PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING
PSYCHOLOGY 305
Module 7—Preparing A Draft of Your Final Paper
In Module 6 you completed data collection for an experiment with a complete A-B-A-B design. In this Module you will begin to prepare a draft of your final research paper using the results from the Contingent vs Non-Contingent reinforcement experiment completed in Module 6. The paper you will prepare is a formal, journal style paper. This kind of paper is written in APA style, double-spaced, and contains seven main sections. We will work on each of the sections one at a time, ending with a complete paper to be turned in at the end of the course in Module 8. In this Module we will work on drafts of each section of the paper. You will submit the drafts of each section and I will provide some comments. Based on the comments you will then revise each section leading to the paper for final submission as a complete paper in Module 8.
The main sections of the paper will include a Cover Page, Abstract, Introduction (unlabled), Methods, Results, Discussion, and References. We will consider each section one at a time. Even though, the Abstract is presented on the second page behind the Cover Page we will complete the abstract last because it is a summary of the entire paper (obviously, you will have to write the rest of the paper first).
Assignment: Submit a draft of each section of your paper based on the instructions and description below. Submit each section to Moodle—please do not email sections.

1. Cover Page (20 Points)
The Cover Page is the first page and contains the title of the paper, the authors name (that would be you), the authors affiliation (in this case McNeese State University), and the course name and number. It is important to note that the title is critically important as it tells the reader what the experiment was about and perhaps a hint of the results.

2. Introduction (20 Points)
The Introduction begins on the third page (remember the Abstract is on the second page). In this part of the paper you introduce what the experiment is about. Usually with a definition of the topic investigated in the experiment—in this case Non-Contingent reinforcement. The introduction also provides the reader with a history of the research findings on the topic. This is often referred to as a literature review. That is, a review of the published empirical literature on the topic investigated in your experiment. In this part of the introduction reference is made to important, key studies that the reader needs to be aware of in order to understand the experiment that you have conducted.
You are now ready to begin your literature review for the introduction to your final paper. To begin you will need to find at least four published research articles on non-contingent reinforcement. Start with the library, a textbook, or an online data base such as Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior or the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, or PubMed. Keep in mind that a human is a perfectly good animal—much of the previous research on non-contingent reinforcement has been conducted with human subjects. You do not need to limit your review to only studies that have used rats as subjects.

3. Method (20 Points)
The Method section immediately follows the introduction of your paper. The title “Method” is usually placed in the center of the text like this….

Method

Then the text of the method section is presented. The Method section is different from the other sections in that it also includes several subsections beginning with Subject, Apparatus, and Procedure. These subsections are usually left justified like this….

Subject
Then the text for the section is presented. In the subject section a very careful description of the subject used in the experiment is provided. The description should include what the kind of subject (rat), age, housing conditions, deprivation conditions, handling conditions, maintenance conditions, etc. The description must be complete enough so that some other experimenter could read the description of subject and duplicate the subject and its conditions to repeat your experiment.

Apparatus
In the Apparatus section the equipment used to conduct the experiment is described. In this case it is a careful and detailed description of the Skinner Box. Metric measurements are used to provide a precise description of the interior of the box. This description should include enough detail to orient the main features of the box in relation to each other. For example, the lever was located 3.5 cm from the exterior door, 2.0 cm from the floor of the box, and 5.7 cm from the top of the box. Obviously, you will need a metric ruler to complete this for your Skinner Box. This section also includes a short description of the computer that controls the events within the experiment. The trick to writing this section is to provide your reader with a written tour of the interior of the box.

Procedure
As the name implies this section describes the procedure to which your subject was exposed from the beginning to the end of the experiment. In this case your description would include the schedules of reinforcement (VI and VT), the discriminative stimuli used to signal the schedules, the number and length of sessions, and how data were collected and recorded. Note that simply stating that the subject was exposed to a VI-30 second and a VT-30 second schedule would not be enough description. For example, “lever presses to the left lever were reinforced with a .45 mg Noyes pellet according to a VI-30 second schedule”. This section would also describe the overall A-B-A-B design. Again, the goal in this section is to provide enough detailed description of the procedure that another experimenter could repeat your procedure precisely.

4. Results (20 Points)
The Results section immediately follows the last part of the method section. As a main section the title “Results” is placed in the center of the text like this….

