June 12, 2017
Dear AP Psychology Students,
In this packet you will find your summer homework assignments for this course.
AP Psychology is a yearlong course that follows the guidelines of the College Board. Each student will be encouraged to take the Advanced Placement exam administered by the College Board on May 7, 2018. This is an advanced level course comparable to Psychology 101 at most colleges and universities. The materials used and coursework required in AP Psychology reflect that this is an upper level course.
The textbook covers the major topics in contemporary psychology and human behavior. The concepts covered in the textbook will be supplemented with lectures, demonstrations, and additional in-depth analysis of selected topics. You will also be asked to examine your own thinking and behavior and participate responsibly in discussions. Units typically last anywhere from one to three weeks and culminate with a unit test with questions similar to the AP Exam.
The summer assignment includes two separate components. You will have access to the Prologue and Chapter One of the textbook in order to complete the first several assignments. The second assignment requires that you read a book of your choice from the attached book list. You may purchase the book or check it out from the Shorecrest library or a local library. I have limited copies of some books available. Make sure to consider some of the discount bookstores for availability. You may also choose a book of your own choice as long as you obtain prior approval from me. These assignments are due the first day of class. There will be a quiz covering the textbook reading the second day of class.
Since AP Psychology is now being taught within the CTE Department of Family and Consumer Science, this course now satisfies a 1.0 Occupational Credit rather than a Social Studies elective. If you have any questions about this, please contact your counselor or me.
I am excited to be teaching this course and look forward to meeting all of you in September. Psychology is a fabulous subject and we will a great time exploring all things Psych! Have a fabulous summer, and happy reading!
Sincerely,
Linda Cobb
Family & Consumer Science Teacher
AP Psychology Summer Homework 2017
There will be two summer assignments for AP Psychology. You will find additional information on the Shorecrest website as well as on the AP Psychology Wiki.
http://shorecrestappsychology.wikispaces.com/
Summer Assignment #1: Unit I & Unit II READING, NOTES & STUDY GUIDES
Read and take notes on Unit 1, modules 1-3, pages 1-20 and Unit II, modules 4- 8 pages 29-64.
Unit I and Unit II notes to me on the 1st day of class, quiz on these chapters on the 2nd day of class.
Your notes can be taken in any style that works for you for this assignment however, Cornell style is recommended. (Notes should be neat, key points highlighted or underlined, questions in the margin, summary). Be prepared to take a short quiz on this section of reading. You will be able to use your notes when you take the quiz.
Vocabulary
A large portion of AP Psychology is learning various terms and concepts. You may choose to tackle vocabulary in a variety of ways such as notecards, underlining/highlighting them in your notes or listing them on a separate sheet. Particular attention will be given to your inclusion of vocabulary words.
Study Guides
Complete the Unit I and II Study Guides. These are located on the AP Psychology Wiki.
Summer Assignment #2: Summer Reading
Following please find a list of books related to a variety of psychological interests. Students can obtain books from local libraries or bookstores. You might also check with me to see if I have a copy of the book. If you would like to select another book, you must first obtain approval from Mrs. Cobb. Failure to do so will result in no grade for this assigment. Be prepared to share about your book and how it relates to Psychology the first week of school.
After completing your summer reading assignment for AP Psychology, write an original paper of no more than four pages. The paper should be typed in double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, and have 1” margins on all sides. Provide detailed answer to the following questions:
• What was the book about? Who wrote it?
• Why were you interested in reading this particular book?
• How does the book you read relate to psychology? Please explain.
• Identify the psychology concepts/terminology found in the book.
• What did you learn that you didn’t previously know?
• After reading the book, is there anything you would like to learn more about
• Cite all your sources using APA format:
http://www.easybib.com/guides/students/writing-guide/iv-write/a-formatting/apa-paper-formatting/
2017-18 Book List for AP Psychology:
Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People –Mahzarin R. Banaji & Anthony C. Greenwald The authors explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. They reveal these biases based on their experience with the Implicit Association Test, a method that has revolutionized the way scientists learn about the human mind and that gives us a glimpse into what lies within the metaphoric blindspot.
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking -Malcom Gladwell Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant-in the blink of an eye-that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work-in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness –Susannah Calahan
When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened? In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen.
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work – John Medina Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details every business leader, parent, and teacher should know—like the need for physical activity to get your brain working its best. Medina answers questions such as: How do we learn? What exactly do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multi-tasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget—and so important to repeat new knowledge? Is it true that men and women have different brains?
