School of Psychology PSYC 332: Behaviour Analysis 2013-Trimester 1. Lecturers: N Buist M Hunt A Macaskill

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1 School of Psychology PSYC 332: Behaviour Analysis 2013-Trimester 1 This course introduces students to advanced study in the fields of applied and experimental behaviour analysis. Unlike some branches of psychology the experimental analysis of behaviour is not characterised by the behaviours it examines but by the methods used and variables investigated as potential causes of behaviour. Essentially behaviour analysis is concerned with the interaction between behaviour and the environmental events that precede and follow it. Course Coordinators: Maree Hunt and Anne Macaskill Lecturers: N Buist M Hunt A Macaskill Room: EA417 EA504 EA419 Telephone ext: 5880 Office hours: Thurs 11:30-12:30 Mon 1:30-2:30 Mon :30 Teaching Assistant: Hanna Squire Office hours: Fri 2:00-3:00 EA419 Trimester dates: 4 th March to 3 rd July (including examination period) Withdrawal dates: Dates for withdrawal from this course are available at: Lecture hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs 15:10-16:00 HMLT105 Laboratory hours: Labs start the week beginning Monday 4 th March. That is, labs begin in the first week of the trimester and are held in room EA402. Allocation to one of the following lab streams will take place electronically through s-cubed. To sign up for your lab you will need to go to This will be available from Wednesday February 27. Lab times are : Tuesday 9-11, Tuesday 11-1, Tuesday 1-3, Tuesday 4-6, Wednesday 9-11, Wednesday 11-1, Wednesday 1-3, Wednesday 3-5, Thursday 9-11, Thursday 11-1, or Thursday 1-3. NB:Students should keep their assigned laboratory time free of other scheduled classes but note laboratory work outside these hours is also required during some weeks. Prerequisites: PSYC 232, PSYC 233 and PSYC 231 Textbook: Mazur, J. (2007e) Learning and Behavior (7 th ed.). Pearson Higher Ed USA

2 Mandatory Course Requirements Attendance at all laboratory classes and completion of all practical work are mandatory course requirements. If you are unable to attend a laboratory due to illness, please contact the Teaching Assistant within 48 hours of your missed lab. If you know you will not be able to attend a laboratory class in advance then let us know as soon as possible. We will arrange an alternative lab or other assignment for you. Please note that if you obtain a passing grade based on the course assessment but have failed to meet these mandatory course requirements you will be given a non-passing grade for the class. Academic requirement for passing the course 332 labs are mandatory! An overall average of not less than 50% taken over: a) Two 45-minute class tests each worth 15% of the final mark. b) Three lab assignments each worth 10 % of the final mark. c) A final registry examination during the exam period worth 40% of the final mark 30% 30% 40% Final Examination Time. The 40 percent final three hour examination for this course will be scheduled to occur at some time during the mid-year examination period 10 June 3 July Internal Assessment Details Test 1: Tuesday 16th April Test questions will be drawn from lecture material up to and including Thursday 11 th April 2013 and relevant chapters in Mazur. Test 2: Tuesday 28 th May Test questions will be drawn from lecture material from Thursday 18 th April 2013 up to and including 23 rd May 2013 and relevant chapters in Mazur. Laboratory Assignments There are three laboratory assignments. The first assignment relates to the Laboratory work completed in Laboratory Class 3. The exercise associated with Lab 3 is due (in the box outside EA402) on April 11th 2013 at 4.30pm. The second laboratory assignment is associated with Lab 5 and is due (in the box outside EA402) 4:30pm 16 th May Preliminary details of these exercises are specified in the relevant sections in the online Manual available on Blackboard during the relevant lab weeks. There is a choice for the third laboratory assignment. You can complete the marked assignment for Laboratory 6 or the marked assignment for Laboratory 7. The completed exercise associated with Lab 6 or Lab 7 is due (in the box outside EA402) at 4:30pm on Tuesday 4 th June 2013.

3 Reports are to be posted in the box outside EA402 and some may be submitted electronically through the assignment folder on Blackboard. The electronic version should exclude figures and your reference section. We may submit these electronic versions to the turnitin website. While there is no word limit for these lab exercises you should focus on quality rather than quantity and provide exactly what the instructions for each exercise require. Extensions and late work Laboratory assignments handed in late incur the following penalties: 1 day late = 3% deduction, 2 days late = 6% deduction and so on until 5 days late when the mark will be zero! If there are good reasons for being late with or failing to hand in any piece of assessment or you are unable to attend a test then please contact Maree Hunt or Anne Macaskill immediately! Workload The expected workload for this course is 150 hours. This includes 50 hours in lectures and lab classes, 30 hours preparing assignments, 30 hours on readings and 40 hours test and exam preparation. Plagiarism Academic integrity means that university staff and students, in their teaching and learning are expected to treat others honestly, fairly and with respect at all times. It is not acceptable to mistreat academic, intellectual or creative work that has been done by other people by representing it as your own original work. Academic integrity is important because it is the core value on which the University s learning, teaching and research activities are based. Victoria University s reputation for academic integrity adds value to your qualification. The University defines plagiarism as presenting someone else s work as if it were your own, whether you mean to or not. Someone else s work means anything that is not your own idea. Even if it is presented in your own style, you must acknowledge your sources fully and appropriately. This includes: Material from books, journals or any other printed source The work of other students or staff Information from the internet Software programs and other electronic material Designs and ideas The organisation or structuring of any such material Find out more about plagiarism, how to avoid it and penalties, on the University s website: Use of Turnitin Student work provided for assessment in this course may be checked for academic integrity by the electronic search engine Turnitin is an online plagiarism prevention tool

