Psychology of Learning

Fall - 2024

GRADES
PRESENTATIONS
Positive/Negative Reinforcement/Punishment Quiz!

Instructor:	Stephen T. Paul, Ph.D.		Office Hours:	M/W: 1:00-3:30
Office:	122 Scaife			& by appointment.
Phone:	(412) 397-5416		E-mail:	paul@rmu.edu

People don't change their behavior unless it makes a difference for them to do so.

-- Fran Tarkenton

Overview:	Learning has been defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience. Learning theories have been developed and tested widely in psychology. Clinical, educational, school and developmental psychologists draw heavily from learning theories, as does any area dealing with animals. Actually, it would be difficult to come up with many fields that, whether it's realized or not, do not rely to some degree on learning theory. So, basically this class represents a core of knowledge serving as part of the foundation of many areas in psychology. This course will emphasize classic studies as well as applications. I hope that you come away from this class with (1) a broader understanding of psychology in general, (2) a respectable grasp of the issues reviewed and, (3) an appreciation of the influence of learning theory across the fields of psychology as well as its applications to daily life.
Texts:	[1] Chance, P., & Furlong, Ellen (2023). Learning and Behavior, 8th Ed. Cengage.       CENGAGE.COM = eBook: 9780357658130 [~$50.00] - Paperback: 9780357658116 [~$164.95] [2] Morell, V. (2013). Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of our Fellow Creatures. New York: Crown. [978-0-307-46144-5]       Amazon Hardback: [$2.00-$40.00] - Amazon Paperback: [$2.00-$17.00] - Kindle: [~$12.00] [3] de Waal, F. (2013). Mama's Last Hug: Animal emotions and what they tell us about ourselves. New York: Norton. [978-0-393-63506-5]       Amazon Hardback: [$8.00-$18.00] - Amazon Paperback: [$6.00-$15.00] - Kindle: [~$6.00]
Web Site:	http://www.drspeg.com/courses/courses.html
Objectives:	Upon successful mastery of this course, students should: Have developed an understanding and appreciation of the major themes, issues and methods recognized within this foundation area of psychology. Be familiar with research techniques and findings that illustrate fundamental learning concepts. Be able to understand and differentiate among learning theories. Demonstrate an ability to apply learning concepts to everyday behavior. Gain a deeper understanding of how humans learn. Be able to list significant theoretical and empirical developments that focused and stimulated interest in the history of human learning research. Be able to describe basic operant and classical conditioning procedures, including the significance of both positive and negative punishment and reinforcement.
Policies:	Attendance: Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes. Specific absence policies are determined by each academic department and faculty member, announced at the beginning of each course, and presented in the course syllabus. Students whose absence exceeds the announced departmental or faculty policy may receive academic sanctions up to and including a course grade of "F." Such students are permitted to attend the remaining classes but are not permitted to take any examinations. In this course, attendance is strongly recommended, but your final grade will not be directly tied to attendance. Academic Integrity: Academic Integrity is one of this university's highest ethical values. All students are expected to understand and adhere to the standards of Academic Integrity as stated in the RMU Academic Integrity Policy, which can be found on the RMU website at www.rmu.edu/ai. Any student who violates the Academic Integrity Policy is subject to possible judicial proceedings that may result in sanctions, as indicated in the Policy. Depending on the severity of the violation, sanctions may range from receiving a zero on an assignment, to being dismissed from the university. If you have any questions about the Policy, please consult your course instructor. NOTE: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology for the completion of coursework is not allowed unless expressly permitted by the instructor for the course. Excerpt from Robert Morris University Student Academic Integrity Policy and Judicial Procedures document (June 1, 2011, p. 3) - Violation of "Fair Use": As noted, students' projects may include any of the following works: speeches, PowerPoint presentations, web pages, charts, graphs, illustrations, images, photographs, drawings, cartoons, and the like material obtained through people such as news sources, video and audio recordings, interviews, and the like information and opinions obtained through electronic media such as web sites, blogs, images, video as well as audio materials, and the like. Improper use of any such work or similar authored by other people is a violation of academic integrity as is the failure to comply with "fair-use" requirements. In many cases, written permission from the artist is required for use in a student's project. Students who feature the original artistic media works of others in their projects should ensure that they have complied with the legal and artistic implications of this use. This includes knowledge of the concepts of "licensing," "copyright," "fair use" and "public domain." (See www.fairusenetwork.com) Accessibility Accommodations for Students: Robert Morris University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. If you have, or think you may have, a disability that would impact your educational experience in this class, please contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) to schedule a meeting with the SAS Coordinator and Assistant Director Molly Hill. She will confidentially discuss your needs, review your documentation, and engage with you in the interactive process to determine your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. To learn more about academic accommodations, please visit http://rmu.edu/sas, email sas@rmu.edu, or call 412.397.6884. Masking: You may elect to wear face masks in the classroom. Please respect individual decisions about whether to mask. Any negative response to an individual who elects to wear a mask will be reported to Student Conduct. If you are feeling ill but well enough to attend class, we strongly encourage the use of a face mask until you are feeling well. In an Emergency: RMU Police emergency response telephone number is: 412-397-2424. From campus telephones dial only: 2424. RMU Alert: All students are urged to sign up for the RMU emergency alert notifications at www.rmu.edu/rmualert. Always check with RMU to see if classes are in session during inclement weather. Lectures & Readings: I expect that you will have read each chapter before we meet in class to discuss it. When you read, take note of portions that you don't understand well, or that you might have questions about. In this way you will arrive prepared for class to discuss the material like a true scholar. Grading: Five exams will constitute 75 percent of your final grade (10 percent for the 1st exam, 12 percent for the 2nd exam, 15 percent for the 3rd exam, 18 percent for the 4th exam, and 20 percent for the 5th -cumulative final- exam). The class presentation (9 percent presentation; 6 percent participation) will be worth 15 percent. Quizzes will contribute the remaining 10 percent of your grade. The breakdown below will be used to determine final grades (based on overall percentage earned by semester's end): A = 93.0 - 100 B = 83.0 - 86.9 C = 70.0 - 74.9 A- = 90.0 - 92.9 B- = 80.0 - 82.9 D = 60.0 - 69.9 B+ = 87.0 - 89.9 C+ = 75.0 - 79.9 F = 0 - 59.9 Use of Personal Technologies During Classtime: Laptops, cell phones, MP3 players, or any technology that distracts you (and/or your neighbors) from course content and delivery are prohibited in my classroom (unless you have a specific and RMU approved accommodation). If you are caught using ANY technologies during class time without prior permission, you will be asked to leave. Exception: Audio recording is allowed.

