Aiello's Tips for Studying for Semester Exams
Dec., 2016Psychology
Mr. Aiello
AIELLO'S TIPS FOR STUDYING FOR SEMESTER EXAMS
General guidelines for preparing to study:
1. Begin to study far in advance of the test. Plan a study schedule. Be specific about dates and times for studying. Your most difficult subjects should take priority.
2. Daily studying is much more effective than cramming the last days before the exam. Distributed practice always beats massed practice!
3. Determine the best study atmosphere for you. Do you want to study alone, with a friend, or in a group? Do you study best right after school, or in the evening? Choose what is most effective for your knowledge retention, not what is easiest or the most fun.
4. Review your notebooks and folders now to determine where you have gaps in information due to absences or mental lapses. Ask your teachers for copies of tests or handouts that are missing.
5. When studying for tests, try to utilize all the memory devices that you are comfortable using. It is not a good idea to begin using techniques that you have never used before, but there are many ways to code information to aid your memory. Most importantly, do not waste time and energy on studying those things that you already remember.
6. Remember that you are better able to think if you are physically relaxed. Sleep and exercise are very important. Try to keep your 'balance' during exam week.
7. Be sure that you know the types of exams that you will have (multiple choice, completion, essay, etc.) and the body of information that is to be covered.
8. Know the location of your exam, the time, the proctor, etc. Arrive at the exam site three or four minutes early, choose your seat carefully, have extra pens, pencils, calculators and any other tools and devices that you will need for the exam.
READ AND FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY!!!
Look over the test before handing it in, changing any errors of which you are sure. Usually your first response has a better chance of being correct, especially if you are unsure. Pace yourself and leave time to proofread before turning in your test.
Your Psychology Semester Exam is ______
in ______at 8:15 with ______as your proctor. You
will need to bring two #2 pencils and blue or black ink pens.
BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY - SEMESTER EXAM STUDY GUIDE
This handout is by no means meant to substitute for your notes, tests, textbooks, and handouts as you prepare for your exam. It is merely meant as an aid in your organization of your aforementioned items. Use this as the skeletal structure upon which you place the specific information that you believe to be worth knowing for the exam.
Section A - Textbook
1. In your textbook, you were assigned to read parts or all of chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8. Obviously, I would not suggest that you try to reread these chapters, but that you look at the learner objective summaries at the end of each section to see if you recognize the majority of the ideas. It might also prove helpful to flip through the chapters, noting the headings, pictures, charts, etc. If parts seem totally unfamiliar, you might want to read a couple of paragraphs to remind yourself of the details. Otherwise, I would not spend much time in the textbook, but keep it nearby so that you may refer to it if you need to look something up.
Section B - Unit Tests
1. Since you do not have the actual tests to study, I will be giving you a packet of review multiple choice questions. I strongly urge you to spend some time going over the questions, even answering them multiple times. There will be some questions off of old tests, some off of quizzes, some off of the review packets, some off of the Myers online quizzes, and many brand new. In addition, you can go to the quizzes on the textbook’s website. The more practice and familiarity you have, the easier this section of the semester exam will be for you.
Section C - Lectures and Handouts
1. Obviously, since I do not lecture much, the things that I did lecture on should be considered to be pretty significant. Review your notes, making sure that you can understand your notes, and get someone else's who you believe takes great notes. Recopy your notes, for just the process of rewriting them will serve as a good study technique.
2. An especially valuable tool will be the unit syllabi. Each of them contain the essential questions and reading/homeplay assignments.
Section D - Discussions, Films, and Activities
1. On another page of this review packet is a listing of the main topics and ideas that we looked at this semester. Most of these were studied through activities and discussions, so you should be able to remember something about each. As you look over the list, recall what we did to study each idea, especially the larger activities. These should be fresher in your minds because you had to do something with the information. Try to find activities that we did with the items.
2. Generally speaking, I use films to illustrate ideas that are difficult for you to understand by reading and/or talking about, so try to remember what was in each film. These may help you to identify some of the key illustrations for difficult concepts.
Some final (pun!) suggestions
1. Some general suggestions for multiple choice tests - Read all choices first, consider each. Use logic and common sense. Study carefully choices that are similar. Look for qualifying words (best, always, all, none, never, etc.). Avoid selecting answers that are unfamiliar or that you don't understand. As a last resort, pick the choice that is most complete and contains the most information. Make educated guesses by eliminating those choices you know are wrong.
2. Free Response questions are designed to assess how you use evidence to support thoughts and ideas. They differ from term papers only in the length of time you have to complete them. Any essay, whether it is a one-paragraph short answer, a final examination question taking an hour or more, or a take-home exam, should be organized and written just as a research paper. It should start with a thesis and then present the evidence for and against it in a clear, concise way. Stick to your thesis. An essay answer is not a place to dump everything you know, whether it is relevant to the question or not. Try to be concise and precise! Prewriting will help with both of those ideas!!
It is not only permissible but also wise to try to outguess the instructor. What has been stressed in reading, lectures, and class activities? What questions would you ask if you were the teacher? How would you answer them? Outline, as briefly as possible, the points you would cover in your answers. Don't feel frustrated if you guess wrong. The practice will do you good, and the information you pick up will be useful - if not for this exam, then for your understanding of psychology, which is, after all, why you are taking this course.
3. Some general suggestions to keep in mind:
Read the instructions. Make sure that you know exactly what is required. Let's say, for example, that Part II of an exam (25 percent of the total grade) asks you to identify and give the significance of five out of eight items. If you attempt only three, you will have lost ten percent from the exam right there. If you answer all eight, the teacher will probably grade only the first five, even if the last three are absolutely perfect and three of the first five are horrible. And if you identify but fail to give the significance, you have flunked 50 percent of that question.
