Download Mechanics of the Course

Course Syllabus
PSY 201: LEARNING & BEHAVIOR
Summer II (2011)
CONTACT INFORMATION
COURSE DETAILS
Instructor: Gretchen Hanson Gotthard, Ph.D.
Course
Meetings:
Office:
Meeting
Location:
Email:
Office
Phone:
Moyer 224
[email protected]
Tuesday and Thursday
6:00-9:00 pm
Moyer 209
Tuesday and Thursday
[best way to reach me]
Office
Hours:
484-664-3422
Blackboard:
http://blackboard3.muhlenberg.edu
4:30-6:00 pm (or by appointment)
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
Learning is a critical aspect of our everyday lives. Without learning, or the ability to change our
behavior and adapt to our environment, organisms would be unable to function effectively and would
likely not survive. While early work in the field of learning simply strived to examine behavior in an
objective, quantifiable manner, later learning theorists have worked to apply learning principles to our
everyday lives.
In this course, we will examine basic theories and phenomena in the field of learning, but will also
delve into the modern-day applications of this important research. Over the course of the semester
we will discuss the following topics: basic forms of learning, research methods in learning, Pavlovian
conditioning and its applications, operant conditioning and punishment and their applications,
observational learning, generalization, discrimination, stimulus control, schedules of reinforcement,
memory, and the limits of learning.
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GOALS OF THE COURSE
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Apply principles of learning to “real world” situations.
a. To accomplish this goal, students will work to:
i. Describe, and be able to explain, the major terminology, theories, and research
methods used in the field of learning.
ii. Find, evaluate, and present “real world” examples of the principles of learning,
and then make connections between these sources and concepts discussed in
class.
iii. Analyze “real world” problems, and then use principles of learning to create
potential solutions to these problems.
2. Critically evaluate and synthesize research in the field of learning and behavior.
a. To accomplish this goal, students will work to:
i. Read, present, and discuss empirical studies in the field of learning and behavior.
ii. Write short papers that critically evaluate the literature, and then synthesize the
findings with concepts discussed in class.
READINGS
Textbook:
Chance, P. (2009). Learning and Behavior: Active Learning Edition (6th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Thomson/Wadsworth.
Articles: (posted on Blackboard)
Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1963). Vicarious reinforcement and imitative learning. Journal of
Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 601-607.
Breland, K. & Breland, M. (1961). The misbehavior of organisms. American Psychologist, 16, 681-684.
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Garcia, J. & Koelling, R. A. (1966). Relation of cue to consequence in avoidance learning. Psychonomic
Science, 4, 123-124.
Goodwin, D. W., Powell, B., Bremer, D., Hoine, H. & Stern, J. (1969). Alcohol and recall: State
dependent effects in man. Science, 163, 1358-1360.
Siegel, S., Hinson, R. E., Krank, M. D., & McCully, J. (1982). Heroin “overdose” death: Contribution of
drug-associated environmental cues. Science, 216, 436-437.
Skinner, B. F. (1986). What is wrong with daily life in the western world? American Psychologist, 41,
568-574.
Skinner, B. F. (1948). “Superstition” in the pigeon. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38, 168-172.
Debates: (posted on Blackboard)
Slife, B. (2006). Take sides: Clashing views in psychological issues (14th ed.). Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill.
 “Should animal research in psychology be eliminated?”
 “Does spanking lead children to become more violent?”
REQUIREMENTS OF THE COURSE

EXAMS: There will be two exams during the semester, plus a “cumulative” final (i.e., three exams
total). Exams will be “take-home” (closed book) and will primarily consist of “True/False? Explain”
questions, although occasional multiple choice, matching, or diagramming questions may be
included. “True/False? Explain” exams will require students to state whether or not a statement is
true or false and then provide a brief rationale for that answer. Questions will be based on
material discussed in class and assigned readings. Exams 1 and 2 will be worth 80 points each, and
the final will be worth 100 points (260 points total).

LEADING DISCUSSION: We will be reading several articles over the course of the semester and
discussing them in class (see schedule for specific dates and articles). All articles will be on
Blackboard. All students are expected to read every article, and come to class ready to participate
in a discussion of the article. Additionally, each student will be responsible for “Leading Discussion”
on one article during the semester. As Discussion Leader, your primary responsibilities will be
pointing out key aspects of the article, bringing questions to class to facilitate discussion, and being
prepared to answer questions from your classmates. A hand-out further describing how to Lead
Discussion is attached to this syllabus. Leading Discussion will be worth 10 points total.
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
COURSE PORTFOLIO: All students will create a course portfolio that includes: (1) “real world”
applications (40 points) and (2) an interdisciplinary essay (10 points). A handout describing the
portfolio in detail is attached to this syllabus. The portfolio is worth 50 points total.

