Psychology (PSYC) 387

Overview

PSYC 387 introduces students to the principles of learning and how those principles can be used to modify human behaviour. The course emphasizes the application of learning theories and principles to solve behavioural problems as they exist in oneself; one's family; schools; the workplace; and in larger social, economic, and political groups.

Topics include reinforcement, extinction, punishment, schedules of reinforcement, stimulus discrimination, prompting and fading, stimulus-response chaining, generalization, modelling, rule-governed behaviour, problem-solving, cognitive therapy, feedback, Pavlovian conditioning, concept learning, general case instruction, and stimulus equivalence.

Outline

• Unit 1: Introduction
• Unit 2: Pavlovian Conditioning and its Applications
• Unit 3: Operant Reinforcement
• Unit 4: Operant and Vicarious Processes
• Unit 5: Generalization, Discrimination, and Stimulus Control
• Unit 6: Schedules of Reinforcement
• Unit 7: Remembering and Forgetting and the Limits of Learning

Evaluation

To receive credit for PSYC387, you must achieve a mark of at least 50 percent on the examination and obtain a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent). You must also complete the project, to the satisfaction of your tutor, and the seven unit quizzes. The weighting of assignments is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Other Materials

The following course materials are available online and include a student manual, a study guide, and a resource file consisting of a reading and exercises supplementary to the course textbook.

Challenge for Credit Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.

Full information about Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit credit for the PSYC 387 challenge registration, you must write the examination alone, worth 100% of your final grade, and you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the examination.

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

• Challenge for Credit Form