Pittsburg State University – College of Education – Department of Psychology & Counseling
Learning 830-01 – 3 credit hours
Fall 2009, M 3:30 – 6:20, WH 201
Instructor:
Phone:
Office:
Email:
Gwen Murdock, Ph.D.
620-235-4524
WH208A
gmurdock@pittstate.edu
Office hours: M: 1:00 -3:30,
Tu: 10:45 – 12:00 & 1:00 - 3:30,
Th: 10:45 -12:00 & 1:00 - 3:00
or by appointment.
Course description: Theoretical foundations of learning, including conditioning, cognitive, and social
approaches. Application of these theories to the basic problems encountered in education and psychology.
Pre-requisite: 9 hours of psychology or its equivalent.
Course objectives: At the end of the course the student will be able to identify and describe:
1. the differences between classically conditioned behavior and instrumentally conditioned behavior;
2. the components of learned associations in both classically conditioned behavior and instrumentally
conditioned behavior;
3. the circumstances where behavior is strengthened;
4. the circumstances where behavior is weakened;
5. the outcomes of aversive stimuli that relate to classical conditioning and to instrumental conditioning;
6. the circumstances that result in extinction of behavior;
7. the consequences of various schedules of reinforcement and punishment on instrumentally conditioned
behavior;
8. the situations where a cognitive explanation for behavior is the parsimonious explanation;
and 9. how the principles of learning can be used in real life.
Text: Domjan, M. (2010). The principles of learning and behavior (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Course Schedule:
The course will cover the material from the textbook in the order listed by the author. There are 12
chapters and 16 weeks in the semester. Allowing for time for exams, it means that we will cover one
chapter per week.
Important Dates:
Exams: Sept 21st, Oct 19th, Nov 16th and Dec 14th.
Individual project: Dec 7th.
Final exam: Dec 14th.
Grading:
Exams (20% each) = 80%
Individual project= 20%
Final grade assignment: 90-100 = A; 75-89 = B; 60-74 = C; 50-59 = D; 0-49 = F.
Exams will be based on reading assignments, lectures, class discussions and activities. The exams will
consist of multiple choice, short answer and essay questions. The material in the course is cumulative, by
its very nature. Expect to be graded on your ability to continually integrate material from the beginning of
the semester into what you are currently being examined on. A study guide will be distributed before each
exam, which will consist of basic definition items to know and the scope of material that will be the basis
for the essay questions.
Individual projects: Each student will select a topic from a list of behavior problems common to pets,
children, coworkers, spouses, parents, bosses, fellow students and teachers. The student will research the
advice given by professionals and nonprofessionals to address these problems, critically analyze the advice
in terms of principles of learning and then use the behavior principles learned in this class to propose a
solution. The final paper will include a description of the problem, the advice found in the literature, and
the student’s recommendation with an explanation of the behavioral principles involved.
ANGEL: All handouts, lecture outlines, study guides and grades will be posted on Angel. Power point slides
will not be posted. If you must miss a lecture for any reason, you are still responsible for the material
covered in class that day and must get the class notes from another student. You are encouraged to use
Angel to post materials for your fellow group members.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR: Some faculty members describe specific rules about classroom behavior that they
will not allow. These include specific rules about cell phones, texting, computer use, coming late, leaving
early, etc.
In this class, you may do whatever you want in this classroom as long as the instructor and other
students are not aware of you doing anything but sitting quietly and participating in class discussion. If you
are cruising the internet and other students are looking at your screen, you are in violation. If you are
answering cell phone messages and we can hear any sound from you or your phone, you are in violation. If
you choose to come late or leave early and you do anything but move quietly between your seat and the
door, you are in violation. If you are whispering to your neighbor and we are distracted by the whispers or
your nonverbal behavior, you are in violation. Violators will be penalized in ways designed to provide
vicarious punishment to the whole class and to extinguish the behavior in the violator.
MAKEUP EXAMS AND LATE WORK: Work can be submitted before the due date, but not after the due
date. The final day to Individual Project is Dec. 7th. Any presentation that is not made will receive a zero
grade.
Missed exams will only be made up by one comprehensive make up exam scheduled on the night of
the final exam at the very end of the semester, regardless of the reason for missing the exam. If a missed
exam is not made up at that time, it will be counted as a zero grade.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Plagarism includes citing sources without proper documentation and copying the
text of another person’s writing without acknowledging it as a direct quote. Cheating includes submitting a
paper for one class that you already received credit for in another class and sharing computer files of
writing with another person. If you have any questions about whether a particular behavior is appropriate
for this class, please ask me. Plagarism and cheating are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. People
who exhibit such behaviors will receive appropriate punishment, possibly failing the class.
Special concerns: If you have a disabling condition requiring accommodation in meeting class
requirements, please contact me as soon as possible at the end of the first class period.