Study Project: Cross-cultural cognition (Part 1)

DozentIn: Dr. phil. habil. Annette Hohenberger , Dr. Aalia Nosheen

Veranstaltungstyp: Studienprojekt

Ort: 69/E15: Mi. 16:00 - 19:00 (13x), 93/E33: Mi. 16:00 - 19:00 (1x)

Zeiten: Mi. 16:00 - 19:00 (wöchentlich), Ort: 69/E15, 93/E33

Beschreibung: Dear Students, read carefully:
We are implementing an new approach for Study Project distribution. Registering for individual study projects is not possible. Please enroll in the course "Cognitive Science Study Project Distribution" (https://go.uos.de/H58P0) and apply for up to three study projects. You will find course descriptions and self-assessments in the Vips. The deadline is Sunday, 5.10.25, 23.59 pm.

Description of the Course
“Cross-cultural Cognition” is the study of how cognition – perception, memory, attention, thinking, reasoning, decision-making, language, etc. – is influenced by culture. The study project aims at providing a broader picture of the cultural diversity of cognition – beyond the usual WEIRD studies [Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic]. It does so by drawing on the diverse backgrounds of our Coxi students who are highly international and are natural experts on cultural diversity, contributing their particular knowledge and lived experience of their native cultures.
This study project has an extension of 2 terms: WiSe 2025/2026 and SoSe 2026, which suggests a bipartite structure:
In the first term, WiSe 2025/2026 we will first get to know each other and create a world map of our cultural roots. Next, we will get acquainted with the field of cross-cultural cognition and its methodologies, and study and discuss some general literature together. Thereafter, in a joint mining process, the group will decide which topics to deepen and study in more detail. The selection und subsequent presentation of these topics will determine the remainder of the first term’s schedule. At the end of the first term, groups will have formed that have decided on a joint cross-cultural project, to be presented in a poster session within our group at the end of the term.
In the second term, SoSe 2026, groups that have formed at the end of the first term, will collaborate intensely on their project ideas and their implementation, with plenum meetings interspersed in between, as needed. At the end, the results of the projects will be shared in a public poster session with our local Coxi community.
Throughout the study project, the convener and the tutor of the course will provide guidance and support, in whatever way needed.
Learning Modalities of the Course
We will use and explore various learning styles and pathways of acquiring knowledge, including but not limited to reading, presenting, discussing literature, listening to each other’s narratives and lived experiences in various settings (individual, collective). The study project will be highly participatory throughout the two terms in general, and project-based in the second term, in particular. It is deemed important that students from diverse cultural backgrounds will join the same project. They will provide a rich cross-cultural perspective on the topic, and will have access to potential participants in empirical cross-cultural studies. Use of learning styles will be determined consensually within the entire group/plenum.
Projects that will conduct empirical studies, e.g., devising questionnaires/surveys or designing experiments to be conducted with participants of various cultures, should have robust knowledge of empirical & experimental methods, including statistics. Other projects that may be more philosophical, do not have this requirement – however, also for such projects empirical/experimental approaches are highly welcome (“ExPhi”).
Outcomes of the Course
At the end of the two terms, we will have learned more about, appreciate, and celebrate the cultural diversity of human cognition. Each group will have completed intense conceptual and/or empirical work on their individual topics and have jointly discussed the work of the other projects. Equipped with this knowledge and insight, students will continue taking the broader cross-cultural perspective to their subsequent studies of cognition in our program and beyond.

zur Veranstaltung in Stud.IP