APPsychology
Syllabus
Mrs. East - Room # 2701 - - (281) 252-2550
Course Description:
Advanced Placement Psychology is designed to be a college introductory Psychology course and gives high-ability students the opportunity to earn college credit in Psychology while still in high school. The content of an AP Psychology course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice.
GRADING:
- Daily Grade: 30% of nine weeks grade
- Daily class / home work; daily quizzes; participation; AP format essays
- Major Grade: 70% of nine weeks grade
- AP format exams (multiple choice and essays graded accordingly); projects; portfolios - Portfolios will be graded for quality, completeness, visual appearance and organization. They are a major grade which will be taken up at random. It is your responsibility to keep portfolios up to date.
READING:
- Required text:
- Required additional materials: AP Psychology review manual… e.g. Baron’s, 5 Steps to a 5, Kaplan’s, Princeton Review
- Additional text available in class: Myers, David G. Psychology, 8th ed. New York: Worth, 2007.
- The AP Released Exam in Psychology and other support materials provided by the College Board.
- Supplemental reading provided electronically or on paper will be drawn from books, newspapers, magazines, and journals will also be assigned.
- Stay current with reading assignments.
PREPAREDNESS – Be in your seat before the bell rings and begin assignments as required. Come to class with all required materials in addition to your textbooks. Required material: 3 subject spiral notebook, pens (black, blue & red), highlighter, map pencils
PARTICIPATION – Everyone is expected to answer oral questions, ask questions and participate in class and group discussions. The learning environment is positive and as a class we will make it possible for all to participate comfortably. Rude, unpleasant, or insulting remarks during a class discussion will result in no credit for the assignment and parental contact. Not participating in group activities will result in the same consequence. You are expected to take the AP examination on May 7, 2018. It is imperative that you attend tutorials to help you prepare.
BEHAVIOR: I will treat you with respect and consideration and it is expected that you do the same. Advanced Placement Psychology is a college level class, in which the expectations of the class require the student to perform at a college level. Instructional material potentially has information that students and/or their parents might find offensive. I will not seek to enforce my own opinions. Students should feel free to express theirs, yet always be respectful of others' views, even if those views don't agree with theirs.
ATTENDANCE: Attendance is essential. Although some work can be made up, there are activities and discussions that are beneficial to your understanding of the subject matter that cannot be done after or outside of class. It is your responsibility to get all make-up assignments. If you are absent on the day of an exam or quiz, you will be expected to take the exam or quiz on the day that you return to school.
LATE WORK: Late work is accepted according to the policies set by MWHS administration. See MWHS website for details.
SCHOOL POLICIES: Read your student handbook and follow all rules described within. Special Attention: Academic dishonesty is a severe offense. Plagiarism is using other’s work, ideas, or passages and representing them as your own. This unethical practice, either on a written/oral assignment or exam will result in no credit and possible dismissal from the course.
Unit 1—History and Approaches of Psychology – Chapter 1- 2 weeks
Topics
·Historical Schools: Functionalism vs. Structuralism
·Modern Approaches: Psychodynamic, Behaviorist, Cognitive, Humanistic, Evolutionary, Neuroscience
·Nature of Scientific Inquiry: Sources of bias and error
Objectives
·Trace the historical and philosophical development of psychology as a science.
·Describe how the different perspectives explore and explain human behavior.
·Identify famous psychologists and describe their contributions.
·Explore different career options for people who earn degrees in psychology.
Unit 2—Research Methodology – Chapter 2- 3 weeks
Topics
·Research Methods: Introspection, observation, survey, psychological testing, controlled experiments
·Statistics: Central tendency, variance, significance, correlation
·Ethics in Research: Human participants, animal subjects
Objectives
·Discuss the advantage of research over other ways of knowing.
·Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of case study research, naturalistic observations and survey research.
·Evaluate why correlational research does not yield causal conclusions.
·Identify the elements of an experiment and apply elements of an experiment to different situations.
·Evaluate the importance of ethics and statistics in research.
Unit 3—Neuroscience and Biological Processes – Chapter 3- 3 weeks
Topics
·Neuron: Neuronal and synaptic transmission, psychopharmacology, drug abuse
·Brain: Research methodology, neuroanatomy, brain development and aging, hemispheric specialization
·Nervous System: Structural and functional organization
·Endocrine System: Anatomy, HPA-axis, and immune system
·Genetics and Heritability
Objectives
·Explain the process of neural communication.
·Explain how neurotransmitters work.
·Delineate the different steps of the neural chain.
·Analyze the difference between the neural and hormonal systems.
·Identify the parts of the brain and the functions of each.
·Describe the different types of brain scans.
·Determine the role of genetics in influencing human behavior.
