PSYCO 281 Principles of Behaviour

Psychology 281 is an introduction to learning and conditioning. The course is designed to introduce the principles that behaviour change is based on. The intent of this approach is to familiarize students with the body of research, mostly based on animal work, which allows for further reading on conditioning and learning. Much of the lecture material comes from basic research, however, applied examples will frequently be used and application of principles will often be obvious. Prerequisite: PSYCO 104. 

PSYCO 381 Principles of Learning

In this course we will examine a variety of fundamental learning processes, primarily as investigated through research with non-human subjects. We will begin with an examination of elementary forms of learning and then progress to a consideration of more complex learning and cognitive processes. Some specific phenomena we will examine include: habituation and sensitization, classical (Pavlovian) conditioning, operant (instrumental) conditioning, discrimination learning, avoidance learning and punishment, memory and cognition in animals. The main focus of this course will be on understanding the mechanisms that underlie these various forms of learning. Thus, the treatment of these topics will be considerably more theoretical than in the prerequisite course (281). Although the primary focus of this course is on structural analyses of learning processes, some consideration will also be given to the biological function of learning and cognitive processes, and to promising applications of learning to the understanding of human behaviour and problems. Prerequisites: PSYCO 281 and STAT 151 (or former PSYCO 211). 

PSYCO 385 - Applications of Learning

An examination of the ways in which principles of conditioning and learning have been applied to areas of human concern. Biomedical and behavioural implications of learning principles will be examined in terms of the empirical foundations of the principles, and the successes or problems encountered in applying the principles to the understanding or treatment of human behaviour. Prerequisites: PSYCO 381.

PSYCO 482 - Methods of Behavior and Learning

This course is designed for students with particular interests in the experimental analysis of phenomena of learning. It will examine the laboratory techniques used to study Pavlovian conditioning, instrumental learning, and other behavioral phenomena involving processes of learning. Prerequisite: PSYCO 381. 

PSYCO 485 - Theory in Learning and Comparative Cognition

A theoretical analysis of topics such as Pavlovian conditioning, instrumental learning, working memory, timing, concept learning, and order and numerical competence.  Also discussed will be the purposes and nature of theories and the historical development of theory in learning and comparative cognition. Prerequisite: PSYCO 381. 

PSYCO 486 - Advanced Topics in Learning

Topic - Memory: A Psychobiological Approach

Psychology is a biological discipline and the approach to the analysis of the principles and phenomena of memory in PSYCO 486, a psychobiological approach, will explicitly reflect the notion of psychology as a biological science. Topics include: causes of forgetting, short-term retention, memory for spatial location, ontogeny of memory, amnesia and memory modulation, recovery from forgetting, and the relation between memory and learning. Prerequisite: PSYCO 381. 

PSYCO 496 / PSYCO 498 - Individual Research

A course designed to allow the senior undergraduate student the opportunity to pursue a research topic in greater depth than the classroom structure permits. This pursuit may take the form of directed reading, library research, and/or laboratory experience. A formal paper, research proposal, research report, annotated bibliography, lab notes, and/or essay is required. Prerequisites: A 300-level psychology course and consent of the Department.