Fall 2026

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology covers perception, learning, memory, planning, problem solving, decision making, and communication from a psychological perspective.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Brad Postle3.4/5Mohammad Ali Kheirkhah Ravandi

Summary

1 / 7

The course requires consistent effort on readings and quizzes. Exams are described as tricky, difficult, or tough, with content drawn from lectures and quizzes.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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BC
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

PSYCH 202, (ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY 101 and 102),ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY/​BOTANY 151, or (BIOCORE 381 and 382)

PSYCH 414 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Fall 2026

Brad Postle

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.27/5 from 73 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 3.2/5 raw quality · 3.9/5 difficulty · 47 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Brad Postle is engaging and caring, though lectures are often disorganized or confusing. Students must rely on quizzes and recorded sessions to prepare for exams, as textbook readings are emphasized but sometimes deemed unnecessary.

Some reviewers find Postle’s teaching frustrating, citing confusing definitions, tricky exam wording, and overly advanced materials.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2021: 2.78 GPA, 29.2% A/AB (n=264 letter grades); Fall 2023: 2.83 GPA, 37.8% A/AB (n=283 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.95 GPA, 39.5% A/AB (n=304 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Jonathan Gallimore's historical reviews describe a flipped classroom where students self-teach via videos and readings, with lectures focusing on games or slide-reading. While some found exams easy and appreciated extra credit, many criticized his teaching ability, organization, and accessibility, with some reporting rude behavior.

BRADLEY POSTLE is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2010, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Fall 2017, Fall 2019, Fall 2021, Fall 2023, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JONATHAN GALLIMORE is recorded teaching in Fall 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction284 / 2850
DIS 301Classroom Instruction14 / 150
LEC 002Classroom Instruction14 / 150

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Brad Postle is recommended for his care and engaging materials, though reviews note his lectures can be confusing or disorganized. Students report that exams are fair and manageable if they study quizzes and rewatch lectures.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 2.83 GPA, 37.8% A/AB (n=283 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.55 GPA, 75.3% A/AB (n=186 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.95 GPA, 39.5% A/AB (n=304 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course requires consistent effort on readings and quizzes. Exams are described as tricky, difficult, or tough, with content drawn from lectures and quizzes.

Students find Postle’s lectures disorganized and confusing, sometimes requiring rewatching. While some find his humor engaging, others find the textbook too advanced and the exam wording confusing, leading to mixed experiences regarding clarity.

Topics

  • Perception, learning, memory, planning, problem solving, decision making, communication
  • Contributions from computer science, linguistics, and neurobiology

Skills

  • Understanding perception, learning, memory, planning, problem solving, decision making, and communication.

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.25 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Fall 2025 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1320 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
PSYCH 414 · Fall 2026

Cognitive Psychology

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:820:016394",
    "course_id": "PSYCH 414",
    "course_uid": "course_42d43988349abb6aa4cec6d4",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "016394",
    "source_subject_id": "820",
    "title": "Cognitive Psychology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "d530e08a0f6f9bbd6ee76195e64a21093fff81b6566e135f1728d9720cdd5d2a",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}