Psychology 110
Animal Learning and Cognition
Anthony S. Rauhut, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
1219 James Hall
Teaching Laboratory: James 1206
Office Phone: (717) 245 – 1079
E-mail: rauhuta@dickinson.edu
Office Hours: T: 10 – 11 am, W: 2:00 – 3:00 pm, and By Appt.
Spring Semester, 2009
Course Number: Psych 110-01
Meeting Time: MWF: 10:30 – 11:20 am
The field of learning is a broad, changing and exciting discipline of science! My
intention for the course is to expose you to several different “areas of interest” in the
field of learning. Time constraints do not allow me to provide an exhaustive coverage of
all the topics. Rather, I plan to touch on some of the major themes, questions of
interest, and/or experimental findings in a particular area. On pages 5 and 6, I have
briefly outlined some of the topics and the tentative dates those topics will be discussed
in class. Essentially, the course is divided into 3 major sections: Pavlovian (Classical)
conditioning and Operant (Instrumental) conditioning and Cognition.
The Text
The Principles of Learning and Behavior (5th edition) by Michael Domjan. Copyright ©
2003 by Thomson/Wadworth. This text is required for the course.
Materials on e-Reserve on Blackboard
In addition to the required text, you will be expected to read material that I have placed
on e-reserve on Blackboard. Please do not wait until the night prior to the examination
to read these chapters.
Selected Readings
1) Chapter 3 entitled Tolerance, Withdrawal, Sensitization, and Conditioning of Drug
Effects from William McKim's book entitled Drugs and Behavior: An Introduction to
Behavioral Pharmacology.
2) Chapter 5 entitled Dependence, Addiction and the Self-Administration of Drugs from
William McKim's book entitled Drugs and Behavior: An Introduction to Behavioral
Pharmacology.
3) Conditioned Taste Aversions and Drugs of Abuse: A Reininterpretation. (1997) P.S.
Grigson. Behavioral Neuroscience, 111(1):129-136.
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Exams
There will be 4 examinations given at scheduled times throughout the course. Each
examination will cover only the material relevant to the respective one-fourth of the
course. The format for each examination will consist of multiple-choice, true-false and
essay questions. Each examination will be worth a total of 75 points.
Exam Attendance
Examination attendance is a requirement. However, in the event of an officially
excused absence, a make-up examination can be given. Please refer to the Dickinson
College Bulletin as to what defines an excused absence. In the event of an excused
absence, documentation is required to be submitted immediately to me upon your return
to the College. The missed examination must be taken within 3 school days of your
return. An unexcused absence from a particular examination will result in a 0 for that
examination. You may make-up only one examination. You will not be permitted to
make-up multiple examinations.
Class Attendance
Attendance in class is expected and will comprise 5% of your overall grade. At the
beginning of each class I will take roll. If you are not in class at the time roll is taken,
then you will be marked absent for that day.
Homework
There will be 1 homework assignment (worth 5 points) given during the course. For the
homework assignment, you will be awarded 5 points if the assignment was “attempted,”
2.5 points if the assignment was only partially complete (i.e., the entire assignment was
not complete), and 0 points if was “not attempted.” That is, you will not be graded as to
whether your answer is correct or not. Rather, you will be awarded 5 points (attempted)
if you do the all work, 2.5 points if the work is only partially complete (i.e., an answer is
missing), or 0 points (not attempted) if the work is not done at all. Homework is to be
submitted on time. If homework is submitted late, then it will be considered “partially
complete” and thus 2.5 points will be awarded. Obviously, if you are unable to submit
the homework due to a documented reason, then you will not be penalized. The due
date and particulars of the assignments will be indicated later in the semester.
Laboratory Sessions
While this course is not a Division III laboratory science course, we’ll be spending
several classes in the laboratory. As you’ll learn in class, many principles of learning
have been discovered in the laboratory. Thus, I enjoy having students spend some time
in the laboratory learning a few techniques psychologists, biologists, and others have
used to explore animal learning. Moreover, laboratory exercises are a GREAT way to
reinforce concepts presented in class. That is, at times, concepts presented in class
seem abstract and difficult to grasp. However, when one works in the laboratory with an
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animal and records the animal’s behavior, the concept is brought to life. The laboratory
exercises also have the benefit of breaking up the lecture and doing something new
(and hopefully fun). This semester we’ll do several exercises with invertebrates such as
planaria and earthworms and vertebrates such as rats. If you anticipate it will be difficult
for you to work with animals, then please let me know as soon as possible. (You should
know that the exercises do not harm the animals).
