Psychology 3226A 001 FW25
Hormones and Behaviour
1 Calendar Description
An in-depth review of current research problems in the field and the biological mechanisms by which hormones can affect behaviour. Topics may include hormones and brain development, sexual differentiation, sexual and courtship behaviour, parental behaviour, aggressive behaviour, stress, food intake, and endocrine disorders in humans.
Antirequisite(s): Psychology 3215F/G.
Prerequisite(s): Both Psychology 2801F/G (or one of Health Sciences 2801A/B, Psychology 2840F/G, Psychology 2855F/G) and Psychology 2811A/B (or one of Biology 2244A/B, Economics 2122A/B, Economics 2222A/B, Geography 2210A/B, Health Sciences 3801A/B, MOS 2242A/B, Psychology 2830A/B, Psychology 2850A/B, Sociology 2205A/B, Statistical Sciences 2035, Statistical Sciences 2141A/B, Statistical Sciences 2143A/B, Statistical Sciences 2244A/B, Statistical Sciences 2858A/B, the former Social Work 2207A/B), or the former Psychology 2820E, or both the former Psychology 2800E and the former Psychology 2810, and a grade of at least 70% in one of Psychology 2220A/B, Psychology 2221A/B or Neuroscience 2000.
Extra Information: 3 lecture/discussion hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
2 Course Information
Instructor: Prof. Scott MacDougall-Shackleton
Office & Phone: see OWL Brightspace
Office Hours: see OWL Brightspace
Email: smacdou2@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: TBA
Time and Location of Classes: In person. See Student Centre for Timetable
3 Course Materials
An Introduction to Behavioral Endocrinology, Sixth Edition
RJ Nelson & LJ Kriegsfeld, Oxford University Press
Hardcover ISBN: 9780197542750
e-Book ISBN: 9780197542736
An 180-day ebook ($88) or hardcopy textbook ($211.15) is available through the campus bookstore (link HERE).
4 Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
This course will examine how hormones affect behaviour. Students completing this course will acquire a strong foundation in behavioural endocrinology and will understand current research topics in the field on a variety of species. There will be a strong emphasis on biological processes that regulate behaviour.
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.
|
Lectures and textbook readings. In-class activities |
Midterm and Final Exams Weekly Quizzes |
|
Knowledge of Methodologies.
|
Lectures and textbook readings. In-class activities |
Midterm and Final Exams |
|
Application of Knowledge.
|
Short written assignments |
Short written assignment |
|
Communication Skills.
|
Short written assignments with peer feedback |
Short written assignment |
5 Evaluation
Evaluation in this course will be based on the following:
Weekly Online Quizzes (Best 10 of 12) 10%
Short Written Assignment 20%
Midterm Exam 35%
Final Exam 35%
Weekly online quizzes will be 5 multiple choice or similar questions. Students will have 30 minutes to complete the quiz; each quiz will be available for several days but must be completed before the weekly class meeting. The quizzes are open book.
The short (approx. 500 words) written assignment will involve critical analysis of published research in the field.
The midterm exam will be scheduled in a regular class meeting time. It will cover materials from weeks 1-6 and will contain multiple choice and short-answer questions.
Please note that this assessment is considered to be central to the learning objectives for this course. Accordingly, students seeking academic consideration for this assessment will be required to provide formal supporting documentation. Students who are granted academic consideration for this assessment will be provided an opportunity for a make up midterm (see Policy on Missing Coursework below)
The final exam will be scheduled during the December exam period. It will cover material from weeks 7-12 and will contain multiple choice and short-answer questions.
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives
Policy on Missing Coursework
- Only the top 10 of the 12 quizzes will be included in the final grade. No make-up quizzes are provided because each quiz is worth only 1% of your final grade in the course and you may miss up to 2 without penalty. You will receive a score of 0 for any missing quizzes, over and above the dropped two. If you require a longer-term accommodation for a health or wellness concern lasting more than a week, please seek official accommodation by submitting your documentation to the academic counselling office in your home faculty. In these cases, the final quiz grade will be reweighted within category.
- Written assignments will be available for at least 2 weeks prior to the due date. Students who miss the deadline for a valid reason approved by their academic counsellor will receive an extension of 48 hours to submit their assignment. Otherwise, a grade of zero will be applied.
- Students who have an accommodation to miss the midterm or final exam will be provided an opportunity for a makeup exam. If the makeup exam is missed due to an accommodation students may take the exam the next time the course is offered. Because the final exam is not cumulative, a missed midterm exam will not be re-weighted to the final exam and a make up exam is required to receive a grade for this course component.
See Section 10 below for information on seeking accommodations. Please note the Western policy that instructors are not permitted to receive documentation directly from a student, whether in support of an application for medical grounds, or for other reasons. All documentation required for absences that are not covered by the absence reporting policy must be submitted to the Academic Counselling Office of a student’s home faculty.
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses
72% 2100-2999-level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
In the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.
Policy on Grade Rounding
Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered.
6 Assessment/Evaluation Schedule
Weekly online quizzes Available weekly and must be completed by Thursday start of class
Written Assignment Due Nov 10, 5 PM
Midterm Examination October 16, in regular class time
Final Examination to be scheduled during December exam period
7 Class Schedule
Tentative schedule. See OWL Brightspace site for updates.
|
Week |
Date |
Topic |
|
1 |
04-Sep |
Introduction |
|
2 |
11-Sep |
Endocrine System |
|
3 |
18-Sep |
Sexual Development and Differentiation |
|
4 |
25-Sep |
Sex Differences in Brain and Cognition |
|
5 |
02-Oct |
Sexual and Reproductive Behaviour |
|
6 |
09-Oct |
Parental Behaviour |
|
16-Oct |
MIDTERM EXAM |
|
|
7 |
23-Oct |
Aggression and Affiliation |
|
8 |
30-Oct |
Eating and Drinking |
|
READING WEEK |
||
|
9 |
13-Nov |
Biological Rhythms |
|
10 |
20-Nov |
Stress |
|
11 |
27-Nov |
Learning and Memory |
|
12 |
04-Dec |
Mood and Affective Disorders |
8 Academic Integrity
Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
Statement on Use of Electronic Devices
No electronic devices will be allowed during midterm and final examinations. Devices may be used during class and weekly quizzes.
Plagiarism Detection Software
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com.
Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.
AI Policy for Psychology:
Responsible use of AI is allowed in Psychology. This includes using AI for brainstorming, improving grammar, or doing preliminary/background research on a topic.
AI is not to be used in place of critical thinking.
The misuse of AI undermines the academic values of this course. Relying on AI to create full drafts or fabricate sources is prohibited. You are ultimately responsible for any work submitted, so it is highly advised that you critically review your Generative AI output before incorporating this information into your assignments.
If you use AI, you must clearly explain its role in your work. All written assignments will require an AI Usage Statement, in which you will indicate what tools you have used, what you have used them for, and (broadly) how you have modified this information. Assignments without an AI Usage Statement will not be accepted.
Violations of this policy will be handled according to Western’s scholastic offense policies.
Multiple Choice Exams
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
9 Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education
View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link.
Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western.
If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information. Email: aew@uwo.ca Phone: 519 661-2147
10 Absence & Academic Consideration
Academic Considerations: https://registrar.uwo.ca/academics/academic_considerations/index.html
11 Other Information
- Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
- Student Development Services: sdc.uwo.ca
- Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness@Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you.
If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf. Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).
Copyright Statement
Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
