Cognitive Neuroscience: Applied Cognition

Restoration and expansion of the
applied cognition wing
of the Subprogram

As noted in the History section, the CCNY Psychology Dept. had a long commitment to applied social psychology, particularly as it concerned social and ethnic bias, prejudice and to education. This effort was sustained in the early years of the Cognitive Neuroscience Subprogram, but was often ignored while the clinical neuropsychology concentration was being developed within Cognitive Neuroscience. There are several good reasons for restoring this original effort. First, there is a increasing awareness in the health, welfare and international communities, that most of the physical and mental disorders conflicts have a cognitive basis. There is widespread interest and strength in this area across the entire Department, and therefore a willingness to commit future faculty lines to research faculty in this area. The recent appointment of Prof. Rosario, who specializes in identity processes, and Prof. Silverstein, who specializes in cognitive processes as they affect gender differences and depression begin this restoration. We anticipate that they will soon be followed by new appointments in stress reduction, prevention of maladaptive cognition and behavior, and the measurement and assessment of these cognitive - social behavioral sequences. Secondly, restoring this strength to the E Cognition Subprogram would also broaden the experimental base of the clinical Ph. D. Subprogram. Thirdly, the neurocognitive and computational cognitive models that have been emphasized in the current Cognitive Neuroscience subprogram, give our students a special advantage as they study these issues.

Expansion of the applied cognition wing of the Subprogram, and New York State Certification

Certification as a Psychologist in NY State, requires that one sit for, and pass the State licensure examination in Psychology, which in turn, requires a prior sequence of courses, practica and and internship related to the area of one’s specialization within psychology. When the NY State certification process was initially established in the 1960s, it was aimed at people with a Ph. D. in Psychology who wished to set up private practice. Those who wished to be psychologists within a hospital, or other institution could obtain the title from the institution and did not require State certification. Since that time, however, many institutions, even when hiring research psychologists, favor applicants with State Certification over those without. The supervision of psychology internships must be carried out by state certified psychologist. And in universities that provide pre-doctoral education in psychology, some training must be provided by State Certified Psychologists.
Therefore, since there are a sufficiently large proportion of our students for whom it is desirable to obtain State Certification, we have decided to extend the program to 72 credits with the practicum and internship required by NY State. The decision to propose this change to the CUNY Psychology Council for approval was made at the Subprogram meeting of Nov. 2002. ??? In anticipation of this change, Prof. Spielman and his students have developed the sleep disorders sequence of 72 credits, a Practica in Sleep Diagnosis and Treatment, and an internship. Practica will also be available in Interviewing and Assessment, Brain Imaging, Computational Modeling of Cognitive Processes, and other areas as the need arises.
Until this propose change is approved by the University, and the New York State Professional Acceditation Committee, all graduates must submit their course work and evidence of supervised experience to the State Board individually and with no guarantee of permission to sit for the exam.

Required Courses

The following courses will be required of all students. These requirements satisfy the minimum requirements of New York State, the Psychology Ph. D. program and the subprogram.

The proposed required 50 credits are:
6 cognitive neuroscience or neuroscience
6 statistics or quantitative methods
3 measurement and assessment
4 experimental or epidemiological methods
3 cognition
3 perception
3 language
3 social cognition
3 cultural cognition
3 individual differences
4 applied cognition seminar
3 history and systems
3 ethics
3 practica
0 internship: 1 year, no credit

The following existing courses will satisfy these requirements. Current faculty are listed in parentheses:
cognitive neuroscience or neuroscience: Neuroscience I, II, BIOL 72301, 72302; Advanced Physiological I, II PSYC 7100, 71100 statistics or quantitative methods: PSYC 70500, 70600 (Rosario) measurement and assessment: PSYC 76000 Antrobus EPSY ??> experimental: Advanced Experimental Psychology, PSYC 70100: (Gomes, Antrobus, or Epidemiological Methods: (new course and new hire)
cognition: Cognitive Psychology, PSYC 73800 (Antrobus)
perception: Psychology of Perception, PSYC 73500 (Tartter)
language: Language and Thought, Psycholinguistics, PSYC 75200 (Tartter) history and systems: History of Psychology, PSYC 70000 (Philosophy: Greenwood)
ethics: Ethical and Legal Issues for Psychologists, PSYC 77100 (Spielman)

Three new courses and several practica are proposed to satisfy the New York State requirements for licensure. Current faculty are listed in parentheses.
3 social cognition: Social Cognition of Health and Mental Health (Silverstein)
3 cultural cognition: Cultural Cognition and Development of Psychopathology (Silverstein)
3 individual differences: Individual Differences in Cognitive Processing (Spielman)
practica
Interviewing and Assessment (new: Spielman)
Practicum in the Clinical Evaluation of Sleep Disorders, PSYC 85100 (Spielman)
Practicum in the Treatment of Sleep Disorders, PSYC 85200 (Spielman)
Practicum in the Application of Psychology, PSYC 70340 (Silverstein)
Brain Imaging (new: Foxe)
Cognitive Computational Modeling (new: Antrobus & Sundaram)
The Subprogram Head may approve substitutions for some of the above.

The Seminar is proposed to maintain the breadth and exposure to current research outside of regular courses.
4 Applied Cognition Seminar I, II, II, IV (1 credit each; new):

Advanced courses and seminars - some of which are given in other CUNY Programs
Path Analysis, Factor Analysis and Structural Equations, EPSY 83300
Application of Bayesian Decision Theory to Educational and Psychological Problems, EPSY 70600
Qualitative Data Analysis. EPSY 83300

Cognition:
Psycholinguistics (Tartter)
Language in Atypical Populations (Tartter)
Neurocognitive Disorders (Antrobus)
Theory of Assessment: Cognition, Behavior & Neurophysiology (Antrobus)
Mathematical Biology (BIOL 78001,Sundaram)
Computational Models in Cognitive Neuroscience (Antrobus & Sundaram)
Development of Cognition PSYC 73700
Psychophysiology of Sleep and Dreams, PSYC 76800
Seminar in Cognitive Processes in Sleep and Waking

Sleep Disorders:
Empirical Foundations of Sleep (Spielman)
Insomnia, PSYC 75900 (Spielman)
Clinical Sleep Disorders (Spielman)
Sleepiness and Disorders of Excessive Somnolence, PSYC 76200 (Spielman)
Dreaming and Mind wandering (Antrobus)
Practicum in the Evaluation of Sleep Disorders (Spielman)
Practicum in the Treatment of Sleep Disorders (Spielman)

Cognitive Neuropsychology
Introduction to Clinical Neuropsychology (Rosen
Neural Processes of Speech, Language, and Hearing SPCH 71200
Neuropsychology of Language, SPCH 71399
Child Neuropsychology
Neuropsychological Assessment
Clinical Interviewing & Assessment
Research Seminar on Cognitive Processes in Clinical Neuropsychological Populations

Social Cognition:
Social Learning, Community and Prevention Psychology
Personal Identity
Family & Urban Life
Ethnicity & Mental Health
Social & Environmental Contexts of Health & Disease Violence

Prevention and Intervention:
Educational Intervention
Media Intervention
Community Intervention
Parent Training Where specialized courses are available at Columbia or New York University, students may take those courses under the CUNY fee schedule.