Psychology 390

Theories of Learning

Winter 2005

 

Dr. Chehalis Strapp

Todd Hall 309           

(503) 838-8316

strappc@wou.edu

http://www.wou.edu/las/psychology/strapp/

Office hours: Mondays 2:00-4:00, Tuesdays 2:00-3:00, Wednesdays 12:00-1:00

and Thursdays 12:00-1:00 or by appointment 

 

Course Description: This course provides a survey of fundamental concepts of learning, including classical, instrumental and operant conditioning. We will investigate the spectrum of learning and human behavior from reflexes and simple conditioning to thinking and language. 

 

Course Objectives:

1) Students will understand, differentiate and apply learning constructs. 

2) Students will critically evaluate, integrate, and apply learning theories.

3) Students will develop critical thinking, scientific writing and presentation skills.

 

We will cover extensive material in this course. Please feel free to come talk to me in my office, call me, or send me an email if you have questions or concerns.

 

A student who feels she or he may need an accommodation for any type of disability, please see me during my office hours or make an appointment to see me or contact the Office of Disability Services (838-8250v/tty) in APS 405 or send an email to ods@wou.edu.

 

Required Text:

 

Powell, R. A., Symbaluk, D. G., Macdonald, S. E. (2005). Introduction to learning and behavior (2nd edition) Belmont, CA. Wadsworth-Thomson Learning.

 

Additional required readings on e-reserve

 

Rothbaum, B. O., Kozak, M. J., Foa, E. B., & Whitaker, D., J. (2001). Posttraumatic stress disorder in rape victims: Autonomic habituation to auditory stimuli. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 14 (2), 283-293.

Nassani, M. (2000). Can taste aversion prevent bruxism? Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 25 (1), 43-54. 

Remington, B., Roberts, P., & Glautier, S. (1997). The effect of familiarity on tolerance to alcohol. Addictive Behaviors, 22 (1), 45-53.

Keinan, G. (2002). The effects of stress and desire for control on superstitious behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28 (1), 102-108.

Pierce, D. W., & Epling, F. W. (1994). Activity anorexia: An interplay between basic and applied behavior analysis. Behavior Analyst, 17 (1), 7-23.

Taglialatela, J. P., Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Baker, L. A. (2003). Vocal production by a language competent Pan paniscus. International Journal of Primatology, 24(1), 1-17. 

 

 

 

 

 

Term Work Plan

                        Exam 1 (February 8)             100 points

                        Paper (March 1)                                100 points

Exam 2 (March 15)                           100 points

                        Seminar/Discussion Leader              70 points

Class Participation                             30 points

                                                                                    400 points

 

            No Curve is calculated: Final Grades are as Follows:

A         =          377-400 points                      C         =          275-290 points         

A-        =          355-376 points                      C-        =          259-274 points

B+       =          339-354 points                      D+       =          243-258 points

B         =          323-338 points                      D         =          227-242 points

B-        =          307-322 points                      D-        =          211-226 points

C+       =          291-306 points                      F          =          below 210 points

 

Exams: Two exams will be given on the dates listed in the class schedule. Please note this exam schedule and mark your calendars now. We will not deviate from this schedule. Exams will be a combination of multiple choice and short essay questions.  You will receive a study guide for each exam approximately one week before the exam. Bring a scantron and blue book to each exam. If for any reason you miss Exam #1 you will be required to take an all essay format makeup exam on Friday March 4 between 9:00-3:00. Information regarding makeup exams appears below. Early exams will not be given.

 

Paper: All students will write a 7-10 page paper on a selected topic in the field of learning. This paper will involve locating, summarizing and critiquing four articles from the professional literature on a learning topic. A list of possible topics will be provided. This paper is due at the beginning of class on March 1.  Paper requirements listed in a separate handout.

 

Seminar/Discussion Leader Each student will lead a seminar/small group discussion during one class session. Seminar Description and requirements provided in a separate handout.

 

Class Participation: Class participation is a very important factor and will be strongly considered in determination of final grades. It is assumed that all students will come to class prepared for full participation (that is reading completed, ready to provide responses to text materials and assigned readings). Note that attendance is not taken daily in this class, but will be taken on seminar/discussion days. It will be impossible to receive full class participation points if you do not regularly attend class and contribute to class discussions.

 

Extra Credit: You may earn up to 15 points extra credit by either

a)     participating in research projects conducted in the psychology department or

                                                            or

b)     locating, reading, summarizing and critiquing a psychology journal article related to a topic discussed in class. You may not include an article that you plan to use in your paper.  

 

Extra credit is due at Exam 2 on March 15, 2005. Extra credit requirements listed in a separate handout. 

 

 

 

 

Course Policies for Psychology 390

 

Office hours: I am available for 5 hours of office hours per week. The specific dates and times when I am available are listed on the front page of this syllabus. Feel free to stop by my office, call me or email me during any of those times. Office hours are based on a first come-first served basis. I do not schedule appointments during office hours. Additionally I bring my planner to class every day and am happy to schedule an appointment to meet with you outside of office hours if necessary.  If you can not stop by my office, feel free to send me questions or concerns via voice mail or email at any time. I do not check or respond to voicemail or email from off campus in the evenings and on weekends, but I will return your call/message as soon as possible once I return to campus.     

