2210B-001
Psychology 2210B-001
Introduction to Animal Cognition
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
An introduction to animal cognition, including topics such as classical and operant conditioning, memory, timing, and categorization.
Antirequisite: Psychology 2280E
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 level Psychology course
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Caroline Strang
Office and Phone Number: SSC 8242
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: cstrang@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Hayden MacDonald
Office: SSC
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: hmacdo6@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Mon 2:30-4:30pm, Wed 2:30-3:30pm, SH 3345
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Olmstead, M. C. & Kuhlmeier, V. A. (2015). Comparative Cognition. Cambridge University Press
This is a required text for the course.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course provides students with an introduction to research done in the fields of animal and comparative cognition. The material covered in the course will range from foundational experiments on classical and instrumental conditioning to currents research on topics such as memory systems, problem solving, and neuroscience.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the course students will be able to:
A. Summarize the history of animal cognition research and recognize its contributions to the
fields of psychology, neuroscience and biology.
B. Identify the unique challenges of animal cognition research and describe methods used in
the discipline to handle those challenges.
C. Explain our current understanding of cognition in a number of species and compare the
cognition of a variety of species to identify how evolutionary pressures shape cognition in
animals.
5.0 EVALUATION
Quizzes = 5%
Test 1 = 30%
Test 2 = 30%
Final Exam = 35%
Quizzes will be available online through the OWL webpage. Quizzes will be available each week at 5pm on Mondays and close at 11:59pm on Sundays. All quizzes must be completed, with the lowest quiz grade excluded from calculation of the total quiz grade (5%).
Tests and the final exam will consist of a mixed format (multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, definitions, short answer, and essay). None of the tests will be cumulative.
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Test 1: Monday, February 6th, 2017, 2:30pm SH 3345
Test 2: Monday, March 13th, 2017, 2:30pm SH 3345
Final Exam: TBA - Final Exam Period (April 9-30)
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
*Class schedule is tentative and subject to change*
January 9th and 11th - Introduction and History of Comparative Cognition
Chapter 1
January 16th and 18th - Sensory systems & Memory
Chapter 2 & 3
January 23rd and 25th - Memory & Associative Processes
Chapter 3 & 4
Jan 30th and Feb 1 - Orientation and navigation
Chapter 5
February 6th - TEST 1
Covers chapters 1-5 and corresponding lectures
February 8th - Timing
Chapter 6
February 13th and 15th - Number and Decision Making
Chapter 6 & 7
February 20th and 22nd - READING WEEK
Feb 27th and Mar 1 - Causality and tool use
Chapter 8
March 6th and 8th - Categorization and concept formation
Chapter 9
March 13th - TEST 2
Covers chapters 6-9 and corresponding lectures.
March 15th - Social Competence
Chapter 10
March 20th and 22nd - Social competence & Prosocial Behaviour
Chapter 10 & 11
March 27th and 29th - Communication & Learning from Others
Chapter 12 & 13
April 3rd and 5th - Research in Comparative Cognition and Review
No readings
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/pg117.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2016 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
