Psychology 311 (section 001): Learning and Cognition

Spring 2004

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 1:00-1:50 PM

Classroom Building Room 110

Instructor: Mary Cain, Ph.D.

Email:

Phone: (859) 257-2607

Office: Breckinridge Hall Room 206

Office hours: Monday and Wednesday 2:30-3:30 PM, or by appointment

Course web page: http://www.uky.edu/Classes/PSY/311-001/

Course Overview:

Prerequisites: PSY 100 and PSY 215 or 216

Content: Psychology 311 is one of the required core courses for psychology majors. This course will introduce you to a number of topics concerning learning and cognition. Because of the breath of the field, there will not be time to cover all of the major areas. We will cover the basic principles of Pavlovian and operant conditioning, and explore topics such as memory and social learning. We will also consider the biological substrates of learning and cognition by reviewing some research on learning, memory and emotion.

Textbook: Morgan, D. L. (2002) Essentials of Learning and Cognition. McGraw-Hill: Boston, MA.

The Course Web Page: http://www.uky.edu/Classes/PSY/311-001/

The class web page is meant to be informative. The web page will provide the following information:

1.  All class grades will be posted on the web page.

2.  A copy of the syllabus will be posted on the web page.

3.  Important “handouts” (in Word format) for lectures will be available on the web page (see handouts below).

4.  Important announcements like class cancellations and changes of test dates will be posted on the web page.

5.  Various student/psychology related links will be present on the web page.

6.  Please note: The course web page will NOT contain copies of the lecture slides. Copies of lectures will not be provided to students; students who miss lecture are encouraged to get missed notes from classmates who attended the class and took notes.

Lectures: Lectures will often cover material that is not contained in the text. In addition, it is not possible to cover all the material contained in the assigned chapters during lectures. For examination purposes, you are responsible for all material covered in the lectures as well as that in the assigned text chapters and additional readings. You should read each assigned chapter prior to lecture so that you don’t fall behind.

Handouts: A number of “handouts” have been created to facilitate note taking. For example, I will often show graphs illustrating a particular research finding. You can download the corresponding handout and follow along in class. This will save you from trying to hurry and draw a graph. The handouts are available on the class web page under “Handouts.” I will indicate when we will be using the handouts and thus, I suggest printing the handouts prior to the class. If you do not have access to a computer or printer at home, please go to the library or other on-campus computer centers.

Additional Readings: Please notice that there are only 2 to 3 book chapters assigned per exam. I purposely chose this format so that you can read relevant literature outside of the text book. The assigned readings will compliment the text and lecture material. The readings are also meant to facilitate class discussions. Please make sure to read the assignments so that you can contribute to the discussions. The readings are on reserve at W. T. Young Library. Readings can be checked out for two hours and require a student I.D.

Exam 1

Hock, R. (1992). It’s not just about salivating dogs. In Forty Studies that Changed Psychology. (pp. 65 – 72). Prentice Hall, N.J.

Exam 2

Pryor, K. (1999). Don’t Shoot the dog: The new art of teaching and training. NY: Bantom. Chapters 1 (pp. 1 –34) and 4 (pp. 98 – 147).

Exam 3

Hock, R. (1992). Thanks for the memories! In Forty Studies that Changed Psychology. (pp. 117 - 125). Prentice Hall, N.J.

Sacks, O. (1998). The Twins. In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. (pp. 195-

213). Touchstone (Simon & Schuster Inc.), New York, NY 10020.

Exam 4

Sacks, O. (1995). The Last Hippie. In An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales. Vintage Books, N.Y. (pp. 42 – 76).

LeDoux, J. E. (1994). Emotion, Memory, and the Brain. In Scientific American. June,

pp. 50 - 57.

Opportunities to Earn Points:

Examinations: Four (4) examinations will be offered this semester, including the final. These exams are not cumulative in the traditional sense, but it should be noted that the information in this course will build upon itself and some information may remain relevant from exam to exam. Each exam can yield up to 20 points toward your final grade with the exams yielding a total of 80 points together.

Participation: Eleven (11) non-evaluative pop quizzes/activities will be offered in lecture this semester. Ten will be counted for the semester, allowing you to miss one without any effect on your point total. Each will be worth 2 points. Perfect performances on these will earn 20 points toward your final grade. Your score on each of these and your running total will be updated on the web page, so you can keep track of your total points at any time.

