Psych. 370 Theories of Learning

Fall 2006 Paper Assignment

One 8 to 10 page paper is required. It is due Nov. 7. It must be on one of the controversies in learning theory listed below. In your paper you must present both sides of the controversy, and then give your opinion, and explain why that is your opinion, based on what you have read. You don’t necessarily have to choose one side or the other – you may decide that both sides are correct under certain conditions. Note that which side you take is not important, what is important is that you make a good case for the side you take by backing it up with hard data.

The paper must include a total of at least 5 primary references. You must have at least 1 reference for each side of the opinion. A primary reference is one written by the original experimenter, and does not include textbooks, popular newspaper or magazine articles, or Web pages.

In a few cases, you may choose your own topic instead of the ones listed below, but only if you speak to me and I approve of the topic.

Topics:

Does positive reinforcement always result in more or better learning than punishment?

Are changes in behavior observed in token economies maintained after the subject leaves the token economy?

Does reinforcement undermine intrinsic interest?

Does watching violent movies, TV shows, or video games result in an increase in aggressive behavior?

Can non-human animals learn language?

You do not need an Abstract, Method, or Results section, but it is very important that your References are APA style. This means that everything you cite in the text must be listed in the reference list at the end, and everything in the list at the end must be cited in the text. Any paper that does not have proper references will be given a score of 0. Whenever possible, you should cite the original source. If you can’t cite the original source, you may cite a secondary source under certain conditions. If you read about a study in one article or text book that was done by some one other than the author of that article, see the APA manual to make sure you do this correctly.

Your paper should not merely be a summary of each of the articles you have written. You must show how these separate studies relate to each other, and provide your own synthesis. Although only 5 references are required, for some topics you may need substantially more than that to adequately cover all the relevant information.

The substance of the paper is most important, but you will loose points for misspelled words, incorrect grammar, and incorrect use of APA style.

Re-writing the paper. If you are not happy with the score you receive on your paper, you may re-write it, based on the comments I have given, and turn in a second version any day through Dec. 5. However, since you have been given two chances, I will be more rigorous in my scoring of the second version. If I recommended major substantive changes, and you made only small cosmetic changes, you may receive a lower score than you did on the first version. In other words, do not re-write your paper unless you are willing to put a fair amount of work into the re-write.