4 which compares submitted work with a very large database of existing material. Turnitin will retain a copy of submitted material on behalf of the University for detection of future plagiarism, but access to the full text of submissions is not made available to any other party. Blackboard PSYC 332 uses the online system Blackboard. You need to check it at least once each week for further information and any updates regarding the course. Other resources The course makes use of PASS. Information on this will be given in the first lecture and on blackboard. No special materials or equipment is required for this course. Course Content This course explores the interaction between the environment, an organism and its behaviour and seeks to further your understanding of how everyday and problem behaviours can be understood in terms of basic behavioural principles. The course introduces recent research findings, theoretical developments and applications based on these. Topics covered include: Advanced research and quantitative theories related to operant behaviour including models of self-control, economic behaviour, gambling and addiction. Methodological issues including: Single subject experimental designs; functional analysis; observational methods and animal analogues. Theoretical explanations and applications of Pavlovian conditioning. Comparative cognition Learning without trial and error verbal behaviour and observational learning Private events thinking, feeling, seeing. Course Objectives At the end of the course students should be able: Demonstrate knowledge of theory and research related to operant and classical conditioning with particular emphasis on animal analogues of human learning. Apply behavioural principles to a range of situations. Illustrate theoretical concepts with empirical data and practical examples. Carry out an experiment and analyse, interpret and concisely report results. Attainment of the first three of these objectives is assessed through the in-class tests and final examination. The last objective is assessed through the laboratory programme and associated assessment exercises.

5 Laboratory Programme The purpose of the laboratory programme is to provide practical experience with research techniques and demonstrate a selection of phenomena described in the lectures and readings. Attendance at all laboratories and satisfactory completion of the practical work is a mandatory course requirement. Laboratory based exercises contribute a total of 30 % of your final grade. Students are expected to spend an average of four hours per week working on the laboratory programme. This time, however, is not distributed evenly throughout the course with some weeks requiring a greater time commitment than others. The laboratory component has been designed to meet the following objectives: To enable you to acquire a methodical approach to experimentation and to realise the importance of careful observation. To give you practical experience of some of the forms of learning covered in the textbook and lectures. To give you the opportunity to learn how to record and summarise experimental results both graphically and in words. In addition you are expected to correctly interpret these results. NB A major research tool in this area is the use of animal subjects. Consequently, two labs involve training rats in standard behavioural procedures. If you have any concerns regarding these exercises please feel free to approach either the lecturers or the teaching assistant. Suggested Further Reading This list is by no means exhaustive and students may well find other books and Journals that are also useful in the library. Books Martin, G. & Pear, J. (1996) Behavior Modification: What It Is And How To Do It (5 th Ed) New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Reynolds, G. S. (1968). A Primer in Operant Conditioning. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman & Co. Skinner, B.F. (1938). Science and Human Behaviour. New York: MacMillan. Journals The following list of journals comprises a few titles that are most relevant to PSYC 332. Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis BF636 J86 Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behaviour Processes BF1 E96 A

6 Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour BF1 E96 H1 BF199 J86 General University Statutes and Policies Students should familiarise themselves with the University s policies and statutes, particularly the Assessment Statute, the Personal Courses of Study Statute, the Statute on Student Conduct and any statutes relating to the particular qualifications being studied; see the Victoria University Calendar or go to the Academic Policy and Student Policy sections on: The AVC(Academic) website also provides information for students in a number of areas including Academic Grievances, Student and Staff conduct, Meeting the needs of students with impairments, and student support/vuwsa student advocates. This website can be accessed at: Where to find more detailed information Find key dates, explanations of grades and other useful information at Find out about academic progress and restricted enrolment at The University s statutes and policies are available at except qualification statutes, which are available via the Calendar webpage at (See Section C). Further information about the University s academic processes can be found on the website of the Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at

7 Lecture & Laboratory Outline Date Topic Mazur Laboratory Assessment Mar 4 Introduction/Revision 5 & 6 Lab 1: Essential Skills : Mar 5 Pavlovian Research and Shaping and the Three 3 & 4 Theory Term Contingency and Rat Mar 7 " " " lab organisation Mar 11 Applying Pavlovian " conditioning Lab 2: Rat Labs: Shaping Mar 12 Stimulus Control 9 Mar 14 " " " Mar 18 Stimulus Control applications " Mar 19 The nature of consequences 6,7 & 8 Mar 21 " " " Mar 25 " " " Mar 26 ABA interventions " EASTER BREAK Apr 4 ABA interventions " Apr 8 Autism " Lab 5 Community Apr 9 Behavioural Economics 6 intervention Apr 11 " " " Apr 15 Review Apr 16 Test Apr 18 Generalised Operants: Rule Governed Behaviour 6 Lab 3: Rat labs: Schedule control Lab 4: Essential Skills 2: Presenting data. Intro to intervention Lab 5 Continued MID TRIMESTER BREAK Apr 29 Observation Learning 11 Apr 30 " " " Lab 5 Continued May 2 Equivalence Classes 9 May 6 " " " Lab 6: Concurrent May7 Comparative Cognition 10 schedules May 9 " " " May 13 " " " May 14 Choice 13 May 16 Choice " May 20 Self control " Optional Tutorial: May 21 Gambling & Risk taking 13 & 6 May 23 " " Lab 7: Choice in complex environments Modelling data: Analysis and interpretation of Labs 5 and 6 Lab 3 10 % exercise due Apr 11 th 4.30 pm 15 % Test 1 April 16 th Lab 5 10 % exercise due May 16 th 4:30 pm May 27 Review 15 % Test 2: May May 28 Test 28th May 30 Private events 1 June 3 Queens Birthday Lab 6 or 7 10 % June 4 Private events exercise due June June 6 Private events 4 th 4:30 pm