PARTICIPATION: All students are expected to come to every class and participate in class activities
and discussions. This course will be based almost exclusively on discussion and in-class activities.
If you are absent from class, you obviously cannot participate in these discussions and activities. I
understand that circumstances may arise that prevent you from coming to class. Unavoidable
absences will not reflect poorly on your grade; however, frequent class absences and/or lack of
class participation will result in a lower grade (by as much as a one-letter grade reduction). Be
sure to come to class, be prepared, and be an active participant!
GRADING
Assignment
Points
Exam 1
80
Exam 2
80
Final Exam
100
Leading Discussion
10
Course Portfolio
50
Total
320
Grade
%
A
94-100
A90-93
Grade
B+
B
B-
%
87-89
84-86
80-83
Grade
C+
C
C-
%
77-79
74-76
70-73
Grade
D+
D
F
%
67-69
63-66
0-62
MECHANICS OF THE COURSE

Come to class: Although not a requirement, class attendance is strongly encouraged. You are
responsible for any material, announcements, and assignments given (or due) in class on the day
you missed. Coming to class will greatly aid in your understanding of this often difficult material. It
has been my experience that students who consistently come to class do much better than
students who do not. Bottom line: It is very important that you make every effort to attend class.

Turn in assignments on time: Be sure to hand in all assignments by class time on the designated
date. All late assignments will lose one letter grade per day, and this includes assignments turned
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in after class. For instance, if you hand in an assignment two hours after class, that will be
considered late and you will be penalized one letter grade. If you know you will not be able to
come to class, turn in your assignment early.

Be prepared to discuss the material: A significant portion of the course material will be presented
in a discussion format. This means, make sure you have read the assigned readings for that day
and be ready to talk about them.

Turn off cell phones: The use of cell phones during class is NOT permitted. Students should turn
off all electronic communication devices prior to the start of class. It is incredibly disruptive to the
instructor and the entire class when students interact with a cell phone during class. If you are
expecting an urgent call, please let me know before class begins and I am happy to make
accommodations for the day.

Show academic integrity: All tests and written assignments in this class are pledged work under
the Academic Behavior Code (ABC). I encourage you to study with other students in the class and
to discuss class materials with other students. However, your tests and written assignments should
be your work alone. Additionally, in accordance with the ABC, please write and sign your name by
the following statement on all written assignments: “I pledge that I have complied with the
Academic Behavior Code in this work.” If you have any questions or concerns about how the ABC
applies to work in this class, I will be happy to discuss this with you.
 Students with Disabilities: Students requiring special accommodations for this course must first
contact the Office for Disability Services (Pamela Moschini, Ext. 3825). Please provide me with the
appropriate documentation and I will make every effort to meet your needs.
LECTURE AND READING OUTLINE
This is an approximate guide. Material may be added or deleted throughout the semester, as time
permits. If changes are made, they will be announced in class as soon as possible.
Date
July 12
July 14
Day
Tues
Topic and Assignment

Course Overview/Syllabus

Chapter 1: Introduction: Learning to Change

Chapter 2: The Study of Learning and Behavior

Debate: Should animal research in psychology be eliminated?

Applications: Chpt. 1
Thurs 
Chapter 3: Pavlovian Conditioning

Article: Garcia and Koelling (1966)
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July 19
July 21
July 26
July 28
Aug 2
Aug 4
Aug 9
Aug 11
Aug 16
Aug 18
Tues
Thurs
Tues

Applications: Chpt. 3

Chapter 4: Pavlovian Applications

Article: Siegel et al. (1982)

EXAM 1 DISTRIBUTED: Chapters 1-4

Chapter 5: Reinforcement

Article: Skinner (1948)

Applications: Chpt. 5

Chapter 6: Schedules of Reinforcement

Exam 1 DUE (in class)

Applications: Chpt. 6
Thurs 
Tues
Thurs
Tues

Debate: Does spanking lead children to become more violent?

Applications: Chpt. 7

Chapter 8: Operant Applications and Interpretations

Article: Skinner (1986)

EXAM 2 DISTRIBUTED: Chapters 5-8

Chapter 9: Observational Learning

Article: Bandura et al. (1963)

Applications: Chpt. 9

Chapter 10: Generalization, Discrimination, and Stimulus Control

Exam 2 DUE (in class)

Applications: Chpt. 10
Thurs 
Tues
Thurs
Chapter 7: Punishment
Chapter 11: Memory and Forgetting

Article: Goodwin et al. (1969)

Applications: Chpt. 11

Chapter 12: The Limits of Learning

Article: Breland & Breland (1961)

COURSE PORTFOLIO DUE (by 9:00 pm)

