Psych 110 Summer 2006 Godsil 1 PSYCH 110: FUNDEMENTALS OF LEARNING MWF 8:30am-9:50am, PAB Room 1434A In this course we will approach learning from the behaviorist perspective and explore the mechanisms by which organisms change their behavior in response to environmental challenges. Our goal is to cultivate a precise understanding of the basic principles of learning phenomena. We will accomplish this goal by surveying numerous experimental studies that have characterized learning phenomena, and by considering both historical and contemporary theories of learning. Tentative Course Outline Date Reading Lecture Topic M 6/26 1-16 Syllabus; Course Introduction W 6/28 17-35 Elicited Behavior F 6/30 35-58 Habituation & Sensitization M 7/3 59-67; 70-74 Pavlovian Conditioning W 7/5 74-79 Excitatory Conditioning F 7/7 79-90 Inhibitory Conditioning M 7/10 91-96 Pavlovian Phenomena 1 W 7/12 96-100 Pavlovian Phenomena 2 F 7/14 ----------- Midterm -bring a Scantron (882-E), pencil, and your student ID M 7/17 100-109 What is learned? W 7/19 109-116 Contiguity F 7/21 117-123 Contingency M 7/24 124-137 Instrumental Conditioning 1 W 7/26 137-151 Instrumental Conditioning 2 F 7/28 162-172 Schedules of Reinforcement M 7/31 251-266 Extinction Learning W 8/2 68-70; 285-287 Neural Systems of Learning F 8/4 ----------- Final Exam -bring a Scantron (882-E), pencil, and your student ID Textbook: "The Principles of Learning and Behavior" (5th Ed.) by Domjan. Exams: Each exam will consist of 60 multiple-choice questions. The exams will include material from the lectures (~66%), readings (~25%), and discussion sections (~8%). Please bring a Scantron (Form 882-E), a #2 pencil and your student ID to each exam. The exams must be taken on the assigned dates. A missed exam will be scored as a failure. I DO NOT OFFER MAKE-UP EXAMS. If you have a DOCUMENTED and SERIOUS medical or legal EMERGENCY I might offer an alternate, essay-format exam. Readings: The readings are listed in the course outline. I recommend that you read and take notes on the reading assignments. Material from the readings not covered in lecture will be included on the exams. Instructor Course Teaching Assistant Discussion Teaching Assistant Bill Godsil, Ph.D. Office: Franz Hall 2549 Office Hours: W 11:00am- 12:30pm and by appointment Email: [email protected] Dana Gant Office: 1243D Office Hours: M/W 2:30pm-3:30pm; F by appointment Email: [email protected] Valerie Carr Office: Franz Hall 7461E Office Hour: W 1:00pm-2:00pm Email: [email protected] 110 Summer 2006 Godsil 2 Discussion Sections: Hourly discussion sections will be conducted by Valerie Carr. Attendance is mandatory and 10% of your course grade will be based on activities conducted in these sessions. Blackboard: I will offer PDF version of the lectures and course documents on the Blackboard website. These learning aids should facilitate your success. Also, your current grades will be listed in the gradebook. Note: the lecture notes are useful, but they are not a practical substitute for attending lecture. URL: http://www.lsic.ucla.edu/classes/psych/current/061/110_061.htm Grading: Final grades are based on the two exams and a section grade. Each exam constitutes 45% of the final grade. The section grade will constitute the remaining 10%. Final grades will be assigned based on UCLA’s recommended undergraduate grade distribution: “A or A-” grades correspond to the top 15-25% of the grade distribution. “B+, B, or B-” grades correspond to the next 25-35% of the grade distribution. "C+, C, or C-" grades correspond to the next 35-40% of the grade distribution. "D+, D, D-" grades correspond to the next 5-10% of the grade distribution. “F” grades correspond to the bottom 3-5% of the grade distribution. Possible Curriculum Change: The details and content of this course are subject to change with notice. Enrollment Issues: Psych 110 is an “Impacted Course”, which may not be dropped after the second week of a term for other than exceptionally extenuating circumstances. Exceptionally extenuating circumstances do not include circumstances of short duration where other alternatives exist, including but not limited to a late drop of other (nonimpacted) courses or taking an Incomplete in the impacted course. Requests to drop an impacted course are referred to a subcommittee of the College of Letters and Science Faculty Executive Committee by College counseling units. If the request is approved, the dropped course appears on the transcript with a notation indicating the date and week of the term in which the drop was filed with the College. Cheating, Plagiarism, and Academic Dishonesty: I have a “zero tolerance” policy regarding cheating, plagiarism, and other acts of academic dishonesty. Any act of academic dishonesty will result in an “F” course grade. Academic dishonesty refers to the act of or assistance of deceiving, including fraud or deception, in any academic exercise. This includes, but not limited to the following actions: • Copying or allowing another student to copy from one’s paper or answer sheet during an exam. • Talking, giving and/or receiving information during an exam by any means, including sign language, hand signals, secret codes, or telepathy. • Representing the works or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise (plagiarism). • Changing answers of a previously scored test or assignment with the intent to defraud. • Using cheat sheets, notes, books, cell phones, palm pilots, spy satellites, crystal balls, or other unauthorized items during an exam. • My cat Bella detests cheating and, as you can see, is quite ferocious. Please do not compromise your academic