Psychology 4224G-001

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.

Given the University’s directive to move all Winter 2020 classes online beginning Wednesday, March 18, it is necessary to revise the course outline for the course specified above. The purpose of this document is to communicate these revisions in a clear and concise manner. This document serves as a formal revision to the course outline and any revisions to the grading scheme supersede previously agreed-upon course requirements.

 

Table 1: Course Schedule1

 

Week of

Original course content / learning outcomes

Revised course content / learning outcomes

Revised means of delivery

March 9

 

N/A

N/A

March 16

Class presentation

Powerpoint

OWL

March 23

Class presentation

Powerpoint

OWL

March 30

Class presentation

Powerpoint

OWL

1 This schedule is considered binding as of March 18, 2020.

 

Table 2: Course Grading Scheme2

 

Assessment/Component

Original Weight

Revised Weight

Revised Date or Due Date

To whom does the change apply?3

Class Participation

10%

Same

 

 

4 thought papers

5% each

Same

2 before and 2 after Feb. 26

 

Class Presentation

35%

Same

3 remaining on March 18, 25, and April 1

 

Essay

35%

Same

Within 2 weeks after class presentation

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Note that previously completed assessments may have been re-weighted. Since alternatives to final exams are still under discussion, this scheme may need to be revised. Any revisions will be announced as “Revision 2” by April 3, 2020.

3 Some changes may only apply to some students (e.g., those who have missed a make-up exam)

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

This course examines cognition in animals, from basic mechanisms of learning and memory to specialized processes of timing, spatial orientation, numerical ability, tool use, and metacognition. The role of cognition in the lives of animals in the wild is examined along with the organization and neural basis of animal cognition.

Prerequisites: Psychology 2220A/B, 2221A/B or Neuroscience 2000, and registration in third or fourth year Honours Specialization in Psychology, Honours Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Honours Specialization in Neuroscience, or Honours Specialization in Animal Behaviour.

Other Psychology students and Psychology Special Students who receive 70% in the prerequisite course may enrol in this 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.

Antirequisites: Psychology 4290F/G, if taken in 2013/14, 2014/15 or 2015/16

 

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.

3 seminar hours, 0.5 course

 

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

 

       Instructor:         William Roberts

       Office:               SSC 7310

       Office Hours:    By appointment                       

       Email:               roberts@uwo.ca                  

 

Time and Location of Classes:   Wednesdays 1:30 – 4:30pm Stevenson Hall 3166

                                                                                   

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western

http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course surveys current research in animal cognition. Readings will examine a number of different cognitive abilities in animals, including memory, spatial navigation, timing, numerical discrimination, concept learning, and different types of reflective consciousness. Interspecies comparisons will be examined, including with humans. The role of evolutionary adaptation in the development of cognitive processes and their contributions to survival and reproduction will be examined. This course will address a broad range of questions about animal cognition, including the relation between simple rules of learning and complex cognition, evolutionary specialization of learning, and the relation between cognition in animals and humans.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Learning Outcome

Learning Activities

Assessment

Knowledge and Understanding

Describe and explain key concepts and research findings in animal cognition.

 

Show understanding of research designed to understand cognitive processes through an animal’s behaviour.

 

Examine evolutionary, ecological, and neural factors responsible for cognitive abilities.

Reading

 

Participating in class discussion

 

Preparing for a class presentation

 

Writing thought papers

 

Writing final essay

Thought papers

 

Class presentation

 

Class participation

 

Final Essay

Critical Thinking

Use Web of Science to locate current relevant research findings.

 

Organize and synthesize research results.

 

Critically evaluate concepts and theories.

 

Formulate testable hypotheses about animal cognition.

Preparing for class presentation

 

Writing final essay

 

Thought papers

 

Class presentation

 

Class participation

 

Final Essay

 

Communication

Communicate ideas and research-based evidence orally and in writing in a professional manner.

 

Participating in class discussion

 

Leading class discussion

 

Delivering class presentation

 

Writing thought papers

 

Writing final essay

Thought papers

 

Class presentation

 

Class participation

 

Final essay

 

 

5.0     EVALUATION

Students are expected to attend all classes and to read all assigned material. Each student will select one of the weekly topics for which she/he will prepare and lead class discussion of assigned materials and additional background material. Students will usually lead class discussion in groups of two or more. An essay on the topic of the presentation will be submitted no more than 2 weeks after the presentation. Each student will also select four topics on which they will prepare short thought papers. Evaluation will be based on the presentation, essay, thought papers, and class participation.

 

Participation in Discussion 10%: 5% up to Feb 26; 5% from March 4 to April 1

 

Thought Papers 20%: 4 at 5% each; at least 2 by Feb 26

 

Class Presentation 35%

 

Essay 35% Due 2 weeks following presentation

 

Leading Class Discussion. Students are expected to introduce and discuss the assigned material, raise questions about ideas and research findings, and describe any additional research results or topics they have examined. Each class discussion will be led by a group of students, and each student will participate in leading one class discussion. Presenting questions that allow other students to contribute is important. Students may wish to use PowerPoint to show figures, illustrations, graphs and tables.

 

The Essay is a written description and discussion of the topic presented in class. The essay can also have a broader coverage and can include material not presented in class. Maximum length is 10 double spaced pages, about 2500 words. Style should follow the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual. Essays are due two weeks following the class presentation.

 

Thought Papers are short (500 word maximum) reports on an assigned reading or readings for class, selected by the student. Each student will submit 4 thought papers. Thought papers on an assigned reading are due the day that reading is discussed in class. Thought papers are intended to be brief discussions of assigned articles and can include critiques, commentary, questions, comparisons to other research results, proposals for further research, relevant ideas discussed in other courses, or similar material. You must submit at least 2 Thought Papers by February 26.

 

As with all E, F and G courses, you must pass the essay component of the course to pass the course. That is, your average mark on the Essay and Thought Papers combined must be at least 50%.

 

Class Participation is marked on the basis of participation in discussion. Participation in class can consist of asking or answering questions about the assigned readings and class topic, contributing additional information from other courses or your own reading, or similar involvement in classroom discussion. You will receive a grade for half of your participation mark up to February 26 and a grade for the remaining half of the participation at the end of the course.

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%.

 

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 Western's 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  ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE

There are no tests or examinations in this course. Evaluation is based on the components described above in Section 5.0

 

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

January 8

Introduction

15

Memory

22

Keeping Track of Time

29

Numerical Cognition

February 5

Spatial Cognition

12

Concept Learning

19

Reading Week

26

Mental Time Travel

March 4

Theory of Mind

11

Metacognition

18

Self Awareness

25

Communication and Language

April 1

Tool Use and Tool Making

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

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

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/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12

 

The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf


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

 

If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;

For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html

Students seeking academic consideration:

  • are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;  
  • are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;

must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence



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
- 2019-2020 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.

Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.