AP Psychology Summer Reading Assignment

AP Psychology Summer Reading Assignment

June, 2014

5th edition 6th edition 7th edition

Dear AP Psychology Student:

Congratulations on selecting a rigorous Social Studies elective for this coming school year.

To assure that you will be better prepared to start this class in September, please complete the first credited requirements over the course of the summer. Your completed work is due the first class session of Advanced Placement Psychology.

Each student will do the following over the summer:

1. Obtain and read the entire book, Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research (Fifth, Sixth, or Seventh Edition) by Roger Hock *

2. Complete the attached assignment based upon one experiment/study per chapter in the book. Specifically, you will pick one experiment/study from each chapter to write about in detail on the forms attached. I would suggest selecting one that was difficult for you to understand in the chapter. There are ten chapters total, so ten total experiments/study write-ups are required. Your detailed summaries of the experiments will be worth 30 points and are due the first day of class. They may also be used on the 50 point multiple choice test over the summer reading on day three. YOU MUST HAND WRITE ALL OF YOUR NOTES. Typed notes will not be accepted.

Note: You must read all 40 studies in the book. You should take basic notes on the other 30 studies. These basic notes will not be graded, butyou will be able to use them, along with your10 detailedsummaries, on the multiple choice quiz on day three.

3. A sample study is attached to use as a model for your work. It is also online with e-copies of this entire project. (webpage below)

Remember, all work is due the first class session in September, 2014. The fifty question, fifty-point multiple choice test will be given on the third day of class.

Please feel free to contact me over the summer via email if you have any questions! Good luck and I look forward to seeing you in the fall.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Weisbrodt

Advanced Placement Psychology Teacher

Email :

Webpage: http://gpschools.schoolwires.net//Domain/287

* You will need to purchase this book. A new or used version of the Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research Fifth, Sixth, or Seventh Edition by Roger Hock is acceptable. Used copies are available on the Internet for under $10.00. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT YOU BUY THIS BOOK NOW. AMAZON HAS USED COPIES OF THE 5TH EDITION FOR UNDER $5.00. THE BOOK MAY BE HARDER TO FIND CLOSER TO THE FALL SINCE MANY AP PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY USE THE SAME BOOK.

Limited copies of the book are also available at the Grosse Pointe Library Central Branch and the library here at Grosse Pointe North. This is the same book that was used last year, so you may be able to obtain a copy from previous AP Psych students at Grosse Pointe North or South. If purchasing this book presents a financial hardship please speak to me individually before the start of summer.

Sample

Name ______Hour______

Directions: Please complete a review for one study or experiment per chapter in the book using the format below.

YOU MUST HAND WRITE YOUR WORK. No typed work will be accepted.

Extra copies of the note taking format are attached and are also available on the class webpage.

Note taking Structure for 40 Studies Reading: (TEACHER SAMPLE)

Title of Study: Behavioral Study of Obedience

Author(s): S. Milgram

Date of original publication: 1963

Research Question: Do humans have a tendency to obey those in authority even if this violates personal codes of moral or ethical behavior?

Methodology: Experiment

Participants: 40 males ages 20-50; 15 skilled/unskilled workers; 16 white collar sales men and 9 professional men

Procedure:

Ø  Participants were told that they were part of study on the effect of punishment on learning.

Ø  Participants drew lots to take on the role of either teacher or learner in the experiment.

Ø  The learner was actually a confederate ( part of the experiment)

Ø  The learner was strapped to an electric wired shock generating machine.

Ø  The teacher was told to shock the learner for every wrong answer in a test of memory ( word –pairs)

Ø  The voltage on the shock machine increased with every wrong answer.

Results:

Ø  Every teacher (experimenter) continued to at least the 300 volts.

Ø  Sixty-five percent proceeded to the top shock level.

Ø  Most teachers (experimenters) showed signs of extreme stress but still continued to obey the command of the authority figure to shock the learner.

Implications/Discussion:

Ø  Milgram was surprised (shocked HA) at the subject’s level of obedience

Ø  He proposed several explanations to account for this obedience. .

Ø  These were as follows :1) Its was at a prestigious university-Yale 2)Free Choice played a role 3) There was an equal chance of being teacher or learner 4) The volunteers were paid. 5) The psychologists running the experiment were knowledgeable.

Criticisms /Limitations:

Ø  One major criticism of Milgram’s study was that it caused the participants undue stress.

Ø  The lab environment at Yale influenced the levels of the subject’s conformity.

Ø  The lab environment did not reflect a “real life” situation. So Milgram could not generalize the results.

Future studies on the topic: (completed or needed)

Ø  In a study of Corrections Officers, the required level of obedience showed no negative long-term effects. This included a no greater than average level of clinical depression.

Ø  A study on the use of the Internet to collect psychological data questioned the effect of such research on the right to privacy. It also called for a higher level of consent in such research.

Mnemonic device to help you remember the researcher/topic of study- (This might be a phrase, a quick sketch, etc.)