Schedule of Events:

This is provided as a general outline and ordering of what we will be covering throughout the semester. I've indicated approximate dates (weeks) for the exams but the exact test-date will be announced in class (usually) one week prior to each exam (the final-exam date, of course, is already known).

	Week of:	Lecture Topics	Assigned Readings		Presentations [Day]
			Chance & Furlong	Virginia Morell
1	August 26	Introduction: Learning to Change	Chapter one
2	September 2	The Study of Learning and Behavior	Chapter two
3	September 9	Exam I	Review chapters 1, 2 & notes.	Introduction & Handout
4	September 16	Pavlovian Conditioning	Chapter three
5	September 23	Pavlovian Applications	Chapter four	Fath & Nicholson - Ch 4	Wednesday
6	September 30	Exam II	Review chapters 3, 4, & notes.	Scammell & Slaybaugh - Ch 5	Monday
7	October 7	Operant Learning: Reinforcement	Chapter five	Knight - Ch 6 Peterson & Shotto - Ch 7	Wednesday Wednesday
8	October 14			Grassa & Nicholas - Ch 8 Bosack & Brennan - Ch 9	Monday Wednesday
9	October 21	Reinforcement: Beyond Habit	Chapter six	Brandon & Moore - Ch 10	Wednesday
10	October 28	Exam III	Review chapters 5, 6, & notes.
11	November 4	Schedules of Reinforcement	Chapter seven	Croyle & Skoff - From Wolf to Dog	Monday
12	November 11	Operant Learning: Punishment	Chapter eight	Kilpatrick & Vuletich - How Orcas Work Together Giovannelli & Sawyer - An Ape Matriarch's Farewell	Monday Wednesday
13	November 18	Exam IV	Review chapters 7, 8, & notes.	Dine & Krut - Window to the Soul	Monday
	November 25	Fall Break (no classes this week: M/W)
14	December 2	Operant Applications	Chapter nine	Collins & Robinson - Body to Body Fagerstrom & Williams - Will to Power	Monday Wednesday
15	December 9 [W]			TBA
Final Exam		Wednesday, December 11, 2024, from 3:30 to 5:30 pm.

Map of Course Objectives to Program Outcomes
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS	PROGRAM OUTCOMES	COURSE OBJECTIVES
Exams	1. Explain key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.	1, 2, 3, 6, 7
Exams	2. Apply the principles of psychology to individual and social behavior.	4, 5
Anthropomorphism Paper & Presentation	3. Demonstrate information literacy in the field of psychology	2, 5
Exams	4. Engage in innovative and integrative thinking and problem solving in psychology.	2, 3, 4, 5, 7
	5. Interpret, design, and conduct basic or applied psychological research.
	6. Understand individuals from different cultural and developmental perspectives.
Exams	7. Apply ethical standards to psychological science and practice.	2, 4, 5
Anthropomorphism Paper	8. Write effectively for different purposes in psychology.	1, 4, 5
Anthropomorphism Presentation Quiz Writing	9. Exhibit effective presentation skills for different purposes in psychology.	4, 5
Exams	10. Apply psychological content and skills to career goals.	4, 5