Caveat Academy course · Grades 10 to 12

Cognitive Psychology

How your mind takes in, keeps and uses information, told through the experiments that revealed it: the gorilla nobody saw, the word that sped up a car crash, the chess masters who could not remember random boards. You learn how attention, memory, language and judgment work, and how to study in ways that last, at your own pace, with a certificate at the end.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on
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Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 13 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: Studying the mind

    Explain the information processing approach and the cognitive revolution, identify variables in an experiment, apply the subtraction method and relate brain regions to cognitive functions.

    • What cognitive psychology studies
    • How cognitive psychologists know
    • The brain behind the mind
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Perception and attention

    Distinguish bottom-up and top-down processing, apply Gestalt principles, and explain selective attention, inattentional blindness, the Stroop effect and switch costs.

    • Perception: building a world from signals
    • Selective attention
    • Divided attention and automaticity
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Memory systems

    Compare sensory, short-term, working and long-term memory, apply chunking and levels of processing, and analyze forgetting by interference and retrieval failure.

    • Sensory, short-term and working memory
    • Encoding and long-term memory
    • Why we forget
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Memory in real life and learning that lasts

    Evaluate eyewitness memory using reconstructive memory research, and design study plans using retrieval practice, spacing, interleaving and calibrated self-assessment.

    • Memory is reconstructive
    • Learning that lasts
    • Metacognition: knowing what you know
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: Concepts and language

    Explain prototypes, basic-level categories and schemas, analyze words into morphemes, and evaluate claims about language and thought.

    • Concepts, categories and schemas
    • The building blocks of language
    • Language and thought
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: Thinking, deciding and expertise

    Apply problem-solving strategies, recognize functional fixedness and mental set, use base rates to correct biased judgments, and explain how experts think and practice.

    • Problem solving
    • Judgment and heuristics
    • Expertise and skilled thinking
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 4 · Learning that lasts

Worked example: planning a week of study for a test

  1. Same total time: 3 hours.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished course in cognitive psychology: you can design a simple experiment and apply the subtraction method, explain top-down perception, inattentional blindness, the Stroop effect and switch costs, compare memory systems and use chunking and deep processing, analyze forgetting, judge eyewitness memory, plan study with retrieval practice and spacing, analyze words into morphemes, evaluate claims about language and thought, and correct a judgment with base rates. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 10 to 12 who are interested in psychology, neuroscience, education or law, students preparing for AP Psychology or a college psychology course, and any student who wants to know why some study habits work and others do not. It is general education about how thinking works, not a mental health or learning evaluation.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 13 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. American Psychological Association, introductions to memory, attention and cognitive science: apa.org
  2. Dunlosky and colleagues, Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques, Psychological Science in the Public Interest (2013): journals.sagepub.com
  3. National Academies, Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification (2014): nap.nationalacademies.org
  4. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Brain Basics: ninds.nih.gov
  5. Noba Project, free open textbook chapters on memory, attention, language and judgment: nobaproject.com

Cognitive Psychology is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. It is general education about how thinking works, not a psychological, medical or learning evaluation; data marked as example data are for practice only, and classic results are reported as the original studies found them. It does not replace a school course and awards no credit. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.