Results

Then the text of the Results section is presented. This section presents a description of the results from your experiment. Usually tables and graphs are presented in an effort to make the data clear and easy to understand for the reader. Tables and graphs are placed in the text and titled in numerical order. For example, Table 1, or Figure 1 (graphs are always titled as Figures rather than graphs). In either case when a figure or table is presented it is not enough to simply refer the reader to the table or figure. The author must carefully and completely describe the table or figure. For example, the author might start a descriptive paragraph for a figure as follows: “Figure 1 shows that responding initially increased through the first four minutes of the session and then decreased for the remainder of the session.” Likewise for a table the author might open a descriptive paragraph as follows: “Table 2 shows the total number of responses in each schedule for each subject. Responses ranged from 34 to 89, with an average of 55 responses.”
5. Discussion (20 Points)
Then the text of the Discussion section is presented. This section typically begins with a restatement of the main results from the experiment. Following this the Discussion section integrates the results from the experiment into the broader experimental literature on the topic that was presented in the introduction. Therefore, your task when writing the Discussion section is to compare and contrast the results from your experiment to the results from the previous research on the topic. In short,” how do your results fit into the research literature?” Point out where your results are similar or consistent with previous research results and also point out where there are differences. Where there are differences offer potential explanations for why your results were different. The Discussion section is also a good place to point out weaknesses in your study design or problems that may have developed during the experiment that may have influenced the results. In the last part of the Discussion the author suggests what research needs to be conducted to follow-up on the present experiment. That is, what nagging question remains to be answered by future research?
6. Reference (20 Points)
The last section is the Reference page. It is placed on a separate page and provides an alphabetical list of all references cited in the text of your paper. References are NOT numbered. An example reference page is presented below. The first reference is an example of a journal reference and the second is an example of a reference from a book.

References

Ackerman, P. L., Beier, M. E., & Boyle, M. O. (2005). Working memory and
intelligence: The same or different constructs? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 30-60.

Baddeley, A. E. (1986). Working Memory. New York: Oxford University Press.

7. Abstract (20 Points)

The Abstract is the very last section of the paper we will consider. The title “Abstract” is placed in the center, top of the page like this….

Abstract

Keep in mind, however, that the Abstract is presented on a separate page immediately behind the Cover Page. We are presenting the Abstract last because it is a summary of the paper and is usually written last after the rest of the paper is complete. The Abstract is limited to 350-400 words and summarizes the content from each of the main sections of the paper. So, it begins with a statement or two that summarizes the introduction, followed by statements that convey to the reader how the experiment was conducted. Then the main results are summarized followed by the important implications of the results that were identified in the discussion. The Abstract is important because very often readers will read the Abstract to determine if the paper is of interest to them and to get an indication if the results are useful.

PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING
PSYCHOLOGY 305
Module 7—Information for Methods Section

Subject: Sprague-Dawley rat; 120 days old; male; maintained at 85% of free-feeding weight. Housed in standard laboratory housing for rats.

Apparatus: MED Associates, Inc conditioning chamber
Measurements:
Chamber: 23.5 X30.5 X 21 cm
Lever: 5cm, located 1.4 cm from left edge of logic panel; 8cm above the grid floor; lever extended 2 cm into the chamber. Force required to press lever was 0.25 N
Stimulus Light: 2.5 cm diameter; 6.5 cm above lever
Feeder Aperture: 5 X 5 cm centered on the logic panel, 5cm above the floor allowed access to reinforcement.
Reinforcer: 45mg Noyes Pellet
Computer: IBM-compatible computer, running Med-State software and connected to a Med Associates Interface, controlled the experimental events. The computer and interface were located in the same room as the conditioning chamber.
GoPro camera mounted on the outside wall of the conditioning chamber was used to video record all sessions.

THE ZIP FILE HAS ALL THE WORK FROM THE ENTIRE SEMESTER FOR YOU TO REFERENCE, THE TEXTBOOK IS SCIENCE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR BY BF SKINNER, AND THE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS, AND THE METHODS INSTRUCTIONS ARE COPIED/PASTED ABOVE AND THEY ARE UPLOADED AS WORD DOCUMENTS BELOW. PLEASE SEE THE READ ME FIRST – ORDER OF OPERATIONS PDF. YOU WILL NOTICE THAT EACH SECTION OF THIS PAPER HAS TO BE SUBMITTED SEPERATELY, AND NEED TO BE IN SEPERATE FILES FOR ME TO DO SO. I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE REDUNDANCY AND THE MICROMANAGEMENT OF MY PROFESSOR, IN THE PDF FILE YOU CAN SEE THE SUBMISION SLOTS ON THE ONLINE DASHBOARD FOR THIS CLASS, SO YOU WILL KNOW MY NEEDING THE COVER PAGE IN ITS OWN FILE, THE INTRODUCTION IN ITS OWN FILE, THE METHODS IN ITS OWN FILE, THE RESULTS IN ITS OWN FILE, THE DISCUSSION IN ITS OWN FILE, THE REFERENCES IN ITS OWN FILE, AND THE ABSTRACT IN ITS OWN FILE, IS NOT MY TRYING TO BE DIFFICULT, RATHER IT IS MY PROFESSOR’S REQUIREMENTS.