210 Lab assignment #1

1. 210 Lab assignment #1 Fall term 2013 Due: Friday, November 22nd at the end of class

2. General lab info • 1 lab assignment per term (10% each) • The entire lab (2 assignments) is worth 20% of your final grade for 210

3. Term 1 Assignment - Process • A good understanding of CC and Pavlov’s work is necessary to start the assignment • CC will be covered in class in the coming weeks • Read chapter 7 in your text • Go over the key words in the lab manual • Go over the lab manual before you start • Run the experiments in the CC program • Think about some hypotheses you have for each experiment and take notes • Open your CC data files and graph your data • Write an APA-formatted full lab report

4. Lab manual • Found here • Read all of the instructions before you start working • Detailed instructions on running the program and experiment parameters • APA info • What to include in your lab report write-up • Instructions for graphing your data • Example figure • Grading scheme and checklist

5. Classical Conditioning Overview • 1) US  UR • 2)CS + US = UR • 3)CS  CR

6. Other terms • Acquisition Trials – present both the US and CS • Extinction Trials – present CS alone • Interstimulus interval (ISI) – time between presentation of the CS and US • The program calls this the CS-US interval. • Independent variable – the variable we are manipulating – changes in each experiment • Dependent variable – the variable we’re measuring – in our case this is the # of saliva drops produced

7. Our Experiments: • Experiment 1 - Number of Acquisition Trials • 5 conditions: 10 AT, 20 AT, 30 AT, 40 AT, 50 AT • Experiment 2 - Conditioned Stimulus • 3 conditions: manipulate the loudness of the bell in db (50, 60, and 80 db) • Experiment 3 - Unconditioned Stimulus • 3 conditions: manipulate the number of food pellets the dogs receive (4, 6, and 8 pellets) • Experiment 4 - CS-US Interval • 3 conditions: manipulate the time between the presentation of the bell and the food (0.3 seconds, 0.5 seconds, and 0.7 seconds)

8. The Program • Use campus computers • Apps on Caesar (S:) • Go to Psych 210 • Click on CC to open the program • Follow parameters outlined in the manual and run the 4 experiments

9. Interpreting the data • After each acquisition trial, assume a test is given in which the CS is presented alone • This tells us the strength of the CR after each CS‑US presentation. • The data given by the CC program are the number of drops of saliva (dependent variable) • We are focusing on the means (sum of all drops of saliva from the 4 dogs / 4)

10. Graphing your data • You will need to make 5 APA graphs in Excel: • Experiment 1 – acquisition curves for all 5 conditions • Experiment 1 – extinction curves for all 5 conditions • Experiment 2 – three acquisition curves for each CS intensity value • Experiment 3 – three acquisition cures for each US intensity value • Experiment 4 – three acquisition curves for each CS-US interval (or interstimulus interval) value Step by step instructions on making APA graphs in Excel are provided in the manual.

11. Writing your lab report • APA format and APA citations must be used • Include: • Title page • Introduction • Method • Results • Discussion • References (your text, etc.) • Figures • Raw data from the CC program (print and attach this at the back) Check the manual for details to include in each of these sections.

12. Resources for Assignment 1 • Template for Assignment 1 • APA Lab Report Manual • APA citation help • Assignment 1 Manual • Chapter 7 in your text • Come see me during my office hours or email me if you need any help.