210 LAB ASSIGNMENT #1Fall term 2013

Due: Friday, November 22nd at the end of class

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

grade for 210

Term 1 Assignment - Process

1. 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

2. Go over the lab manual before you start

3. Run the experiments in the CC program

4. Think about some hypotheses you have for each experiment and take notes

5. Open your CC data files and graph your data

6. Write an APA-formatted full lab report

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

Classical Conditioning Overview

• 1) US UR

• 2)CS + US = UR

• 3)CS CR

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

Our Experiments:1. Experiment 1 - Number of Acquisition Trials

• 5 conditions: 10 AT, 20 AT, 30 AT, 40 AT, 50 AT

2. Experiment 2 - Conditioned Stimulus• 3 conditions: manipulate the loudness of the bell in db (50, 60,

and 80 db)

3. Experiment 3 - Unconditioned Stimulus• 3 conditions: manipulate the number of food pellets the dogs

receive (4, 6, and 8 pellets)

4. 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)

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

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)

Graphing your data• You will need to make 5 APA graphs in Excel:

1. Experiment 1 – acquisition curves for all 5 conditions

2. Experiment 1 – extinction curves for all 5 conditions

3. Experiment 2 – three acquisition curves for each CS intensity value

4. Experiment 3 – three acquisition cures for each US intensity value

5. 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.

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.

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.