Paula Millin has been a member of the psychology department since the fall of 2003. Her general area of specialization is the biopsychology of learning and memory, with particular interests in the behavioral pharmacology of memory, drugs and conditioning, and more recently, aging and memory. Recent research projects include a study of caffeine's effects on memory in college students and a project examining the behavioral effect of a proneurogenic, neuroprotective chemical on learning and memory in young and aged rats.
Dr. Millin teaches Introductory Psychology, Learning Motivation (and the corresponding Research Methods course), Statistics and an advanced seminar in memory with a strong biopsychological orientation. She also serves as the director of the honors program in psychology. Dr. Millin lives in Wooster with her husband Michael, a math interventionist with the Aurora City Schools. They have a daughter, Lauren, who is two and a half years old.
Areas of Expertise
Behavioral pharmacology of learning and memory, drugs and conditioning, contextual effects on memory, animal models of retrograde amnesia.
Courses Recently Taught
PSYC 200
Statistical Analysis in Psychology
PSYC 200
This course is for psychology majors (or intended majors). Students will learn to conduct a variety of statistical tests that are commonly used in psychological research. The course also builds the skills of choosing the appropriate statistical tests for particular research designs and writing and interpreting the results of statistical analyses. In addition to regular course work, students will have a lab section that focuses on the use of the statistical software package SPSS. This counts toward the foundations requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or 110 or AP score of 5. Generally offered every semester.
PSYC 208
Drugs and Behavior
PSYC 208
This course addresses the ubiquitous presence of psychoactive drugs in human culture. The approach to understanding how drugs affect and are affected by our body, brain, behavior and culture will be biopsychosocial, addressing neurobiological, behavioral and social factors that influence drug use and abuse. We will draw knowledge from basic laboratory animal research and human drug studies, as well as personal memoirs and historical summaries. This counts toward the mind and brain requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or 110 or AP score of 5 or NEUR 212. Generally offered every year.
PSYC 303
Learning and Motivation
PSYC 303
This course will provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the theories and basic principles of learning and motivation in human and nonhuman animals, with an emphasis on associative learning; namely, classical and instrumental conditioning. We will discuss how these principles can be applied to our everyday lives, from training pets and raising children, to the development and treatment of mental illness and drug addiction. You will learn the scientific methods of the discipline, as well as improve your critical thinking skills by reading and critiquing primary empirical sources. This counts toward the mind and brain requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 250 or NEUR 212. Generally offered every year.
PSYC 308
Drugs and Behavior
PSYC 308
This course addresses the ubiquitous presence of psychoactive drugs in human culture. The approach to understanding how drugs affect and are affected by our body, brain, behavior and culture will be biopsychosocial, addressing neurobiological, behavioral and social factors that influence drug use and abuse. We will draw knowledge from basic laboratory animal research and human drug studies, as well as personal memoirs and historical summaries. This counts toward the biological bases requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or 110 or AP score of 5 or NEUR 212. Offered every year.
PSYC 403
Advanced Research Methods in Learning and Motivation
PSYC 403
This methods course provides students with the critical skills for understanding and conducting behavioral research in animal subjects. Students will be actively engaged in collecting, analyzing and interpreting data. Students will learn about designing research projects, making valid conclusions, critiquing journal articles and writing a scientific paper. This counts toward the advanced research requirement for the major. Prerequisite: PSYC 250 and completion of or concurrent enrollment in PSYC 303. Offered occasionally.
PSYC 475
Psychology Senior Seminar
PSYC 475
This is a required course for senior psychology majors. Each section will have a different topic, but in every seminar students will read and discuss psychological literature, write and discuss critiques of research articles, develop a review paper on a topic in psychology develop a research proposal on a topic in psychology and make a formal oral presentation to the class. This counts toward the senior capstone requirement for the major. Prerequisite: senior standing and psychology major. Offered every fall.