PSYCH204-19A (HAM)

Behavioural Psychology and Perception

15 Points

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Division of Arts Law Psychology & Social Sciences
School of Psychology

Staff

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Convenor(s)

Tim Edwards

Tim Edwards
9409
J.1.01
To be advised
tim.edwards@waikato.ac.nz

John Perrone

John Perrone
9229
K.1.08
Monday 9 - 11am
john.perrone@waikato.ac.nz

Lecturer(s)

Administrator(s)

: donna.walsh@waikato.ac.nz

Placement Coordinator(s)

Tutor(s)

: tokiko.taylor@waikato.ac.nz

Student Representative(s)

Lab Technician(s)

Librarian(s)

: jillene.bydder@waikato.ac.nz

You can contact staff by:

  • Calling +64 7 838 4466 select option 1, then enter the extension.
  • Extensions starting with 4, 5, 9 or 3 can also be direct dialled:
    • For extensions starting with 4: dial +64 7 838 extension.
    • For extensions starting with 5: dial +64 7 858 extension.
    • For extensions starting with 9: dial +64 7 837 extension.
    • For extensions starting with 3: dial +64 7 2620 + the last 3 digits of the extension e.g. 3123 = +64 7 262 0123.
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Paper Description

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This course is intended to give students an introduction to behavioural psychology and to the psychology of perception. Students will learn about the philosophy behind the behavioural approach to psychology, the basic principles of behaviour analysis, and how those principles can be applied to issues of clinical and community importance. They will also learn about human and animal sensation, perception, and associated perceptual processes.
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Paper Structure

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Lectures

  • Lecture notes and course readings will be available on Moodle prior to the lecture.
  • An online quiz on the contents of the previous lecture contents and readings relevant to the upcoming lecture must be completed prior to the lecture.
  • You are encouraged to attend the lectures, as this is where the course materials will be explored and you will have the opportunity to interact with the instructor and other students and gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
  • Lectures will be recorded with Panopto and made available on Moodle.
  • Lectures will be streamed for students at the Tauranga campus.

Laboratories

  • Practicals will be assigned for completion in your own time with support from the instructors and sessional assistants.
  • Regular tutorial sessions will be held in which you can receive help with practical assignments and course materials.

Moodle

  • All information and announcements regarding the course will be posted on Moodle.
  • All digital communication regarding the course occurs via Moodle.
  • All assignment submissions occurs via Moodle.
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Learning Outcomes

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Students who successfully complete the course should be able to:

  • Identify critical theoretical explanations of learning and conditioning as evidenced in experimental findings
    Linked to the following assessments:
  • Describe key aspects of Pavlovian and operant conditioning
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  • Describe ways in which knowledge about behaviour analysis might be applied to specific applied behavioural problems of humans and other animals
    Linked to the following assessments:
  • Describe classical psychophysical techniques used to study perception
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  • Describe neural processes and sensory coding that underlies perception
    Linked to the following assessments:
  • Conduct basic experiments and understand research in the area of perception
    Linked to the following assessments:
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Assessment

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Assessment Components

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The internal assessment/exam ratio (as stated in the University Calendar) is 100:0. There is no final exam. The final exam makes up 0% of the overall mark.

The internal assessment/exam ratio (as stated in the University Calendar) is 100:0 or 0:0, whichever is more favourable for the student. The final exam makes up either 0% or 0% of the overall mark.

Component DescriptionDue Date TimePercentage of overall markSubmission MethodCompulsory
1. Quizzes
16
  • Online: Submit through Moodle
2. Lab Assignments
28
  • Online: Submit through Moodle
3. Test 1
9 Apr 2019
No set time
28
  • In Class: In Lecture
4. Test 2
31 May 2019
No set time
28
  • In Class: In Lecture
Assessment Total:     100    
Failing to complete a compulsory assessment component of a paper will result in an IC grade
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Required and Recommended Readings

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Required Readings

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For the perception portion of the paper, all required readings will be made available on Moodle. These may include book chapters, original research articles, or other materials relevant to the lecture topics.

For the behavioural portion of the paper, you should purchase or otherwise get access to the following book:

Baum, W. M. (2017). Understanding behaviourism (3rd ed.). West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell.

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Recommended Readings

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For the Perception part of the paper, the notes are mainly taken from a textbook called Sensation and Perception, 9th edition, by E. B. Goldstein. The lecture notes are based on the textbook, and most of the figures used in the lectures come from the textbook. (The 8th edition is fine for general background material, but note that page and figure numbers may differ from those given in the lecture notes). If you have missed a lecture, or have not understood something in a lecture, the textbook is a good resource. It also provides a good overview of topics, and will be very useful for students who go on to study the area of perception at higher levels. The Test 1 will be based on the material presented in the lectures and practicals, and will not include questions based on material in the textbook that has not been covered in lectures.

For the Behavioural part of the paper, the quiz items and much of the lecture content is from the following book:

  • Baum, W. M. (2017). Understanding behaviourism (3rd ed.). West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell.

Some other useful textbooks available in the library are:

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Online Support

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You should always use Moodle's Private Help function to contact us. Your message is private and will not be seen by other members of the class. Moodle helps us keep a record of student correspondence and keeps all messages organised in one place. E-mail messages sent directly to us will not receive a reply (you will be notified by a Private Message from Moodle to post your message there).

Up-to-date course information, access to lecture recordings and notes, and the online quizzes will be available on Moodle. The lecture notes will be provided ahead of the lecture, where possible. The lecture notes may not contain all of the material that will be presented in the lecture. You will need to attend the lectures in order to obtain the missing information. The tests will contain some questions from material presented in the lectures only (i.e., the material may not appear in the lecture notes available on Moodle).

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Workload

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One point equates to approximately 10 hours’ total work; so a student might expect to spend about 150 hours in total during a semester on a 15-point paper. However, this number is only an estimate, and students will require more or less time dependent on a number of factors, including the level of grades they wish to achieve.
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Linkages to Other Papers

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Prerequisite(s)

Prerequisite papers: PSYCH100 or PSYC103

Corequisite(s)

Equivalent(s)

Restriction(s)

Restricted papers: PSYC225 and PSYC226

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