Teaching
Dr. Chick will be teaching the following courses in 2023:
How We Think as How We Feel: Cognitive and Emotional Influences on Mental Health
Primary Instructor: Christina Chick, PhD Course Director: Ruth O’Hara, PhD
Stanford University Introductory Seminar, Offered to Freshmen and others with permission of Instructor, Winter 2023, 3 credits
Plato described Reason and Emotion as two horses pulling a chariot in different directions. Was he right? By the end of this course, you will be able to decide for yourself, based on the latest scientific evidence. You will also be able to explain how your answer reflects, and informs, current research on mental health. In this course, we will start by reading philosophical texts that establish the classical Western view of emotion and cognition as opposing forces. We will then put these views to the test by examining evidence from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry. When thoughts and feelings compete, which one wins? Is it ever rational to follow your emotions? How do thoughts and feelings affect perception, memory, and decision-making?
We will then turn to practical applications of cognitive-emotional interactions in the field of psychiatry. First, we will examine the implications of biases in perception, memory, and decision-making for mental health. Next, we will introduce cognitive profiles of specific psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, and autism. We will also discuss clinical interventions that are informed by cognitive theories of psychiatric disorders. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy helps people change how they feel by changing how they think. Finally, we will examine how the physical body influences thoughts and feelings, with implications for psychiatric disorders. What is the relationship of physical illness to psychiatric illness? Is sleep as good as overnight therapy? Is there a scientific basis for the notion that emotions originate from the heart? By the end of this course, you will be able to describe whether mental well-being arise from the head, the heart, or their interaction.
Human versus Machine: Artificial Intelligence through the Lens of Human Cognition
Course Director: Christina Chick, PhD
Stanford University Introductory Seminar, Offered to Sophomores and others with permission of Instructor, Spring 2023, 3 credits
This course will explore the promise and limits of artificial intelligence (AI) through the lens of human cognition. Amid whispers of robots one day taking over the world, it is tempting to imagine that AI is (or soon will be) all-powerful. But few of us understand how our own brain works, which may lead us to misunderstand the current (and even the future) capabilities of AI. As it turns out, intelligence is complicated to build. While computers outperform humans in many ways, they also fail to replicate key features of human intelligence—at least for now.
We will take a conceptual, non-technical approach (think: reading essays, not writing code). Drawing upon readings from philosophy of science, computer science, and cognitive psychology, we will examine the organizing principles of AI versus human intelligence, and the capabilities and limitations that follow.
Computers vastly outperform humans in tasks that require large amounts of computational power (for example, solving complex mathematical equations). However, you may be surprised to learn the ways in which humans outperform computers. What is it about the human brain that allows us to understand and appreciate humor, sarcasm, and art? How do we manage to drive a car without hitting pedestrians, even in unfamiliar environments? Is it only a matter of time before computers catch up to these abilities…Or are there differences of kind (rather than degree) that distinguish human intelligence from AI? Will robots always be constrained to the tasks that humans program them to do…Or could they, one day, take over the world?
By the end of this course, you will be able to discuss the current capabilities, future potential, and fundamental limitations of AI. You may also arrive at a newfound appreciation for human intelligence, and for the power of your own brain.
To inquire about enrolling in an introductory seminar, please email cchick@stanford.edu.