Extra Credit: Occasional extra credit opportunities may be offered in or outside of class. They will be voluntary, and students may choose not to complete them with no penalty.

Points

Breakdown: Exams 80

Participation 20

Total 100

Grading:

Your final grade will be based on the number of points that you accumulate over the course of the semester. The grading scheme is given below.

Points Earned Grade

90.00 to 100 A

80.00 to 89.99 B

70.00 to 79.99 C

60.00 to 69.99 D

0 to 59.99 E

Course Policies:

Disabilities: Students requiring accommodations must present documentation of the accommodations from the Disability Resource Center (257-2754) after which all accommodations will be met.

Cheating: This course will use the policy on cheating as described in the handbook Student’s Rights and Responsibilities.

Missed Exams and Participation: Exams may be made-up provided that documentation of an excused absence is provided to the course instructor prior to the missed exam pr participation exercise. The instructor reserves the right to refuse to allow a student to make-up exam if the instructor is approached with the excuse after the missed exam time has passed, if the excuse is not documented, or if an undocumented excuse is not deemed reasonable or valid by the instructor.

Tentative Schedule PSY 311-001

Week Class Day Date Topic Chapter(s)

1 1 W 1-14-04 Course information ---

2 F 1-16-04 Introduction 1

2 --- M 1-19-04 NO CLASS!!! ---

3 W 1-21-04 Introduction 1

4 F 1-23-04 Pavlovian Conditioning 2

3 5 M 1-26-04 Pavlovian Conditioning 2

6 W 1-28-04 Pavlovian Conditioning 2

7 F 1-30-04 Pavlovian Conditioning (Hock reading) 2

4 8 M 2-2-04 Pavlovian Conditioning 2

9 W 2-4-04 Pavlovian Conditioning 2

10 F 2-6-04 Applications of Pavlovian Conditioning 3

5 11 M 2-9-04 Applications of Pavlovian Conditioning 3

12 W 2-11-04 Catch-up and exam review 1-3

13 F 2-13-04 EXAM 1 (Chapters 1-3 and Hock) ---

6 14 M 2-16-04 Operant Conditioning 4

15 W 2-18-04 Operant Conditioning 4

16 F 2-20-04 Operant Conditioning (1st Pryor reading) 4

7 17 M 2-23-04 Operant Conditioning 4

18 W 2-25-04 Operant Conditioning 4

19 F 2-27-04 Operant Conditioning (2nd Pryor reading) 4

8 20 M 3-1-04 Applications of Operant Conditioning 5

21 W 3-3-04 Applications of Operant Conditioning 5

22 F 3-5-04 Catch-up and exam review 4-5

9 23 M 3-8-04 EXAM 2 (Chapters 4,5 and Pryor) ---

24 W 3-10-04 Social Learning 6

25 F 3-12-04 Social Learning 6

10 --- M 3-15-04 SPRING BREAK!! ---

--- W 3-17-04 SPRING BREAK!! ---

--- F 3-19-04 SPRING BREAK!! ---

11 26 M 3-22-04 Memory 7

27 W 3-24-04 Memory 7

28 F 3-26-04 Remembering and Forgetting 7

12 29 M 3-29-04 Forgetting (Hock reading) 7

30 W 3-31-04 Remembering and Forgetting 7

31 F 4-2-04 Forgetting (Sacks reading) 7

13 32 M 4-5-04 EXAM 3 (Chapters 6,7 and readings) ---

33 W 4-7-04 Biology of Learning and Memory 10

34 F 4-9-04 Biology of Learning and Memory 10

14 35 M 4-12-04 Learning and Memory (Sacks reading) 10

36 W 4-14-04 Biology of Learning and Memory 10

37 F 4-16-04 Aging and Memory 10

15 38 M 4-19-04 Aging and Memory 10

39 W 4-21-04 Emotion and Memory 10

40 F 4-23-04 Emotion and Memory 10

16 41 M 4-26-04 Emotion and Memory (LeDoux reading) 10

42 W 4-28-04 Catch-up and exam review --

43 F 4-30-04 NO CLASS!!!! -- FINAL EXAM: Wednesday, May 5th at 1 PM in our regular room (CB110)