Cognition of Music and Sound
PSYC 342
Fall 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
NS&B 342 |
As part of human cognition, our perception, production, and understanding of music has elicited many questions: what is music in relation to "sound"? Is music an evolutionary adaptation? What is the relationship of music and emotions or memory? Can music influence perception in other modalities? What is the meaning of music? Can music make us smarter? Is music a language? What is biological and what is cultural in the esthetics of music? This course will seek to answer these questions using a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives that include cognitive science, acoustics, music theory, and semiotics. Topics will include: the perception of pitch, timbre, rhythm, and localization; music and the brain; the cognitive aspect of the aesthetics of music; the relationship between music and language in terms of their structures and neurological processing; music and memory; music and emotions; and music and meaning. We will also discuss the role music plays in cross-modal interactions, either in the real world or in films and multimedia art works. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
NSM PSYC |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Neuroscience and Behavior)(Psychology) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
, Ashley, R., & Timmers, R. (Eds.). (2017). The Routledge Companion to Music Cognition (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315194738
Margulis EH. The Psychology of Music¿: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press; 2018. ISBN 978-0-19-064015-6
Sacks, O. Musicophilia: Tales of music and the brain. Alfred Knopf; 2007. ISBN 978-1-4000-4081-0
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Examinations and Assignments:
, Attendance and participation, class presentations and discussion, written assignments, and a final oral presentation and written research proposal. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
, In addition to submitting a POI request electronically, students will be required to email the instructor with their class year, (intended) major(s), a list of related courses, and a written explanation for why they would like to take this course during the first days of pre-registration period. Preference will be given to students who have taken relevant breadth courses (e.g., Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience). |
Instructor(s): STAFF
Times: ..T.R.. 01:20PM-02:40PM; Location: TBA |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 15 | Permission of instructor will be granted during the drop/add period. Students must submit either a ranked or unranked drop/add request for this course. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 7 | 1st Ranked: 4 | 2nd Ranked: 1 | 3rd Ranked: 2 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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