FINAL CUMULATIVE EXAM DUE (by 9:00 pm)
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LEADING ARTICLE DISCUSSIONS
We will be reading several articles over the course of the semester and discussing them in class (see
syllabus for specific dates and articles). Students will lead discussion on one article during the
semester. Leading discussion will consist of three main components: (1) providing a very brief
summary of the article’s key points and implications, (2) answering questions from the class, and (3)
stimulating class discussion of the article. A bit more detail on these components…
1. Key Points and Implications
Students are expected to provide a very brief summary of the key points and implications of their
assigned article for the class. The primary focus of the summary should be to point out the main
findings and implications of the research being discussed – not to summarize the entire article.
Keep in mind, you will not be able to cover every aspect of your article during your presentation, so
try to focus on the components of the article that are most important or most interesting to you –
the rest of the critical details will come out in our discussion of the article. Also, keep in mind that
the rest of the class will have already read the article, so your brief summary is in place mainly to
serve as a reminder for them.
2. Answering Questions
You should come to class prepared to answer questions about your article – remember, you are the
expert on that article for the day. This means, if you are having difficulty understanding any part of
your article, come and see me for help. And please try to plan ahead because I may not be
available to work with you if you come to me right before class on the day you are scheduled to
present.
3. Discussion Questions
The bulk of your duties as a Discussion Leader will come from your facilitation of class discussion.
Bring several questions and/or discussion points for the class to talk about. Discussion questions
are critical for facilitating class discussion of the article, so think seriously about the questions you
select.
One of the most important skills psychologists work to refine is their ability to critically evaluate the
literature in their field and work to synthesize that literature into a coherent, useful collection of
information. One goal of these article discussions is to give you the opportunity to hone your
critical analysis/synthesis skills and help you organize your thoughts about the literature we are
reading.
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Ways to critically evaluate and synthesize the literature include, but are not limited to:
1. Pointing out any concerns and/or criticisms you have about the way the research was
conducted (e.g., poor methodological design, poor implementation of the study).
2. Discussing the similarities and/or differences this research has with topics we’ve been
discussing in class (e.g., does the reading support or refute information from your textbook or
other articles we’ve read? how?).
3. Talking about future research (e.g., what might be done next and why?).
COURSE PORTFOLIO
The primary goals of the course portfolio are (1) to allow you to re-visit and re-learn information
acquired during the semester, and (2) to apply that information to courses outside of psychology and
to the “real world”. The course portfolio will be due by August 18 (by 9:00 pm), and should be
completed independently (no group work on portfolios). All components of the portfolio should be
copied into ONE DOCUMENT in the order listed below that will be emailed to me
([email protected]) by the deadline provided above.
PORTFOLIO COMPONENTS
1. “Real World” Applications
This portion of the portfolio will give you the opportunity to apply what you are learning in class to
sources outside of class. You should find one application for each of the following chapters: 1, 3, 5,
6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 (i.e., 8 applications total). You may use any source for this assignment, for
example, online newspapers and/or magazines, video clips, television shows, and movies.
Applications should include a paragraph (approximately 1/2 page) describing how each source
applies to information discussed in class or in your textbook. Try to be specific. Simply stating that a
video you found is an example of classical conditioning is not enough. You should, for example,
diagram the conditioning relationships and point out any specific classical conditioning phenomena
that are present (e.g., latent inhibition, sensory preconditioning, etc.). Please include the source
with your write-up (a link to electronic sources is preferred, rather than hard copies). Each
application is worth up to 5 points (40 points total).
IMPORTANT: You should complete each application shortly after we finish each chapter and BRING
IT WITH YOU TO THE NEXT CLASS MEETING. There will be several minutes reserved at the
beginning of most classes for students to present what they’ve found to the rest of the class.
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2. Interdisciplinary Essay
Much of what you will learn in this course can be applied to other courses you have taken or are
currently taking in different disciplines. For this assignment, you should choose one class you have
taken at Muhlenberg College (outside of the psychology department) and write an essay
(approximately 1-2 pages in length) describing how topics you have learned in PSY 201 can be
applied to and/or relate to information you acquired in your other non-psychology course. Be sure
to use appropriate terminology and evidence from these classes, where appropriate, to support
your statements.
In terms of the connections I am looking for you to make, the more well-thought-out and
sophisticated your connections, the higher the grade you will earn on this essay. I will be looking
for you to expand on the topics we are learning in PSY 201 in this essay. For example: Did
something we discussed in PSY 201 conflict with something you learned in another class? Can
something we learned in PSY 201 be used to explain and/or be applied to a phenomenon you
learned about in a different class? Try to step outside of the obvious – I have had students make
connections with art, history, business, anthropology, dance, etc in these essays. Writing an essay
that makes connections beyond the obvious will allow you to see how broad-reaching the
information you’re learning in this course really is. The interdisciplinary essay will be worth 10
points.
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