The project design includes plans to upgrade the undergraduate experimental psychology laboratory at Bloomsburg University. The specific goals are to increase the variety, flexibility, and complexity of experiments performed in laboratory courses, allow for demonstrations in courses without labs including learning, cognitive, physiological, and behavior modification, and increase the number of students participating in independent research projects. The plan is to 1) interface a series of operant-conditioning chambers for rats with an IBM- compatible computer and examine a wide range of variables that affect learned behavior, 2) use six IBM-compatible computers, hardware, and software to conduct experiments in areas of human perception, cognition, and social behavior, and 3) use recording equipment to measure physiological responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, brain waves, skin resistance, muscle tension, blood flow, and limb movement in order to examine physiology-environment interactions. With this equipment students will design and conduct high-quality animal and human experiments that demonstrate a wide range of psychological phenomena.