Review Sessions
Prior to each examination I will conduct an in-class review session. The in-class review
session will take place during the class preceding the examination. The purpose of the
in-class review session is to highlight material that is likely to be covered on the
examination. However, material that is not explicitly covered during the review session
is also “fair game” for the examination. It is not the intention of the review session to
serve as a “catch-up” class for classes that you may have missed. That is, do not
adopt the strategy of missing classes with the intention of getting all the necessary
information during the review session. This strategy will not serve you well!
Research participation
You are required to participate in the psychology department research program.
Further details about this requirement are found at the end of the syllabus (see
Appendix). Failure to complete the 1 hour of research participation (or research
alternative) will result in an automatic lowering of your grade by 2 levels (for example,
from a B+ to a B-).
Extra Credit
Extra credit for the course will come by way of questions on each examination. I
anticipate that each examination will contain about 2 – 4 extra credit points. Also, there
may arise opportunities for you to gain extra credit points via departmental activities.
Extra credit given for departmental activities must adhere to the following criteria:
1) The activity must be approved in advance by me.
2) If other incentives (e.g., money) are given for participation, then you must choose
between the extra credit and the other incentives. You may not receive both
incentives.
3) Points are awarded for the amount of time required for the activity. You will be
awarded 2 and 4 points for activities requiring 30 and 60 minutes, accordingly, of
your time. You will be awarded 5 points for activities requiring more than 60
minutes of your time.
4) You are eligible to accumulate 10 extra-credit points for departmental activities.
5) You may receive extra credit for only one course.
Grading
How is Your Grade Calculated?
Source
Examinations
1
Point Value
75
3
2
3
4
75
75
75
Homework Assignment
5
Class Attendance (5%)
15
Total Class Points =
320
Your Grade = (Exams, Homework, Class Attendance) + Extra Credit) X 100/320
The examinations are not curved! The grade you earn will be the grade you receive.
Grading Scale
Letter
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
Percentage
93 – 100
92 – 90
89 – 88
87 – 83
82 – 80
79 – 78
77 – 73
72 – 70
69 – 68
67 – 63
62 – 60
59 or below
Some Advice!
1) Do not miss class! Doing well in this course requires that you attend class regularly.
2) When I ask a question, respond vigorously! While class participation is not a
requirement for the course, participation in class can help your grade.
3) Keep up with the material. When I review something in class this should be at least
the second time seeing the material.
4) Do not wait until the night or morning prior to the examination to begin studying.
5) If you are a Psychology major (or plan to be one), then GET INVOLVED! Faculty
members are always looking for motivated undergraduates to help them with a
project. It would behoove you to figure out what area of psychology you are
interested in and then seek out a faculty member whose research/clinical interests
are compatible with your interests.
6) Number 2 is related to Number 1 – GET TO KNOW YOUR PROFESSORS. If you
plan to attend Graduate/Medical/Law School, then you will need for your professors
to write you letters of recommendation. From personal experience, writing a letter of
recommendation is easier when you know the student (and not just how he/she did
in your course).
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Tentative Lecture Material Dates
Date
Mon, Jan 19
Topic
Chapter(s)
Opening Ceremonies
Review Research Participation Requirement
Wed, Jan 21
History of Learning
Domjan, Chapter 1
Fri, Jan 23
History of Learning
Domjan, Chapter 1
Film: A History of Learning
Mon, Jan 26
Defining & Studying Learning
Classroom Demonstration
Domjan, Chapter 1
Wed, Jan 28
Simple Forms of Learning
Habituation in Planaria Lab
(Meet in James 1206)
Domjan, Chapter 2
Fri, Jan 30
Simple Forms of Learning
Domjan, Chapter 2
Mon, Feb 2
Simple Forms of Learning
Domjan, Chapter 2
Wed, Feb 4
Pavlovian Conditioning
Foundations
Classroom Demonstration
Domjan, Chapters 3
Friday, Feb 6
Pavlovian Conditioning
Foundations
Domjan, Chapters 3
Mon, Feb 9
Pavlovian Conditioning
Foundations
Review for Examination 1
Domjan, Chapters 3
Wed, Feb 11
Examination 1
Domjan, Chapters 1 -3
Fri, Feb 13
Classical Conditioning
Mechanisms
Domjan, Chapter 4
Mon, Feb 16
Classical Conditioning
Mechanisms
Domjan, Chapter 4
Wed, Feb 18
Classical Conditioning
Mechanisms
Domjan, Chapter 4
Fri, Feb 20
Drugs & Classical Conditioning
McKim, Chapter 3
Classical Conditioning in Earthworms Lab
Meet in James 1206
Mon, Feb 23
Drugs & Classical Conditioning
Wed, Feb 25
Instrumental Conditioning
Foundations
