Course Syllabus

PSY 1400 Analysis of Behavior

Course Description

In this course, students learn about the fundamental principles of learning and behavior. The course reviews topics related to the effective use of conditioning to influence one’s personal behaviors, behaviors of others, as well as animal behaviors. This class has broad application in education, medicine, and even raising a family.

Justification

This course is designed to give students a basic introduction to the psychology of learning and behaviorism. The applications of the class has broad use in education, medicine, and raising a family. Students can receive great personal and professional benefit from learning how to correctly implement behavioral principles. This course also serves as a prerequisite for several courses in psychology and is required for psychology majors and minors at most four year institutions in Utah. Not only will psychology majors and minors benefit from this course, but education majors and people generally interested in human behavior will benefit from taking it.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Explain social institutions, structures, and processes across a broad range of historical periods and cultures from a social and behavioral science perspective.
2. Draw on the social and behavioral sciences to evaluate contemporary problems using social science research methodology.
3. Develop and communicate hypothetical explanations for individual human behavior within the large-scale historical or social context.
4. Explain and use the social-scientific method to test research questions and draw conclusions.
5. Write effectively within the social science discipline, using correct disciplinary guidelines, to analyze, interpret, and communicate about social science phenomena.
6. Become familiar with the basic principles, procedures, terms, and concepts of applied behavior Analysis and behavior modification

Course Content

Analysis of Behavior provides a more detailed exploration of behavioral principles that students may be exposed to in an introductory psychology course. Through readings, labs, lectures, as well as other formative and summative assessment activities students will explore the depth of subjects including, but not limited to: The research methods specific to behavior analysis, classical conditioning processes and procedures, and detailed operant conditioning process and procedures. Students may also learn biological implications for behavior analysis, more advanced behavior analysis concepts, and employment applications of such principles.