Module PSYC3201: The Principles of Learning

Department: Psychology

PSYC3201: The Principles of Learning

Prerequisites

• 60 credits from Level 2 Psychology module

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The course will introduce students to the main findings and theoretical issues that have been derived from research on associative learning in animals and humans.
• The course will explore the applications of associative learning theory to complex behaviours and psychological disorders.

Content

• This module covers advanced topics in associative learning theory first by considering the results of experiments with animals such as rats and pigeons, and then considering how these results have been applied to human behaviour and psychological disorders.
• The module emphasises psychological theory and how experiments in organisms that cannot self-report their cognitive processes can lead to considerable insight into human behaviour.
• Topics may include:
• What is learned in associative thinking?
• Theoretical and empirical analysis of Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning.
• The conditions of learning. Formal accounts of associative learning: Elemental and attention-based models of associative learning.
• Attention and Schizophrenia.
• Discrimination, categorization and concept learning.
• Spatial cognition.
• Avoidance, anxiety and aversion in humans, such as anticipatory nausea in chemotherapy and phobia.
• Instrumental conditioning and its applications to human behaviour such as obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, drug dependence, and relapse of drug self-administration.
• Depression and depressive realism. • Detailed knowledge of classic and contemporary associative learning theory, including current theories, evidence and research methods. Applications of associative learning theory to behaviours such as navigation and categorisation, as well as to some psychological disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, specific anxiety.

Learning Outcomes

• Detailed knowledge of classic and contemporary associative learning theory, including current theories, evidence and research methods. Applications of associative learning theory to behaviours such as navigation and categorisation, as well as to some psychological disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, specific anxiety.

• Ability to review critically and consolidate understanding of a coherent body of theoretical and empirical work and apply it appropriately.

• Good written communication skills
• Good IT skills in word processing, data manipulation and presentation
• Abilities to work independently in scholarship and research within broad guidelines

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students’ acquisition of detailed knowledge will be facilitated by lectures, in-class activities, audio-visual materials, discussions and reading lists.
• These modes of teaching provide students with detailed knowledge of the key theories and the skills needed to evaluate different theoretical positions in light of evidence.
• The summative essay will cover fundamental topics in associative learning theory from lectures earlier in the module. This essay will assess the student’s ability to organise and synthesise knowledge of theoretical principles and empirical studies coherently and critically in written form in response to a question.
• The examination will assess students’ detailed knowledge and understanding of the subject. The examination will consist of higher-level multiple-choice questions and a written essay.
• The multiple-choice questions will assess critical evaluation and synthesis of understanding across the breadth of the module, and not simply knowledge of topics.
• The examination essay (from a choice of four) will be based on topics taught in later lectures. This essay will assess the student’s ability to organise and synthesise acquired knowledge of theoretical principles and empirical studies coherently and critically in written form in response to a question.
• In-class activities will ensure that students are exposed to a range of different theoretical positions and encouraged to understand their inter-relations.
• These modes of teaching will also give students the opportunity to interpret and evaluate the significance of empirical work.
• The summative assignment and essay component of the examination will also assess students’ written communication skills.
• Feedback on the summative assignment will be provided.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University