COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY (PSYCH 3113 - FALL, 2002)
General Information
Instructor: Dr. Charles I. Abramson
Office: Psychology Department - North Murray 401
Laboratory: Life Sciences West - 117
Phone: 744-6027 (Office), 744-6561 (Lab)
Office Hour: Monday 9:00 – 10:00 and by Appointment
Class Times: M,W, F 12:30-1:20 (CLB 213)
Pre-requisites: A desire to learn
Course Goals: Psychology 3113 will introduce you to the basic principles, concepts, and technical
language of the comparative analysis of behavior. The format will be lectures and laboratory experiences.
Materials: The
reading assignments will come predominately from A primer of invertebrate
learning (Abramson, 1994). The book is available from the OSU bookstore. Occasionally the books will be supplemented with additional readings.
A second source of materials will come from the lectures and discussions. The lectures will overlap the books but will often not be identical to it.
A third source of materials will come from the laboratory section. The laboratories are designed to illustrate the lectures.
A fourth source of materials, and perhaps the most important, are your experiences, goals, desires, and expectations. Be motivated!
Examinations: There will be three exams. The first two exams will be approximately 50 short answer – multiple choice questions and worth 33.3% of your grade. The final examination is an approximately 70 question test in a multiple choice - short answer format. The final is cumulative. The grading scale is: A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 60-69; F = 0-59.
Attendance: Attendance in lectures is strongly encouraged. Attendance will provide you with the
opportunity to discuss and learn about material that is not covered in the readings. It is your responsibility to notify me of any circumstances that may interfere with your work in the course.
Important! Do not make the mistake that because the readings are comparably light this course
will be “easy.” Nothing could be further from the truth. You are only assigned one book in an effort to keep your book costs low. Much of the material will not be in the books!
Dropping: Last day to add a course (nonrestrictive) 8-23-02
Last day to add a course (restrictive) 8-30-02
Last day to drop a course with no grade: 8-30-02
Last day to drop a course with an automatic grade of “W”: 11-8-02
Last day to withdraw from all courses with automatic grade of “W”: 11-8-02
Last day to withdraw from all courses with assigned grades of “W” or “F” 11-27-02
Cheating: It goes without saying that academic dishonesty will not be permitted.
You will be required to leave the class and be given a grade of “F”.
LECTURE SCHEDULE
Date Topic Reading
8-19M Syllabus; Orientation Lec
8-21W What is comparative psychology Ch. 1, 2
8-23F History of comparative psychology I Lec
8-26M History of comparative psychology II Lec
8-28W Comparative psychology around the world Lec
9-2M Holiday
9-4W How to design a comparative experiment II Lec
9-6F Tools of the trade I Ch. 3
9-9M Tools of the trade II Ch. 3
9-11W Nonassociative learning I Ch. 4
9-16M Associative learning I Ch. 5, 6
9-18W Associative learning II Ch. 5, 6
9-20F Some comparative data I Lec
9-23M Some comparative data II Lec
9-25W Practical applications of comparative psychology Lec
9-30M Test 1 (all readings, notes, slides, movies)
10-2W Comparative cognition I Lec
10-4F Comparative cognition II Lec
10-7 Fall Break
10-9W Cross-cultural psychology I Lec
10-11F Cross – cultural psychology II Lec
10-14M Comparative intelligence I Lec
10-18F Comparative social behavior I Lec
10-21M Comparative social behavior II Lec
10-23W Comparative reproductive behavior I Lec
10-25F Comparative reproductive behavior II
10-30W Comparative Physiology II Ch 7
11-1F Feeding behavior I Lec
11-4M Feeding behavior II Lec
11-6W TBA
11-8F Review Test 2 (all readings, notes, slides, movies)
11-11M Test 2
11-13W Aggressive behavior I Lec
11-15F Aggressive behavior II Lec
11-18M Animals in War I Lec
11-20W Animals in War II Lec
11-22F Animals in therapy I Lec
11-25M Animals in therapy II Lec
11-27W Review
11-29F Holiday
12-2M Dead Week
12-4W Dead Week
12-6F Dead Week
12-13F Final (Cumulative) 10:00-11:50