Operant Conditioning in Planaria Lab
(Meet in James 1206)
Fri, Feb 27
Instrumental Conditioning
Foundations
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McKim, Chapter 3
Film: "Treating Drug Addiction:
A Behavioral Approach"
Domjan, Chapter 5
Domjan, Chapter 5
Mon, March 2
Instrumental Conditioning
Foundations
Review for Examination2
Domjan, Chapter 5
Wed, March 4
Examination 2
Domjan, Chapters 4 & 5 and
McKim, Chapter 3
Fri, March 6
Schedules of Reinforcement
Rat Lab
(Meet in James 1206)
Domjan, Chapter 6
Spring Begins Friday March 6 at 5 pm and classes resume on Monday, March 16 at 8 am
Mon, March 16
Schedules of Reinforcement
Domjan, Chapter 6
Wed, March 18
Choice Behavior
Domjan, Chapter 6
Fri, March 20
Instrumental Conditioning
Motivational Mechanisms
Domjan, Chapter 7
Mon, March 23
Instrumental Conditioning
Motivational Mechanisms
Domjan, Chapter 7
Film "Brain Mechanisms of
Pleasure”
Wed, March 25
Positive Reinforcement & Drugs
McKim, Chapter 5
Fri, March 27
Positive Reinforcement & Drugs
McKim, Chapter 5
Mon, March 30
Positive Reinforcement & Drugs
Review for Examination 3
McKim, Chapter 5
Wed, April 1
Examination 3
Domjan, Chapters 6 & 7,
McKim Chapter 5 &
Grigson Article
Fri, April 3
Stimulus Control of Behavior
Domjan, Chapter 8
Mon, April 6
Stimulus Control of Behavior
Domjan, Chapter 8
Wed, April 8
Stimulus Control of Behavior
Domjan, Chapter 8
Fri, April 10
Extinction
Extinction in Earthworms Lab
(Meet in James 1206)
Domjan, Chapter 9
Mon, April 13
Extinction
Domjan, Chapter 9
Film “Virtual Fear”
Wed, April 15
Extinction
Domjan, Chapter 9
Fri, April 17
Avoidance
Avoidant Behavior in Earthworms Lab
(Meet in James 1206)
Domjan, Chapter 10
Mon, April 20
Avoidance
Domjan, Chapter 10
Wed, April 22
Avoidance
Domjan, Chapter 10
Fri, April 24
Punishment
Domjan, Chapter 10
Mon, April 27
Animal Cognition
Domjan, Chapter 11
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Memory Mechanisms
Course Evaluations
Wed, April 29
Animal Cognition
Memory Mechanisms
Domjan, Chapter 11
Fri, May 1
Animal Cognition
Memory Mechanisms
Review for Examination 4
Domjan, Chapter 11
Thursday, May 7 @ 9 am
Final Examination
Domjan, Chapters 8 – 11
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College Policies
Academic Honesty
Dickinson College has an “Academic Honesty” policy that is in effect for all courses. As
such, we will follow that policy. The policy pertains to issues of cheating and plagiarism.
Please consult Dickinson College’s Student Code of Conduct and Disciplinary System
for a complete discussion of academic honesty.
Students are reminded to consider the following when completing final papers
and assignments.
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Check carefully any written or verbal instructions your professor has provided for your paper or
assignment, including finding out the required citation format (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).
Keep careful notes, as you are researching, regarding all of your sources of information and
ideas, including accurate bibliographic information on each source.
Put quotation marks around EVERY word, phrase or larger section of prose that is quoted from a
published source (whether print or electronic), and including unpublished lectures, media
presentations, and peer collaborations. Also provide accurate citation of the source, both in the
footnotes or endnotes and in the bibliography.
Paraphrase sources entirely in your own words AND provide a citation for each paraphrase.
Employ a clear and consistent method of documenting all of your sources (print, oral, electronic,
web-based) and use the footnote or endnote style appropriate to the discipline of the course. (IF
IN DOUBT; ASK YOUR PROFESSOR)
Provide accurate citations for sources of reproduced data summaries, tables, graphs, and
illustrations.
Provide a full bibliography of all sources, according to the documentation style required for the
discipline in question.
Check once again to be sure the difference between your own contributions to the paper and the
contributions of others is unmistakably clear.
If your professor allows on line submission you are responsible to make sure that the paper you
send is the paper you wish to have evaluated.
This checklist has been adapted from “Academic Integrity Checklist”, Skidmore College, 2004.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
In compliance with the Dickinson College policy and equal access laws, I am available
to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be recommended for
students with disabilities. Requests for academic accommodations are to be made
during the first three weeks of the semester (except for unusual circumstances) so that
timely and appropriate arrangements can be made.
Students are required to register with Academic Resource Services, located in
Academic Advising, first floor of Biddle House (contact ext. 1080 or
waybranj@dickinson.edu) to verify their eligibility for appropriate accommodations.
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