Assessment 1: Popular Versus Scholarly Sources Worksheet
Name
Capella University
PSYC-FPX3210: Learning Cognition
Instructor Name
August, 2024
Popular Versus Scholarly Sources Worksheet
Directions:
- Select a popular media source like a video or a website on a cognitive psychology topic in your course text.
- Provide the full reference for the source.
- Summarize the content of the source using bullet points in complete sentences or a 5–8 sentence paragraph.
- Identify at least three peer-reviewed journal articles on the topic covered in the source and explain their relevancy to the topic. Provide the full references of the articles in APA format.
- Compare and contrast information provided in the source with the three articles by answering the following questions:
- What information provided by the popular source is supported by research or information provided in the articles?
- What if any information in the articles conflicts with the popular source?
- Do you consider the media source you selected to be valid? Why or why not?
- What questions do you have about the topic based on your analysis?
- How can the topic you reviewed be applied to the real world? Feel free to also illustrate with examples.
Then complete all pages of this worksheet, including the self-evaluation. Be sure to use full sentences (grammar counts), evidence from relevant sources, and APA-style citations.
Media Evaluation
| Directions | Responses |
| Name your selected topic. | Operant Conditioning |
| Provide the full reference for the source, and include the link to the video or website. | Iyer, A. (2022, August 26). A Webinar On Operant Conditioning With Zoo Animals – Wildlife SOS. WildlifeSOS. https://wildlifesos.org/chronological-news/a-webinar- |
| on-operant-conditioning-with-zoo-animals/ | |
| https://wildlifesos.org/chronological-news/a-webinar-on- | |
| operant-conditioning-with-zoo-animals/ |
| Directions | Responses |
| Summarize the content of the source using complete sentences in a paragraph of 5–8 sentences. | In this case, the webinar is a presentation on using operant conditioning with animals in the zoo by Mary Elizabeth Hampton, the team lead – Northwest Passage and Teton Trek Memphis Zoo. This streaming show is developed by Wildlife SOS, an Indian-based non-profit organization that aims at wildlife conservation before going straight to the streaming presentation. Ms. Hampton briefly explains the principles of operant conditioning concerning the most important terms. Then, she elaborates on positive and negative reinforcement, positive and negative punishment, and resultant interaction and bond formed with animals. In the presentation, she explains the aspects of applying operant conditioning in the zoo system more vividly. In the last stage of the dialogue, Ms. Hampton answers the participants’ questions. The analysis of the conversation in detail is provided in the table below. This webinar immediately applies to the enhancement of the conservation of animals and farming practices since it punctuates the use of force-free training that reduces stress on animals and increases the personal safety of trainers. In addition, it provides more witness on using operant conditioning in various incidences in rehearsing a given behavior. |
| Directions | Responses |
| List three peer- reviewed journal articles on the topic providing and explain the relevance of each of the articles to the topic. Provides the full references in APA format. | Rasmussen, E. B., Newland, M. C., & Hemmelman, E. (2020). The relevance of operant behavior in conceptualizing the psychological well-being of captive animals. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 43(3), 617–654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-020-00259-7 Turner, P. V., & Bayne, K. (2023). Research animal behavioral management programs for the 21st century. Animals, 13(12), 1919. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13121919 Williams, M. A., Torrini, L., Nolan, E. J., & Loughman, Z. J. (2022). Using classical and operant conditioning to train a shifting behavior in juvenile false water cobras. Animals, 12(10), 1229. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12101229 All three articles depict how operant conditioning can be applied as a training tool to modify behavioural patterns of different species. |
| Directions | Responses |
| Compare and contrast information provided in the source with each of the three articles by answering these questions and citing the sources: | A popular source of information and a webinar described how a principle of behavior modification known as operant conditioning applies to the mental health and behavior of animals in captivity. Rasmussen et al. (2020) & Williams et al. (2022) are primarily used as source materials for this subject, as they both discuss the aspects of practicing operant conditioning in animal training/learning and their welfare. Turner & Bayne (2023) also help advocate for modern behavioral management programs.The webinar’s information aligns closely with the scholarly articles, providing a consistent and reliable understanding of the increase in the use and effectiveness of strategies such as operant conditioning and behavioral management. The specific aspects are detailed in the scientific articles, and two examples from the popular source further clarify the information.Based on the criteria of the CRAAP test, the source of media selected is reliable. Overall, some of the information is rather contemporary, as the webinar was held in 2021 and is a related field. As for the academic background, the speaker is a university professor and a team leader at the Memphis Zoo, so this person understands such topics. It is also significant that she used operant conditioning techniques and presented outcomes with animals over a short period. |
