learning and motivation 2/2/22

• Animal Research   * advantages:     * can control genetic makeup     * can control animal’s learning history     * can control environment entirely     * some research can’t be ethically conducted with humans   * disadvantages:     * animals should have rights similar to humans     * findings may have limited application to humans
• How do we measure behavior?   * operationalize your definitions   * record behavior     * rate of response / frequency     * intensity / magnitude of behavior     * speed of behavior, start to finish     * time required for behavior to begin (latency)     * interval recording - continuous intervals     * time-sample recording - discontinuous intervals     * topography: observing physical form of the behavior
• Assessing Reliability (repeatability)   * interrater reliability: measures the degree to which 2+ coders agree
• Research Designs   * experimental research - establishes cause and effect     * group design: manipulate 1+ IVs across group     * comparative design: independent species are dif IVs   * single-subject design     * pros: only need one subject, is individualized, statistical tests may not be needed to determine if there are meaningful changes in behavior, can have precise control over the variables     * cons: does behavior revert to baseline after treatment is revoked?       * inappropriate for situations when treatment intended to produce a long-lasting effect       * ethically inappropriate to remove treatment once improvement is obtained       * to get around these: use multiple baseline design
• Multiple-Baseline Design   * treatment is instituted at successive points in time for 2+ persons, settings, or behaviors     * pros: don’t have to return to baseline, can produce permanent change in behavior     * cons: treatment effect might generalize across dif settings / behaviors before treatment instituted

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