from our old friend top down processing.

Psy317-Episode-9-One does not Simply Walk into Problem Solving.mp3

Psy317-Episode-7-We-want….a-Shrubbery.mp3

In this podcast, whilst making a plethora of Monty Python references, we discuss how your cognitive Wikipedia works.  Semantic Memory is discussed in detail with regard to how networks are organized and categorized.  Prototype and exemplar theories are discussed.  Finally, we also talk about prejudice and stereotyping from a Cognitive perspective.

Psy317-Episode-8-We-want….a-Shrubbery.mp3

Psy317-Episode-6-Thats-no-Moon-its-a-Grammar-System.mp3

“It is a period of civil war. Rebel cognitive psychologists, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against Behaviorism.”

In this podcast we discuss language as a cognitive process, from how we combine sounds to make meaningful units and combine those meaningful units to make words and sentences.  We’ll also explore how language develops in infants.  Finally we’ll see the theoretical dispute about language that brought us Cognitive psychology. That’s right…it’s BF Skinner versus Noam Chomsky in a conflict so legendary it’s only slightly exaggerated.

Psy317 Episode 7 That’s no Moon…its a Grammar System.mp3

Psy317-Episode-5-Nothing-encoded-nothing-gained.mp3

 

Ah memory…the bread and butter of cognitive psychology and by extension cognition in general.   Today we focus on the oft over-worked part of your memory – your short-term or working memory.  We’ll discuss the strange case of Clive Wearing and delve into several major theoretical models of memory including the Atkinson Shiffrin storage model of memory and the Baddeley and Hitch model of working memory.  Processes of encoding, rehearsal and chunking are discussed.

Psy 317 – Episode 6 – Nothing encoded…nothing gained

Psy317 – Fall 2016 – Episode-4 – Fifty-Shades-of-Attention

 

Are you paying attention?  Today we’ll explore the fickle cognitive process everyone struggles with – attention, something no one seems to have but everyone seems to want.  We’ll discuss the classic binding problem and explore some of the limits we can put on your finite attentional. resources.

Psy 317 – Episode 5 – Fifty Shades of Perception

Psy317 – Fall 2016 – Episode-3 – Stairway-to-Perception

In this episode we talk about the relationship between sensation (a bottom up process) and perception (a top down process). We discuss topics like the invisible blind spots we all have as well as the power of context in how we perceive the world. To really appreciate the back-masking example I give in the episode, I recommend checking out the video here . Like the presenter in the video says…we’re not cheating! That’s the power of perception in action.

 

Psy 317 – Episode 4 – Stairway to Perception

Psy317 – Fall 2016 – Episode-2 – Braaaaaains

In this episode we explore the link between cognition and the brain.  From the simple neuron to the more complex and localized systems like face processing, we explore the neurological principle of “the mind is what the brain does” and “everything psychological is biological”.  Finally we explore some major systems of the brain and their cognitive processes by thinking about zombies!

Psy 317 – Episode 2 – Braaaaaains

PSY 317 – Fall 2016 – Episode 1 – There is No Spoon

In this episode we explore some of the early philosophical underpinnings of Cognitive Psychology.  We’ll hear about Rene Descartes and the Matrix leading to Descartes great philosophical breakthrough about the nature of consciousness – “Cogito Ergo Sum”.  Next we’ll delve into the debate between the rationalist and empiricist philosophical schools exploring the works of Locke, Berkeley, and Kant through the lens of Cognitive Psychology.

Psy 317 – Episode 1 – There Is No Spoon