Psychology
340-Learning
Instructor: Tamara King...
I am a graduate student in the behavioral neuroscience area of
Psychology.
I have been a graduate student for 4 years now, and I have been a
TA and co-taught this course before.
Office: Bizzel- Room 251
Phone: TBA
Office Hours: M, W, TH - 12:45-1:45
E-Mail:
tek2478@acs.tamu.edu
Webpage:
http://graulab.tamu.edu
Feel free to e-mail questions to me through my e-mail address.
I check my e-mail more often than I check my phone messages, so
you may get my attention sooner by e-mailing me.
READING
TEXT: Principles of Learning and Behavior, 3rd ed., by M. Domjan
OTHER READINGS: On reserve in Evans library
COURSE GOALS:
1. You will learn about different kinds of learning in humans and
animals.
2. You will learn about how different theories account for how we
learn.
3. You will learn about how animal research is used for more than
expanding our knowledge.
4. You will learn how this research helps with some problems that
we face as individuals and as a society.
5. You will learn about the comparative cognitive capabilities
across different species.
EXAMS: EXAM FORMAT:
Exam 1 - 100pts Section I: Matching
Exam 2 - 100pts Section II: Short answer
Exam 3 - 100pts
Final - 100pts (50pts old; 50pts new)
MAKE UP POLICY: *Make-up exams will be essay format*
To make up an exam you must:
1. Have a university approved excuse.
2. Contact instructor within 1 week of scheduled exam date.
COURSE CONTENT
Historical Precedents (Domjan,
chapter 1)
9/2 Introduction
9/4 Why study learning in animals?
9/6 Locke-Watson (Wertheimer, chpt 2, 4, 10;
Benjamin, pp. 395-424)
9/9 Pavlov and Thorndike (Benjamin, pp.
358-374)
9/11 Hull and Tolman (Benjamin, chpt.
14)
9/13 Skinner
Nonassociative
Mechanisms
9/16 Habituation and Opponent Process Theory
(Solomon, 1980)
9/18 Sensitization and Dual Process
Theory
9/20 Biological Mechanisms Basics
9/23 Biological Mechs. of Nonassociative
Learning(Kandel, pp. 1009-1019)
9/25 ***EXAM***
Associative Mechanisms: Encoding
the Relation Between Stimuli
9/27 Basics of Pavlovian Conditioning
(Domjan, chpt. 3)
9/30 Compound Stimulus Effects
10/2 Interaction With Other Types of
Learning
10/4 Biological constraints-Garcia effects
(Domjan, chpt. 4)
10/7 When does learning occur?
10/9 Models of Learning: Rescorla-Wagner
Model (Pearce, chpts. 4 & 5)
10/11 Rescorla-Wagner Model
(continued)
10/14 Expansions of Rescorla-Wagner Model:
Conditioned Opponent Theory
10/16 Expansion of Rescorla-Wagner Model:
SOP
10/18 Recent Developments:
Facilitation
10/21 Biological Account of Classical
Conditioning
10/23 ***EXAM***
Associative Mechanisms: Encoding
the Relation Between Stimuli + Responses
10/25 Basics of Instrumental Learning
(Domjan, chpt. 5)
10/28 Avoidance Learning and Two-Factor
Theory (Domjan, chpt 6 & 7)
10/30 Problems with Two-Factor Theory
(Domjan, chpt 7)
11/1 Reinforcement and Performance (Domjan,
chpts. 9 & 10)
11/4 Premack Principle
11/6 Extinction and Partial Reinforcement
Effects
11/8 What is Learned in Instrumental
Conditioning?
11/11 Learned Helplessness (Petterson,
Maier, & Seligman, chpts. 3 & 4)
11/13 Clinical Implications of Learned
Helplessness
11/15 ***EXAM***
11/18 No class: NEUROSCIENCE
MEETING
11/20 No class: NEUROSCIENCE
MEETING
Comparative Cognition
11/22 Basics of Comparative Cognition
11/25 Where does Cognition Take
Place?
11/27 Imagery
11/29 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
12/2 Spatial and Observational
Learning
12/4 Reasoning in Chimps
12/6 Language in Chimps
12/9 Language in Other Species
12/18 10:30-12:30 FINAL EXAM