| Directions | Responses |
| Explain how the topic can be used to help solve problems in the real world. Then, illustrate with personal or professional examples. | Operant conditioning proves effective each time when training different species of animals. Operant conditioning assists in minimizing risks for the animals and their trainers, reducing animal stress levels, and increasing animal self-direction is achievable while making the desired behavioral change (Hall et al., 2021). In the aspect of conversation, this benefits due to the increased ability to provide the optimum care needed for animals. In light of this, I work as a Wellness Support Dog Handler at the United States Capitol Police. In this capacity, I utilize operation conditioning on the dog I am trained to handle. This is why I selected this training method. In addition to efficiency, a closer relationship with my dog is wanted. |
Self-Evaluation
Conduct a self-evaluation using established scoring criteria and identifying the proficiency level for each criterion. The distinguished levels of the criteria are listed.
Identify the level of your performance: nonperformance, basic, proficient, or distinguished. Provide some rationale as to why you selected that level.
| Criterion | Level (Nonperformance, Basic, Proficient, or Distinguished) | Rationale |
| Summarizes the content of a popular media source, conveying the implications of the topic. | Distinguished | Summarization was done accordingly as well and the relevance of the topic was explained well. |
| Identifies three peer-reviewed journal articles on the topic covered in a popular media source and describes relevancy of the articles. Provides the full references of the articles in APA format. | Distinguished | Three peer-reviewed journal articles were found and relevant to the study and their relevance was discussed in detail. Source citations in APA style were given fully. |
| Compares and contrasts information provided in a popular media source with peer-reviewed journal articles, making a clear case for the validity or lack of validity of the media source. | Distinguished | A detailed comparison was conducted to show that the selected media source is relevant, accompanied by evidence from the articles. |
| Describes how the topic of a popular media source can be applied to the real world, providing examples. | Distinguished | The use of the topic in various cases was described comprehensively while using examples. |
| Criterion | Level (Nonperformance, Basic, Proficient, or Distinguished) | Rationale |
| Conducts a self-evaluation using established scoring criteria and identifying the proficiency level for each criterion, including comments for each criterion. | Distinguished | A comprehensive personal reflection was done with elaborative notes on why the special scores were received. |
| Presents a focused purpose through strong organizational skills. Presents evidence through strong paraphrasing or summarizing and appropriate tone and sentence structure. | Distinguished | Much of the text was paraphrased, and the purpose of the writing was evident all along and kept pretty much on track. The tone of the writing maintained the necessary political correctness, and the sentence structures were good. |
| Applies current APA style, including in-text citations and full references for sources with few errors. | Distinguished | Correct APA style was used with occasional mistakes, mostly with citations within the text and at the end of the work. |
References
Hall, N. J., Johnston, A. M., Bray, E. E., Otto, C. M., MacLean, E. L., & Udell, M. A. R. (2021). Working dog training for the twenty-first century. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8, 646022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.646022
Rasmussen, E. B., Newland, M. C., & Hemmelman, E. (2020). The relevance of operant behavior in conceptualizing the psychological well-being of captive animals. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 43(3), 617–654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-020-00259-7
Turner, P. V., & Bayne, K. (2023). Research animal behavioral management programs for the 21st century. Animals, 13(12), 1919. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13121919
Williams, M. A., Torrini, L., Nolan, E. J., & Loughman, Z. J. (2022). Using classical and operant conditioning to train a shifting behavior in juvenile false water cobras. Animals, 12(10), 1229. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12101229
