Information Science 2300
Human Information Processing

Spring 2017 (2174)

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Instructor: Dr. Stephen Hirtle
Office: 2B01 IS Building 
Office Phone: 412-624-9434
Email: hirtle@pitt.edu
Office Hours: Tues, 3:45 PM- 4:30 PM, or by appt.
Class Meets: Tues/Thurs 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM, IS 405
GSA: Yue Qin, yuq9@pitt.edu
Secretary: Mary Stewart, 706 IS Bldg, 412-624-9402
Prerequisite: None

Overview: Through this course you will become familiar with the research and theories in the field of human information processing and develop the tools necessary to evaluate such research. The focus will be on basic research (e.g., how do we encode, store, and process information; what are the limits on each stage of human information processing; what heuristics are used in processing information), rather than on applied questions. However, at several points during the semester, we will examine studies which show connections to the applied questions.

Email:  All email to the instructor about this class should contain "INFSCI 2300" in the subject line to be read. For example, the subject line might read "INFSCI 2300: Question about memory". Email without this information might be deleted by spam filters or placed in a folder to be read at a later date. Email with the appropriate identifier will usually be read within 48 hours of receipt.

Assignments: Your performance will be evaluated on the basis of two exams and a short research proposal.  Each exam and the research proposal will be given equal weight (1/3) in determining the final course grade. Class attendance and participation in discussion is expected.  There will be several ungraded homework assignments that will prepare you for the exams.

Readings: The class reading list shows the topics and readings to be discussed each week. You need to read the appropriate readings before the class in which they are assigned and to come to the meeting prepared to discuss them thoughtfully. You should be prepared to answer questions that I pose and to contribute ideas, suggestions, and questions of your own.

Research Proposal:  The research proposal should address a specific methodological or theoretical issue that arises during the course or in the reading of related material.  The proposal should be an experimental proposal, such as would be found in a grant proposal, to resolve an issue. The proposal should be written using APA format for citation and references, described separately. The presentation will count for 10% of the project grade. 

The due date for paper is shown on the reading list.  Late papers will result in a penalty of one full letter grade per week, pro-rated. Thus, an A paper turned in 1-3 days late would be given an A-, 4-6 days late would be given a B+, 7-9 days late would be given a B, and so on. As a result, an incomplete will be given only for extenuating circumstances and might result in a comparable demerit at the discretion of the instructor.  

Plagiarism: Plagiarism on the paper may result in a failing grade for the course (not just the proposal), so be sure you understand the limitations of using others work and proper methods of citation.  All papers will be checked using Pitt's standard plagiarism software, which compares papers against various on-line sources and previously submitted papers.

Exams: The midterm and final exams will test your ability to integrate material from the course. Exams will cover the material in the readings and lectures. The exams will be closed-book, in-class exams.  There may be a few ungraded homework assignments that will prepare you for the exams.

Special circumstances:  If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Office of Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, (412-648-7890/TTY:412-383-7355) as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.  You should be aware that my office is up a short flight of stairs.  If this problematic, I am happy to arrange a meeting in an accessible location at any time.

Tentative Reading List - Subject to Change

				Section 1: Acquiring Information
Jan 5	Week		1	Introduction
Jan 10/12	Week		1	Overview and History
				Smith, E. E. (2001). Cognitive Psychology: Overview. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2140-2147.
Jan 17/19	Week		2	Perception
				Oliva, A., Torralba, A., Schyns, P. G. (2006). Hybrid images. ACM Transactions on Graphics, 25, 527-532.
				Rensink, R. A., O'Regan, J. K., & Clark, J. J. (1997). To see or not to see: The need for attention to perceive changes in scenes. Psychological Science, 8, 368-373.
Jan 24/26	Week		3	Attention
				Healey, C. G., & Enns, J. T. (2012). Attention and visual memory in visualization and computer graphics. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 18, 1170-1188.
Jan 31/Feb 2	Week		4	Application: Phoning, Texting, and Driving
				Just, MA, et al. (2001). Interdependence of nonoverlapping cortical systems in dual cognitive tasks. NeuroImage, 14, 417–426.
				Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., & Crouch, D. J. (2006). A comparison of the cell phone driver and the drunk driver. Human Factors, 48, 381-391.
				Section 2: Memory Processes
Feb 7/9	Week		5	Remembering New Information
				Meilinger, T., Knauff, M. & Bülthoff, H. H. (2008). Working memory in wayfinding: A dual task experiment in a virtual city. Cognitive Science 32, 755-770.
Feb 14/16	Week		6	Review (Feb 14) / Exam 1 (Feb 16)
Feb 21/23	Week		7	Memory Systems
				Sparrow, B., Liu, J., and Wegner, D. M. (2011). Google effects on memory: Cognitive consequences of having information at our fingertips. Science, 333, 776-778.
				Gemmell, J., Bell, G., & Lueder, R. (2006). MyLifeBits: A personal database for everything. Communications of the ACM, 49(1), 88-95.
				Section 3: Higher Cognitive Processes
Feb 28/Mar 2	Week		8	Application: Spatial Knowledge
				Hirtle, S. C., & Sorrows, M. E. (2007). Navigation in electronic environments. In G. Allen (Ed.), Applied spatial cognition: From research to cognitive technology (pp. 103-126). Mahwah NJ: Erlbaum.
				Shekhar, S., Feiner, S. K., & Aref, W. G. (2016). Spatial computing. Communications of the ACM, 59(1), 72-81.
Mar 5 - 12				Spring Recess for students (no classes); University offices and buildings remain open and staffed during Spring Recess except on Friday (Spring Holiday)
Mar 14/16	Week		9	Expertise & Creativity
				Ferrucci, D., et al. (2010). Building Watson: An overview of the DeepQA project. AI Magazine. 31(3), 59-79.
				Bibliography Due Mar 16 (11:59 pm)
Mar 21/23	Week		10	Decision Making
				Tversky, A., Kahneman, D. (1986). Rational choice and the framing of decisions. Journal of Business, S251-S278.
Mar 28/20			11	Applications - TBA
Apr 4/6			12	Review (Apr 4) and Exam 2 (Apr 6)
Apr 11/13			13	Presentations- Round 1
Apr 19/20			14	Presentations- Round 2
Apr 27	Week		15	Projects Due Today (11:59 pm)

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Last update: January 19, 2017