The Cognitive Behavioral CoLab (CBCL) is the applied, lab-style component of many of Tuttle’s courses. It’s a time where students, other curious minds, move beyond videos, textbooks and lectures to step into the role of amateur scholar. Here, “cognitive behavioral” means the scientific integration of cognition and behavior that grounded is research and theory. It’s not to be confused with the related, but treatment focused, “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)“.
Comparative Psychology with Human & Non-Human Subjects
The CBCL uses a comparative psychology approach to engage students in hands-on activities with both human and non-human subjects. Some activities explore how animal behavior can help us better understand human cognition and learning, while others highlight universal behavioral principles that apply across species. By combining insights from neuroscience, learning theory, and evolutionary psychology, the CoLab helps students discover how behavior works—across brains, bodies, and environments.
CBCL Activities
CBCL: Animal Care, Handling, Ethics
Housing, Feeding, Breeding cockroaches
Loving, not squashing: Handling and Respecting Cockroaches
Animal Rights vs Animal Welfare
CBCL: Learning Theory
Fear, Loathing, and Learning
Don’t take the bait: Describing Behavior and Avoiding Mind Traps
Cockroach Minds and Cognitive Compromises?
Stimuli, Responses, and Cockroaches
Roach, Repeat, Adapt: Habituation and Sensitization
Pavlov’s Cockroach: Classical Conditioning
Cockroaches and Consequences: Operant Behavior
Monkey see, Monkey do: Observational Learning
The Student Cognitive Behaviorist: Designing your own behavior experiment
CBCL: Statistics
CBCL: Statistics are currently formatted as “Peer Collaboration Assignments (PCA)”
PCA 01: How big is a giant cockroach?: Measurements, Variables, and Scales
PCA 02: Frequency & Freshmen
PCA 03: Verbal Memory and Central Tendency
PCA 04: Simon Effect and Variability
PCA 05: Mental Rotation and z-Scores
PCA 06: Probability
PCA 07: One Sample z-Test
PCA 08: One Sample t-Test
PCA 09: Independent Samples t-Test
PCA 10: Paired Samples t-Test and Correlations
PCA 11: One Way ANOVA
PCA 12: Two-Way ANOVA
PCA 13: Chi Squared and Non-Parametrics
PCA 14: Collect data for your own statistical Analysis
CBCL: Cognition
Perception
Attention
Stroop Effect
Short Term Memory
Long Term Memory
CBCL: Physiology & Neuroscience
Built to Survive: Anatomy of the Cockroach
Cockroach Dissection
Sheep Brain Dissection
Eye Ball Dissection
Manduca Worm Dissection
Cockroach leg stimulation
The Neuron
Brain Regions
CNS/PNS
Neuron Communication
ROBO Roach
Human – Roach Interface
CBCL: Philosophy and History
Functionalism vs Structuralism
CBCL: Comparative Perspectives
The Case for Cockroaches: Why Comparative Psychology Matters
Creating Cladograms
CBCL: Research Methods and Experimental Design
Design-a-Roach Study
Ethics and IRB Simulation
“Experimental Rescue”
CBCL: Applied Topics
CBCL: Social Behavior
CBCL: Human Development
Stages of Development
CBCL: Freedom, Agency, Personal Growth
Behavioral Freedom Planner
Agency Case Study: You
Ryan David Tuttle, M.A. 