Psychology 5601
Comparative Psychology
Credit hours: 3
GEC categories: None
Prerequisites: None but students are more succesful if they have taken General Psychology and/or a General Biology course.
Text Books:
| Title | Author(s) | Publisher | ISBN |
| Exploring Animal Behavior, 4th ed or later | Sherman & Alcock | Sinauer | |
| Animal Behavior, 8th ed or later | Alcock | Sinauer |
Example Syllabus: Comp Psych syllabus.rtf
Website: http://anthropology.osu.edu/faculty/pages/kitchen.php
Course Objectives: This course provides students with a survey of the field of animal behavior which has connections to Psychology (Comparative Psychology), Biology (Ethology), Behavioral Ecology, and Anthropology (both Physical & Cultural). We will examine both captive and field studies of behavior on a range of species including humans. Proximately, we will discuss the hormonal, neural, and mechanical causes of behavior along with the influence of genes, learning and the environment on development of behavior. Ultimately, we will examine the adaptive function and the evolutionary history of behavior.
Course Content: Topics will include reproduction, sexual selection, social behavior, predator-prey interactions, foraging, communication, and migration.
Method of Presentation: PowerPoint driven lectures, videos, small and large group discussions.
Method of Evaluation: Approxmately 20% assignments and quizzes, 20% term paper and 60% divided into 2 exams (not cumulative).