PSYC 431
Physiological Psychology Laboratory
Section A: Monday 10:00 am – 12:40 pm
Section B: Wednesday 10:00 am – 12:40 pm
Fall 2008
T.A.: Samantha Carter
Office: 351
Phone: TBA
Email: shamm@niu.edu
Office Hours: TBA
Nature and Purpose
In this lab we will learn how to apply fundamentals of physiological psychology to a research setting. This will
include learning neuroanatomy, conducting literature reviews, participating in experimental procedures, performing
statistical analyses, and interpreting research results.
Grades
The laboratory grade is worth 40% of the final grade in class. Laboratory grades will consist of two APA style
experimental write-ups, two presentations, participation, and quizzes. Attendance is taken and is included as part of
your participation score. If more than one lab period is missed with an unexcused absence, there will be a penalty
involving the loss of all participation points. An absence may be excused if it is due to an official university trip with
advance notice, an important personal event cleared with me in advance, or a personal or family emergency with
documentation. It is your responsibility to contact me as soon as possible if a situation comes up in which you
cannot attend lab.
Quizzes (10%): Two quizzes will be given during the semester. The first quiz covers neuroanatomy and the second
quiz covers statistics. The quizzes are intended to test your comprehension of concepts required to conduct
physiological research as covered in the lab portion of this course.
APA Papers (50%): There will be two APA papers that will be described in greater detail during class. The papers
will involve background research, experiments, data analysis, and interpretation of findings. Papers must be written
in APA format. Examples of APA format are available on the course website and will be discussed in lab. It may be
useful to purchase an APA manual. For every day the first paper is late there will be a 10% deduction. The second
paper will not be accepted late. **PLAGIARISM IS NOT ACCEPTABLE
Presentations (30%): Each lab section will be broken down into groups for the paper presentations. Your paper will
be presented as a group with all members contributing and therefore the entire group will receive the same grade.
The papers that are presented will relate to the experiments you will be performing. Presentations should be
thorough but brief, providing a summary of the introduction, methods, results, and discussion of an assigned
research article.
Participation (10%): Attendance is required in this lab. Students are expected to be present and on time for all labs.
If you choose to miss a lab session, you are still responsible for all information that was covered. You are given one
week to make up quizzes for excused absences. If a quiz or presentation is missed due to an unexcused absence or
from arriving late, you will receive an automatic zero for that assignment (it will not affect the rest of the group’s
grade for presentations).
***REMEMBER***
Please seek help if you want it! If my office hours are inconvenient for you please email me or talk to me during lab
and we can figure out a time that works for both of us. I want everyone to take as much from this lab as they are
willing to work for, and will do everything I can to help you understand the material.