SYLLABUS

Psychology 435: Principles of Learning (Fall, 2008)

COURSE OBJECTIVES

There are two primary objectives in this course. The first is to introduce you to findings and theories in the broad area of learning and memory. There are essentially two broad streams of research and theories in learning, one having to do with what roughly might be called procedural or skill learning, the other having to do with what might be called knowledge acquisition. We will start with research and theories that have been traditionally thought to apply to the former type of learning. In this section, you will be introduced to the major paradigms of associationistic learning (classical and operant conditioning), and their findings. We will concentrate here on animal learning, as the majority of the research has used animal subjects. We will examine traditional associationistic stimulus-response theories of learning and compare these to more recent informational contingency theories in order to assess which does a better job of accounting for the various findings. Then, in the second half of the course, we will be shifting to work in human learning. Much of this work has been concerned with the question of knowledge representation, so that our major focus will become how information is coded into, stored in, and retrieved from memory. In this section, we will trace work on memory from interference theory through store-based models, and onto process-based models of learning and remembering.
 

The second objective I regard as the more important. Although you will be learning a tremendous amount of information about what we now think we know regarding learning and memory, the field itself is changing rapidly due to the new research techniques, methods, and theories being developed. Therefore, my second objective is to provide you with a firm understanding of the nature of science and its application to Psychology. To that end, the lectures will focus on competitive hypothesis testing. We will start in the first lecture or two with the notion of a paradigm, a set of philosophical assumptions about what constitutes a scientific explanation, and what needs explaining. You will be learning that paradigms themselves are not directly testable, and that paradigms sanction particular theories that ought to be evaluated within the framework of the specific paradigm. Throughout the course, we will also be concerned with how to get rival theories to make competing predictions about what ought to happen. I hope, in other words, to be able to get you to think about the implications of various approaches to learning and memory. To that end, the tests will be essay exams that will require you to integrate apparently diverse materials. You will have to show me that you can reason through the implications of what you are reading about, and that you can marshal evidence to support your claims.
 

TEXT

I will be providing you with background notes and readings from a text I am working on. We will be using the initial drafts of each chapter as the reading material.

The chapters may be found on my web site, http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~cgc2646/ Be sure to bookmark that site in your browser, if you are using your home computer. There are links to the chapters from there. In the chapters, bolded material is important stuff that you should know for the tests. Two copies of the chapters will also be put on reserve in the library, and I can give people who want them HTML or Word Perfect or Rich Text Format copies of the chapters (in that case, bring in your floppy. Some of the graphs in the latter two formats will have weird characters on them, but will be readable). Please don't use the university printers to print the chapters; there have been complaints about that. You are welcome to print the chapters out on your home computers.

Approximate starting dates for the various topics appear below. The reading for each topic, unless I notify you otherwise in class, will be a posted chapter with the same number as the topic (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.), except for the very last topic, which is not in the text.  That topic will be covered strictly through the lecture.  (And note, too, that changes to the test dates or the topics covered may be announced in class!)
 

                    TOPICS                                                                              TESTS

        1. Introduction to Learning and Memory  (8/26)                                      Test 1:  9/25  (Topics 1, 2, some of 3)

        2. Basic Findings in Classical Conditioning  (9/2)                                      Test 2:  10/28 (rest of 3, Topics 4, 5)

        3. Theoretical Implications   (9/16)                                                          Test 3:  11/25 (Topic 6, most of 7)

        4. Basic Findings in Operant Conditioning  (10/7)                                      Test 4:  Thursday, 12/11, 8 am  (Everything)

        5. Theoretical Implications  (10/16)

        6. Extinction & Partial Reinforcement  (10/30)

        7. Generalization & Discrimination  (11/11)

        8. Human Encoding & Retrieving  (12/4)

 
 
 

GRADING

The tests generally will involve two sections, one consisting of essays (80%), and the other consisting of terms/people to identify. Each test will be worth 100 points. Essays will be graded on a letter scale, with letter grades converted to numbers for an overall score. (In a 20-point essay, for example, 20, 19, and 18 will respectively represent A+, A, and A-). I do not anticipate assigning a paper or other library work in this course. However, there will be occasional required homework and computer laboratory assignments.
 
 

ATTENDANCE POLICY

I will allow make-up work ONLY IF if (a) due to an unforeseeable and excusable absence, or (b) due to a foreseeable and excusable absence of which I have been notified IN ADVANCE. As the tests will include a reasonable amount of material from classroom lectures, you would be wise not to miss too many lectures. Note that I will NOT automatically drop you from class for absences (you need to go through official drop procedures if you decide to drop the course!).
 
 

OFFICE HOURS

Office hours are posted on my door. At the moment, it seems likely that they will be Mondays (1:30 - 4) and Wednesdays (1:30 - 3 pm), although Wednesday office hours will be at my office in Rougeou (Rougeou 341). Depending on meetings, those hours may change. In any case, whenever my office door is open, regardless of whether I am holding office hours, feel free to ask me whether I have time to talk. On days when I have to change office hours due to meetings, I will generally post alternate hours for that week, so do check with me, or get in the habit of checking my door. You can also send brief questions to me via e-mail by clicking on the following:  cech@louisiana.edu
 
  

EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

A map of this floor will be posted near the elevator (near the Psychology Department office) marking the evacuation route. This is also the Designated Rescue Area (an area where emergency service personnel will go first to look for individuals who need assistance in exiting the building). Students who may need assistance should identify themselves to the teaching faculty.
 

SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES   


For information about SSD and SEP services, contact Kim A.Warren, MSW, PhD, LCSW, Supported Education Advisor, at kimawarren@louisiana.edu, or in the Conference Center, Room 126.   Eligibility requirements are described at the SSD website.  Also note that there is free confidential help on campus for students with psychological disabilities (Bipolar, Depression, Anxiety, etc.).