PSY 4930 Animal Cognition Section 2D10: Fall 2019 Class Time: Wednesday 8:30-11:30 am (2nd - 4th Periods) Class Venue: MAT 0112 Instructor: Nicole R. Dorey, Ph.D. Office: PSY 355 Office Hours: Wednesday 3-4 pm Email: [email protected] essential because we will not have time to go Overview back over basic terms in perception, learning, memory, reasoning, concept-formation, The topics of Animal Cognition include communication etc. etc. imitation, memory, number concepts, insight, and language. We will do little The course requires reading and critiquing more than scratch the surface…but I original journal articles. There will not be a hope that the representative topics and text book for this course. papers will at least serve to excite interest in the field Course Goals The aim of this course is to examine 1. To teach you the science behind how apparent intelligent behavior in non- animal’s think and how it differs from the human animals, to consider if is necessary media’s interpretation. to invoke 'cognitive processes' for their 2. To provide you with an introduction to explanation and if so what the nature of the different methods scientists’ use to those processes might be. study animal cognition. Familiarity with concepts used to describe 3. To teach you the concepts in the area and learning and cognition in humans is how to apply these concepts when reading Nicole Dorey Page 1 Syllabus animal cog psy fall 2019 media’s interpretation. 1) Extensions or make-ups will not be These goals will be met by the quizzes, given for students-based on technical discussions and writing assignments. difficulties on any course material. This is includes but is not limited to: a. Forgetting to hit the submit Students with Special Needs button on any of the course material. If you are a student with a disability and b. Accidently not including all the would like to request disability-related files or uploading the wrong accommodations, you are encouraged to file. contact the Disability Resource Center as 2) Do not wait until the last minute to early in the semester as possible. The complete course materials as things Disability Resource Center is located in happen. 001 Building 0020 (Reid Hall). Their 3) If Canvas website experiences course phone number is 392-8565. If you have a wide technical difficulties deadlines documented disability you must then will be adjusted to allow for provide this documentation to the completion of assignments. instructor as soon as possible. 4) Announcements will be made periodically about class issues. These Requirements will be visible on Canvas. Students are Keeping up with this course is the responsible for all announcements student's responsibility (i.e., not mine). made there. Thus you must check You can expect this class to be demanding Canvas on a daily bases so you don’t but hopefully personally and intellectually miss any course announcement. fulfilling. The course requires you to read, 5) For course assignments it is YOUR think, write, and apply what you are responsibility to make sure that the learning. Syllabus, assignments and correct file is uploaded and that all the required readings are only accessible files needed for the assignment are through the course website. Assignments uploaded and in the correct format. must be submitted electronically through 6) I sometimes communicate with you the course website as well. I will NOT via email, thus you are responsible to accept your assignment via email or in- check your UF email address (and the person. In anticipation of technical email you used to email us) every 24 difficulties, make sure you turn in hours. assignments early. You must use a 7) All interactions with me and class hardwired connection to upload your members are expected to be assignments. If you experience technical professional and appropriate. difficulties you need to contact (call or chat. Don’t email) the UF help desk I’m here to help you learn. Please make use of within 24 hours. Explain the situation and office hours, announcements and email to send me your incident number via the communicate with me. For questions sent course email address. through email, I will typically reply within 24 hours if the email is sent during the work All deadlines are in Eastern Standard week. Please allow more time for emails sent Time (EST). on official UF holidays, Fridays, or over the weekend. circumstances. Nicole Dorey Page 2 Syllabus animal cog psy fall 2019 Make-ups Points Grade 329 or Above A NO MAKE-UPS WILL BE GIVEN 328-315 A- ON ANY MATERIAL FOR THIS 314-304 B+ COURSE, except for university excused absences with adequate documentation. 303-294 B Documentation should be provided at 293-280 B- least 7 hours before the course material is 279-269 C+ due unless there are extenuating 268-259 C circumstances. Doctor’s notes etc. must 258-245 C- be provided as soon as possible. Make-ups 244-234 D+ need to be completed no later than a week 233-224 D after the material was due (including 223-213 D- weekends and holidays). Thus if the 212or Below E (Fail) material was due on Wednesday then it The good news is – these grades are firm – must be completed by the following there is no curve. Everybody in the class can Wednesday unless there are extenuating get an A grade (and I hope you do). circumstances. The bad news is – these grades are firm – there is no curve. If you score just a 1/2 point Assessment below the cutoff then you will get the lower grade. 1). 14 Weekly in class quizzes 104 pts (Dropping lowest grade) 2). Assignments: Policy for disputing a grade a. Reflection paper part I 5 pts b. Media vs. Science 20 pts You will have one week (including weekends c. Operant conditioning 20 pts and holidays) after any course material grade d. Reflection paper part II 5 pts has been posted to dispute your grade. 3). 14 Inter-teaching discussions: Disputes will NOT be accepted after that date. 130 pts (Dropping lowest grade) If you want to dispute a grade you will need to 4). Group participation rating for write a paragraph explaining the dispute and a each inter-teaching discussion 65 paragraph explaining why your answer is pts (dropping your lowest score) correct with references to the material in the articles for each question in quizzes or writing Total points 349 assignment. Then send a private email with this information to the course email address. Grading Honor Code Your final grade is based on the total It is important that you understand that I am number of points you accumulate. Your not willing to give a passing grade to those grade will be calculated by summing the who do not abide by the UF honor code. Any points you earned. student who cheats or helps another student cheat will receive an E (Fail) in this class. Do NOT trust Canvas grade calculations. When students enroll at the university, they Always calculate your own grade. commit themselves to the standard drafted and enacted by students. Nicole Dorey Page 3 Syllabus animal cog psy fall 2019 Preamble: In adopting this honor code, period opens, and can complete evaluations the students of the University of Florida through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in recognize that academic honesty and their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or integrity are fundamental values of the via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of university community. Students who course evaluation results are available to students enroll at the university commit to holding at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/. themselves and their peers to the high standard of honor required by the honor Sexual Harassment code. Any individual who becomes aware of a violation of the honor code is bound Sexual Harassment is not tolerated in this class, by honor to take corrective action. The in the Department of Psychology, or at the quality of a University of Florida University of Florida. Sexual harassment education is dependent upon community includes: the inappropriate introduction acceptance and enforcement of the honor of sexual activities or comments in a situation code. where sex would otherwise be irrelevant. Sexual Honor Pledge: We, the members of the harassment is a form of sex discrimination and a University of Florida community, pledge to hold violation of state and federal laws as well as of ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of the policies and regulations of the honesty and integrity by abiding by the Honor university. All UF employees and students must Code. adhere to UF’s sexual harassment policy which On all work submitted for credit by students at can be found here: https://hr.ufl.edu/forms- the University of Florida, the following pledge is policies/policies-managers/sexual- either required or implied: "On my honor, I have harassment/. Please review this policy and neither given nor received unauthorized aid in contact a university official if you have doing this assignment." any questions about the It should be clear that academic policy. As mandatory reporters, university dishonesty, such as cheating, is NOT employees (e.g., administrators, managers, tolerated at the University of Florida. supervisors, faculty, teaching assistants, staff) Cheating is defined in the University are required to report knowledge of Handbook, and it is the student’s sexual harassment to UF’s Title IX responsibility to be familiar with its many coordinator. For more information about UF’s forms (including plagiarism). If there is a Title IX office see: https://titleix.ufl.edu/.