Columbine - Dave Cullen
On April 20, 1999, two boys left an indelible stamp on the American psyche. Their goal was simple: to blow up their school, Oklahoma-City style, and to leave "a lasting impression on the world." Their bombs failed, but the ensuing shooting defined a new era of school violence-irrevocably branding every subsequent shooting "another Columbine. In this revelatory book, Dave Cullen has delivered a profile of teenage killers that goes to the heart of psychopathology. He lays bare the callous brutality of mastermind Eric Harris, and the quavering, suicidal Dylan Klebold, who went to prom three days earlier and obsessed about love in his journal.
Dibs : In Search of Self -Virginia Axline The classic of child therapy. Dibs will not talk. He will not play. He has locked himself in a very special prison. Andhe is alone. This is the true story of how he learned to reach out for the sunshine, for life . . . how he came to the breathless discovery of himself that brought him back to the world of other children. (Abnormal, developmental)
Divided Minds: Twin Sisters and Their Journey Through Schizophrenia -Pamela Spiro Wagner
Growing up in the fifties, Carolyn Spiro was always in the shadow of her more intellectually dominant and social outgoing twin, Pamela. But as the twins approached adolescence, Pamela began to succumbto schizophrenia, hearing disembodied voices and eventually suffering many breakdowns and hospitalizations.
Divided Minds is a dual memoir of identical twins, one of whom faces a life sentence of schizophrenia, and the other who becomes a psychiatrist, after entering the spotlight that had for so long been focused on her sister. Told in the alternating voices of the sisters, Divided Minds is a heartbreaking account of the far reaches of madness, as well as the depths of ambivalence and love between twins. It is a true and unusually frank story of identical twins with very different identities and wildly different experiences of the world around them.
Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic –Sam Quinones
In fascinating detail, Sam Quinones chronicles how, over the past 15 years, enterprising sugar cane farmers in a small county on the west coast of Mexico created a unique distribution system that brought black tar heroin—the cheapest, most addictive form of the opiate, 2 to 3 times purer than its white powder cousin—to the veins of people across the United States. Communities where heroin had never been seen before—from Charlotte, NC and Huntington, WVA, to Salt Lake City and Portland, OR—were overrun with it. Dreamlandis a scathing and incendiary account of drug culture and addiction spreading to every part of the American landscape.
Emotions Revealed, Second Edition: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life -Paul Ekman
Psychologist Paul Ekman explains the roots of our emotions--anger, fear, disgust, sadness, and happiness--and shows how they cascade across our faces, providing clear signals to those who can identify the clues. As featured in Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller Blink, Ekman's Facial Action Coding System offers intense training in recognizing feelings in spouses, children, colleagues, even strangers on the street. Ekman distills decades of research into a practical, mind-opening, and life-changing guide to reading the emotions of those around us. He answers such questions as: How does our body signal to others whether we are slightly sad or anguished, peeved or enraged? Can we learn to distinguish between a polite smile and the genuine thing? Can we ever truly control our emotions? Packed with unique exercises and photographs, and a new chapter on emotions and lying that encompasses security and terrorism as well as gut decisions, Emotions Revealed is an indispensable resource for navigating our emotional world.
Flourish –Martin E. Seligman Flourish builds on psychologist, Dr. Seligman’s work on authentic happiness, optimism, motivation, and character to show how to get the most out of life, unveiling an electrifying new theory of what makes a good life—for individuals, for communities, and for nations. He explores what is it that enables you to cultivate your talents, to build deep, lasting relationships with others, to feel pleasure, and to contribute meaningfully to the world. In a word, what is it that allows you to flourish? “Well-being” takes the stage front and center, and Happiness (or Positive Emotion) becomes one of the five pillars of Positive Psychology, along with Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment—or PERMA, the permanent building blocks for a life of profound fulfillment. Flourish refines what Positive Psychology is all about
Hallucinations –Oliver Sacks To many people, hallucinations imply madness, but in fact they are a common part of the human experience. These sensory distortions range from the shimmering zigzags of a visual migraine to powerful visions brought on by fever, injuries, drugs, sensory deprivation, exhaustion, or even grief. Drawing on his own experiences, a wealth of linical cases from among his patients, and famous historical examples ranging from Dostoevsky to Lewis Carroll, the legendary neurologist Oliver Sacks investigates the mystery of these sensory deceptions: what they say about the working of our brains, how they have influenced our folklore and culture, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all.
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body –Roxane Gay Author Roxane Gay has written with intimacy and sensitivity about food and bodies, using her own emotional and
psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health. As a woman who describes her own body as “wildly undisciplined,” Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care. With the bracing candor, vulnerability, and authority that have made her one of the most admired voices of her generation, Roxane explores what it means to be overweight in a time when the bigger you are, the less you are seen. Hunger is a deeply personal memoir from one of our finest writers, and tells a story that hasn’t yet been told but needs to be.
The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil -Phillip Zimbardo