Institute of Humanities

Institute for Cognitive Science

  • Chair : Taehyeong Kim
  • Location : bldg.14 / Room.223
  • Tel : 02-880-7734
Institute for Cognitive Science
Cognitive science is an academic discipline that encompasses philosophy, artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology and neuroscience. It is a multi-faceted field that has as its objective the study of aspects of the human mind and intelligence systems (e.g., computers). These intelligent systems are investigated using diverse methodologies including simulation, experiments, logical analysis and concept analysis, thus avoiding the limitations and uncertainties of individual methodologies. Through recourse to new conceptual systems and methodologies, more universal and comprehensive problems can be tackled. Mindful of these facts, the Cognitive Sciences Institute of SNU has the following aims: 1) to conduct research on theoretical and applied cognitive science and to publish their results, and to carry out joint research and hold joint academic conferences with universities, institutes and business firms inside and outside the country; 2) to support the research and training of M.A. and Ph.D. level students in the interdisciplinary program in cognitive science by supplementing or strengthening the program's curriculum as the need arises, and to aid students in seeking research or job opportunities overseas through cooperation with institutions at home and abroad; 3) to collect the latest data and related information on cognitive science, thereby enlarging the base of research, and to sponsor regular academic conferences so as to assess academic achievement and to contribute to the development of the field.

Main Areas of Research
Differential brain activation by two routes of word reading
Design for experimentation on User Interface evaluation and method of data analysis
Available heuristics
Cognitive science and Science and Technology
Electric potential for brain-related activity and cognitive function
Machine translation
Philosophical reflections on the status of cognitive science
Computational Models of Cognition
Interactive Synthetic Characters

Principal Activities
The development of the logical game "The Pendulum of Hades" and the English vocabulary learning software "Power Vocade"
The project for the development of an effective training program for the foreign phonological structure, supported by Korea Research Foundation
The project for Evaluation of neurological side-effect for using the head-mounted display, supported by Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology
Research fellows' and students' colloquium held every other month
Journal: Journal of Cognitive Science (published twice a year since its founding in December, 2000). The second academic journal dealing with cognitive science in Korea, the journal gathers together papers on research projects currently in progress. This journal has been supported by the Korea Research Foundation since 2008.