Multiple Choice hints. If you know the answer right away, mark it down and move on. If you get stuck, skip it and come back later.
•Pay attention to your first choice! Research shows that a first response is usually correct.
•If two or more answers sound like they might be correct, eliminate any obvious incorrect answers. Once you have narrowed it down, give it your best educated guess. Do not rely on how many “A’s” or “D’s” have already been circled, or that “C” shows up more than other answers. The pattern of these is meaningless- make your best educated guess.
•Examine and potentially eliminate answers based on the following:
- Be wary of words like “always” and “never.” Usually they are red flags.
- Eliminate similar choices
- Pay close attention to the longest or most detailed choice. That may be it!
•If you have no idea, guess anyway. Except for one or two standardized tests, students do not get penalized for incorrect answers. It is usually best to guess!
•If two choices seem like they are correct but you aren’t sure about the rest, see if one of your choices is “all of the above.” Most likely that is the correct answer.
Budget your time. If you have 90 minutes for the whole exam and you spend 60 minutes on the short answer section that is worth 30 percent, you will have only 30 minutes for the remaining 70 percent. You will not be given extra time to complete the exam (unless you have a documented IEP with extended time).
Make sure that you answer the question. If you write about something other than what is asked, if you wander off the point, if you fill your answer with facts that may be perfectly correct but are irrelevant to the question, you will not receive much, if any, credit.
Think before you write. Organize your answers. For identifications, ten seconds may be enough. For long essays, five minutes may be appropriate; use the first two or three minutes to make an outline (which will be cryptic, since you are the only one who will have to understand it) of your answer, in which you propose a thesis and list the main points of evidence. Go over the outline. Start to write - write as clearly and correctly as you can, given the constraint of time.
If you have time, go over your exam before you hand it in. Make corrections and additions. Do not erase. That takes time and makes everything else hard to read. Draw a single line through anything you want taken out. Do not tear pages out of your exam booklet.
4. You need to turn in your Psychology textbook to me or the Departmental Assistants in room 10 before you are issued report cards. This leaves you with three options: 1. Turn it in on the last day of class; 2. Turn it in at the exam; or 3. Take it to room 10. If you are enrolled in the AP Psych class, you should keep your text. If your book is damaged or lost, please bring a check made out to the Clayton School District and I will determine the amount needed to be paid.
5. If you have two courses with exams at the same time, see me to schedule time to take the test.
The Social Studies Department make up time will be
FORMAT OF THE BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY SEMESTER EXAM
150 points(75 x 2 pts) Multiple Choice
A. These questions ask about factual-type information to test your all-around foundation of knowledge and recall of information.
B. Study old quizzes, Myers online quizzes, and review packet of mulitple choice.
30 points (3 x 10 pts) Identifications/Short Answers
A. These will be direct questions about factual ideas which we studied, from which you will pick 3 to answer with four or five sentences.
B. Look at old syllabi, section reviews, etc. for key people, ideas and terms. Pay special attention to the essential questions!
50 points(1 x 50 pts) Free Response
A. There will be several questions from which to choose, but all of them will be slightly more comprehensive than unit test essay questions.
B. Look at essays from old reviews and the essential questions on the unit syllabi. We will also spend time in class going over the types of essays to be on the exam.
20 points(1 x 20 pts) Evaluation
______A. Answer three questions about your experiences and thoughts from the class.
250 points possible (approximately 15% of the total points for the semester)
Units and Major Topics/Activities
UNIT 1 - HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY AND ITS SCIENTIFIC METHODS (Chs. 1 & 2)
History and Schools of PsychologyCase Study, Observation, Survey
Biopsychosociocultural ApproachPsychology Experiments/ Statistics
Overconfidence and Hindsight Bias"Research Through Deception"
Aiello's Unscientific ExperimentSecrets of the Psychics
Scientific Methodology
UNIT 2 - BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES and STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS (Chs. 3 & 5)
The Nervous SystemSleep Myths Quiz
Neurotransmitters & their functionsSleep and Dreams
Methods of Studying the BrainSleep Disorders
Hindbrain, Midbrain, Forebrain – Four LobesHypnosis
Cerebral HemispheresDrugs
Localization of FunctionThe Meth Epidemic
Nova: Secrets of the Brain (Derek)Sleep and Dream Record
Eric’s Brain & Casey’s Brain videosMeditation
UNIT 3 – SENSATION & PERCEPTION (Ch. 4)
SensationSensation and Perception Stations
PerceptionBrain Games videos
Perceptual Illusions
UNIT 4 – CONDITIONING & COGNITION (Chs. 6 & 7)
Classical ConditioningMemory
Pavlov's Dogs (UCS, UCR, NS, CS, CR)Sensory stor., Short- and Long-term
Baby AlbertEncoding, Storage, and Retrieval
Generalization and DisciminationRecall and Recognition
Operant ConditioningForgetting and Mnemonics
ShapingEyewitnesses and Reconstructed M.
Schedules of ReinforcementCognition and Problem-Solving
Positive and Negative ReinforcementDirected and Non-Directed Thinking
Escape and AvoidanceSet and Fixation
Sniffy the Virtual RatInsight, Creativity and Problem-solving
Cognitive LearningAlgorithms and Heuristics
Modeling/Observational LearningRepresentativenss and Availability
Bandura’s Bobo dollLanguage
UNIT 5 – MOTIVATION & EMOTION (Ch. 8)
MotivationEmotions
Maslow's Hierarchy of NeedsTheories of Emotions
Hunger and Body ImageBody Language / Lie Detectors
Sexual Behavior & OrientationThe Human Face
Projective TestsHappiness
Achievement MotiveThis Emotional Life
Stress and Well-being