UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO 
(formerly Comparative Psychology)
PSY634
SPRING 2014
UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
(formerly Comparative Psychology)
PSY634
SPRING 2014
Prof.
Mark B. Kristal
B71 Park Hall
645-0262 (please do
not leave requests for callbacks)
Class hours: Fridays, 9:00-11:50, Park 250
Office Hours: Thursdays 10-12, and by
appointment
REQUIRED TEXT:
Drickamer, Vessey & Jacob, Animal Behavior: Mechanisms, Ecology & Evolution, (5thEd.),
New York: WCB, 2002.
Except for this page and the schedule of lectures, all
material for the course can be found on UBLearns. If you don't
know how to use it...learn.
Be prepared for a substantial amount of reading and class discussion. There will be a midterm (25%) and, if necessary, a cumulative final (25%). However, if class participation is adequate, the final may be waived. Class participation and possible quizzes will count 10%; presentations will count 15%. A term paper will be worth 25%. If there is no final, the presentation will count 30% and the paper will count 35%.
For class discussion, I may assign particular papers to individual graduate students (at least in the early part of the semester); the student will prepare and present the contents to the class (about a 10-min presentation). The class will be expected to discuss these papers on the basis of these presentations.
During the last third of the semester, students will make major class presentations on categories of behavior (e.g., sexual selection, foraging, dominance hierarchies) which will cut across animal groups (the focus of the presentation will be on the behavior and how various animal groups accomplish the task). The length of the presentations and the schedule will have to be determined later (based on the number of students). You will be able to use the high-tech classroom facilities for your presentations, however, great Powerpoint technique will not be a substitute for high-quality content. You will be graded for individual style and content, and, if several of you coordinate to present different aspects of a behavioral category, you will be graded for the overall organization and coverage of the group. The content of the presentations (and the term papers) must reflect the content of the course -- you have to show that you've learned something from the lectures and readings (concepts, terminology, schools of thought, etc.). Each student presentation should be accompanied by an annotated bibliography handout.
Your individual student term paper will focus on
an animal group or taxonomic category (e.g., wolves, cetaceans,
mantids, spiders, elephants, reptiles) and may cover one or
possibly several behavioral categories (e.g., courtship,
foraging and feeding, social interactions, territoriality). It
should be around 15-25 pages, and can and should be submitted
electronically. The topic of the paper should be cleared with me
by the last class before Spring break. The paper can not be on
the same topic as the class presentation, and should not be
related to research that are participating in, or have
participated in. Do not wait until the last minute to do your
term paper. Websites are not acceptable primary
references. You will have to use books and journal
articles - material that has been reviewed and approved before
publication. Therefore, you may have to get some stuff by
interlibrary loan. You may then use magazines and web sites as
secondary information (photos, reports, etc.). Guidelines for
writing papers can be found in websites listed on the "Useful
& Interesting Links" page on our UBlearns site. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the content of the presentations
and the term papers must reflect the content of the course
-- you have to show that you've learned something from the
lectures and readings (concepts, terminology, schools of
thought, etc.). I will also expect the papers to be literate,
well written, sophisticated, well referenced, and in APA style.
I will run the term papers (anonymously) through SafeAssign, the
plagiarism checker. Therefore, I expect you to be thoroughly
familiar with the rules on plagiarism. Academic dishonesty will
not be tolerated, and will be prosecuted to the extent outlined
by the rules of the SUNY Board of Trustees.
E-mail traffic: Feel free to contact me by e-mail. However, e-mail will not be an acceptable substitute for class attendance and participation. I will transmit good questions, along with my answers and/or comments, to everyone in the class.
Keep your eye on the Update Page on UBLearns.
Information regarding assignments, papers, presentations,
interesting events, links,etc. will be posted on that page. The
information on the other pages (Home page, Supplemental
Bibliography, Schedule of Lectures) will not change
during the semester.
Learning Outcomes (to be assessed by exam,
possible pop quizzes, class presentation, and term paper):
a) to learn to appreciate animal behavior
from a scientific point of view
b) to appreciate the different schools of
thought and theory (both scientific and pseudoscientific)
regarding the science of animal behavior
c) to develop some understanding of the
methods and techniques employed in animal behavior research
d) to understand the evolutionary biology of
animal behavior (evolution, genetics, development, the
importance of "niche")
e) to develop an familiarity with, and an
ability to critically review, research into major categories of
animal behavior (e.g., foraging, reproduction, social behavior,
migration, etc.)
