SYLLABUS
Psychology 435: Principles of
Learning Fall, 2015)
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/
and are also linked into the moodle page for this
class. If you use the web site, 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.
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 Topic 1 will be Chapter 1. Topic 2 will be strictly lecture
material. Thereafter, the reading for each topic will be each
successive chapter (Topic 2 is Chapter 2,; Topic 4 is Chapter 3;
etc.).
Also, we will probably only be reading about half of Chapter 7.
TOPICS
TESTS
1. Introduction
to Learning and Memory (8/25)
Test 1: 9/22 (Topics 1, 2,
and some of 3)
2. Basic Findings
in Classical Conditioning (9/1)
Test 2: 10/20
(Topics rest of 3, 4)
3. Theoretical
Implications (9/10)
Test 3: 11/24 (Topics 5-6)
4. Basic Findings
in Operant Conditioning (9/29)
Test 4:
Tuesday, 12/8, 8 am
(Everything)
5. Theoretical
Implications (10/13)
6. Extinction
& Partial Reinforcement (10/29)
7. Generalization
& Discrimination (11/10)
8. Human Encoding & Learning (12/1)
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 may be
occasional
required homework and computer laboratory assignments. Please
note
that I generally deal with plagiarism or cheating on tests by assigning
a
failing grade for the course, and not just the test.
PLAGIARISM
Below is a link to a web site hosted by Indiana University that
explains
what plagiarism is. This information is important for you to
know. Accordingly,
I will likely include some questions on the material from this site on
my
tests. So, please do read the information on the site: IU's
site
on Plagiarism
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 Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 to 2:30 pm at my office in
Girard
(202B). 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 is posted near the elevator marking the evacuation
route
& the Designated Rescue Area. This is an area where emergency
service
personnel will first 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
There is free, confidential help on campus for students with
(Learning
Disabilities, Physical Disabilities, Psychological Disabilities, and/or
ADHD). Please contact ODS located in the
Conference Center,
Room 126 in person or at 482-5252 or ods@louisiana.edu. You
can also visit the ODS website (http://disability.louisiana.edu) for
information
on ODS services and on eligibility requirements. Also note that there is free confidential help on
campus
for students with psychological disabilities (Bipolar, Depression,
Anxiety,
etc.) at Counseling & Testing, OKA, or at 482-6480.