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You will create an electronic course portfolio using Microsoft Word that includes a discussion of a topic from each of the three major sections of the course:  Biological, Learning, & Cognitive/Social factors in motivation.

For each of the three sections include:

1. Class and textbook notes. Choose a specific topic of interest and summarize the material we covered in the textbook and lecture in your own words.  
2. Web Site Reviews. Find 2 Web pages that discuss and/or extend the information described in the textbook and class lecture.  Briefly review some of the content on the web site. Is it consistent with what was discussed in class?  What new information have you learned? Is the web site reliable? Can you trust the information?  How do you know? Include a link  to the web page and a reference for the web page.  Several example web sites are listed below, but do not use these examples for your course portfolio
3. PsycInfo References.  Use the same terms that you used to search the Internet to search PsychInfo.  Briefly report your findings.  Did you find many articles or were there very few hits?  If you do not get many hits try using different (but related terms; you can even use a psychologist's name) and try the advanced search feature of PsychInfo.  Choose 2 related articles as examples of the type of work that psychologists are doing on the topic you chose.  Give the complete reference and copy & paste the abstracts into your course Portfolio.

At the end of the semester you will submit your Course Portfolio on disk or CD in a specified format. See this page on my web site for information on how to create your course portfolio.

Example Web Sites on Topics in Motivation and Emotion

Biological Factors

• Paul Ekman’s Web site (Facial Expressions)
• http://www.paulekman.com/

·        Møller, A. P. (1997) Sexual Selection and the Biology of Beauty

• http://www.mindship.org/moller.htm

• The Electrical Stimulation of Brain Pleasure Centers Videoclips of Experiments
  By Silvia Helena Cardoso, PhD
• http://www.epub.org.br/cm/n08/doencas/drugs/videorat_i.htm

• Biotiming Tutorial (On circadian rhythms)
• http://www.cbt.virginia.edu/tutorial/TUTORIALMAIN.html

Learned Factors

• Skinner’s defense of behaviorism, Classic Works, Animal Learning Theory and Utopian Societies
• http://www.wabash.edu/depart/psych/Courses/Psych97A/STUDENT%20PROJECTS/Skinner/hammondk/Home.htm

• The B. F. Skinner Foundation
• http://www.bfskinner.org/

• Opponent – Process Theory of acquired motivation
• http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/classes/psychology/psy211/jthomas/solomonandcorbithandout.htm

Cognitive/Social Factors

• THE PRICE: AN APPLICATION OF MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS An episode of Xena: Warrior Princess is used to demonstrate Maslow’s theory.
• http://whoosh.org/issue11/lafleur2.html#intro

• Abraham H. Maslow
• http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/motivation/

   Psychology Department     Seton Hall University