 

Handouts: Handouts will be distributed regularly in class. If you miss class, check with a classmate, or stop by during office hours to pick up missed handouts. I will only bring handouts to class on the day that I plan to distribute them.  In addition returned papers and exams will only be distributed in class on the day they are returned. If you miss the class where we go over the exam or paper please stop by my office hours to pick up your work.

 

Late assignments: Your paper is due in class on the date listed in the class schedule. Papers received anytime after class will be considered late and subject to the following conditions: ten percent of the maximum points will be subtracted for each day that the assignment is late. If you know that you will be absent on the day that an assignment is due, turn in the assignment early.

 

Absences:  Western Oregon University does not have formal all-campus rule regarding absences from class. Traditionally, more than three absences during a quarter are considered cause for concern. Students who fail to attend the first two scheduled meetings of this class without the consent of the instructor may be required to forfeit his or her place in class.  A student who is required to forfeit his or her place in a class is responsible for filing a drop form. As noted above, class attendance will not be taken, but it will be impossible to receive full class participation points if you do not regularly attend class. Absences will seriously affect your exam scores and final course grade.

 

Dropping the class: Course withdrawals require completing the proper add/drop form and filing this form with the Registrar’s Office before the drop deadline of February 11. If you stop coming to class without officially “dropping” the class as described above, you will probably receive an F grade. 

 

Incompletes: I do not give incompletes (I) grades as a way for a student to avoid a low grade. To be eligible for an incomplete in this class you must be passing the class but lack one essential requirement, such as missing one exam or the paper.  Additionally, I must find your reason for requesting an incomplete acceptable (An illness or death in the family would be acceptable, whereas an early spring break trip would probably not be acceptable). See me for more details regarding incompletes.

 

Exams & Makeup Exams: If for any reason you miss Exam #1 you will be required to take an all essay format makeup exam on Friday March 4 anytime between 9-3 in Dr. Strapp’s office (Todd 309). Bring a blue book to the makeup exam. Early exams will not be given. In the event that a student has 3 final exams scheduled on the same day, the student will be eligible to take the final exam on another date agreed upon in advance by the professor and student. If this situation applies to you, please see me as soon as possible.

 

 

 

 

Academic Dishonesty: You are free and encouraged to discuss all class assignments with other class members, however you should be careful not to work from the same outline or use the same phrasing in writing assignments. According to the WOU Code of Student Responsibility Section 574-31-030(1) the following pertains to academic dishonesty:

 

Fabrication: unauthorized falsification and or/invention of any information or citation in any academic exercise.

 

Plagiarism: representing without giving credit the words, data, or ideas of another person as one’s own work in any academic exercise. This includes submitting, in whole or in part, prewritten term papers of another or the research of another, including but not limited to the product of commercial vendors who sell or distribute such materials, and the appropriation and/or use of electronic data of another person or persons as one’s own, or using such data without giving proper credit for it.

 

Any student who is caught fabricating or plagiarizing will receive a 0 on the assignment and his/her name will be turned over to the Coordinator of Campus Judicial Affairs.    

 

Cheating on exams: You are responsible for your own work on exams. Do not discuss exam questions with other students who have not taken the exam. If you hear other students discussing exam questions, please let me know immediately. Cheating on exams is not permitted and will result in a zero on the exam. In addition, your name will be submitted to the Coordinator of Campus Judicial Affairs. 

                        Psychology 390 Class Schedule Winter 2005

 

Date                            Chapter Due              Topic

Jan 4                                                               Introduction to Psy 390 & Learning Theory

Jan 6                                       1                      Schools of Behaviorism & Debates

                                                                       

Jan 11                                    2                      Methods in Learning Research

Jan 13                                    3                      Elicited Behaviors

                                                Rothbaum et al (2001) seminar

 

Jan 18                                    3                      Habituation, Sensitization & Opponent Process Theory

Jan 20                                    3                      Classical Conditioning Basics                               

 

Jan 25                                    4                      Classical Conditioning Acquisition & Extinction

Jan 27                                    4                      Classical Conditioning, Acquisition & Extinction

                                                Nissani (2000) seminar                   

 

Feb 1                                      5                      Classical Conditioning limitations & theory

Feb 3                                      5                      Classical Conditioning Application

                                                Remington et al (1997) seminar

 

Feb 8                          EXAM #1       (Chapters 1-5)

Feb 10                                   6                      Operant Conditioning: Thorndike, Skinner & Basic Principles 

 

Feb 15                        Return & Review Exam #1

                                                6                      Reinforcement & Punishment

Feb 17                                    7                      Schedules & Theories of Reinforcement

 

 

                        Psychology 390 Class Schedule Winter 2005

 

Date                            Chapter Due              Topic

Feb 22                                    7                      Reinforcement Continued

                                                Keinan (2002) seminar

                                               

Feb 24                                    9                      Escape, Avoidance, Punishment

                                                                       

Mar 1                          PAPER DUE

                                                9                      Learned Helplessness

Mar 3                                      11                    Biological Predispositions & Adjunctive Behavior

                                                Pierce & Epling (1994) seminar

 

Mar 8                                      12                    Observational Learning

Mar 10                                    12                    Learning Language 

                                                Taglialatela et al (2003) seminar  

 

Finals week

Tuesday Mar 15                    8:00-10:00     Exam 2 (Chapters 6-9, 11-12)

                                                EXTRA CREDIT DUE