Unit 4 - Sensation & Perception – Chapter 4- 2 weeks
Topics
·Psychophysics: Thresholds (absolute, difference, Weber’s constants), signal detection theory
·Sensory Organs and Transduction: Visual (including color vision and feature detection), auditory, olfactory, gustatory, proprioceptive (including kinesthetic and vestibular)
·Perception: Attention, processing, illusions (including Gestalt psychology), and camouflage
Objectives
·Determine the significance of signal detection theory in modern psychology.
·Identify the major components of the visual and auditory system and the function of each.
·Identify the four basic tastes and discuss the differences among the senses of taste, smell, and flavor.
·Identify the two body senses and contrast one with the other.
·Identify the views of the Gestalt psychologists related to perceptual phenomena.
·Understand how depth perception influences behavior.
·Appreciate the effect of constancy and context on daily life.
·Analyze the effect of perceptual set on everyday sensory experience.
Unit 5—States of Consciousness – Chapter 5- 1 week
Topics
·States of Consciousness: Waking, sleep and dreaming, hypnosis, altered states
Objectives
·Define consciousness.
·Describe the different stages of sleep.
·Analyze the different theories of dreaming.
·Determine the common sleep disorders and their consequences.
·Differentiate between the different theories of hypnosis.
·Analyze why psychologists are suspicious of hypnotically enhanced memories.
·Describe psychoactive drugs and their effects.
·Differentiate among the different types of psychoactive drugs and their effects.
·Analyze the consequences of addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.
Unit 6 —Learning – Chapter 6- 2 weeks
Topics
·Classical Conditioning: Pavlov, Watson, applications, biological critique, cognitivist challenge
·Operant Conditioning: Thorndike, Skinner, Bandura, behavior modification, biological critique, cognitivist challenge
·Influential Theories: Piaget and cognitive development, Freud and psychosocial development, Kohlberg and moral development, Gilligan and gender differentiation
Objectives
·Describe the elements of classical and operant conditioning.
·Apply classical conditioning to different situations.
·Differentiate among the various forms of reinforcement and punishment.
·Apply elements of operant conditioning to different situations.
·Describe observational learning.
·Describe how biology and cognition influences learning.
Unit 7—Cognition & Language – Chapter 7 & 8 – 3 weeks
Topics
·Memory: Information processing, storage, retrieval
·Accuracy of Memory: Loftus and Schacter
·Cognition: Problem solving and heuristics
·Language: Skinner and Chomsky
Objectives
·Analyze how humans encode, store, and retrieve information in memory.
·Apply memory enhancement techniques to everyday life.
·Describe the characteristics of language and evaluate the importance of language.
·Define a concept, explaining why it is useful to problem solving.
·Differentiate between algorithms and heuristics.
·Analyze how fixation, confirmation bias, heuristics, overconfidence, framing, and belief perseverance influence the ability to solve problems.
Unit 8 —Motivation, Emotion & Stress– Chapter 10 & 13 - 2 weeks
Topics
·Motivational Concepts: Instincts, drives, optimal arousal, Maslow’s hierarchy
·Hunger and Eating Disorders
·Sexuality and Sexual Orientation
·Achievement Motivation: McClelland and the TAT, intrinsic versus extrinsic motivators
·Physiology of Emotion: Fear, anger, happiness
·Expression of Emotion: Darwin and Ekman
·Theories of Emotion: James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schacter-Singer
·Stress as a Concept: Selye
·Stress and Health
·Adjustment
Objectives
·Discuss the similarities of instinct and drive theories.
·Discuss the difference between drive theory and homeostasis.
·Explain the reasons why intrinsic motivation is more beneficial than extrinsic motivation.
·Determine how psychologists measure achievement motivation.
·Identify ways we can motivate others to give their best efforts.
·Analyze how the body regulates weight so effectively.
·Differentiate between historical and modern cognitive theories of emotion.
·Identify the physiological changes that occur when people experience different emotions.
·Determine the criteria for assessing gender differences in emotional expression.
·Define stress, identifying the emotional and physiological responses to stress.
·Evaluate how outlook and feelings of control influence health.
·Evaluate how social support and positive emotional experiences contribute to health and well-being.
Unit 9—Developmental Psychology – Chapter 11-2 weeks
Topics
·Methodology: Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies
·Nature vs. Nurture (maturation versus learning)
·Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood
Objectives
·Describe the physical development of infants and children from conception to puberty.
·Analyze the cognitive development of infants and children.
·Evaluate the importance of social development in infants and children.
·Define adolescence and evaluate how adolescence has changed over the last century.
·Summarize the physical changes that occur during adolescence.
·Analyze how the reasoning ability of adolescents differs from that of children.
·Describe and analyze Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning.
·Describe how nature and nurture affect behavior.
·Describe how developmental psychologists research development over the lifespan.
·Analyze how sex roles influence individual and social behavior throughout the lifespan.
Unit 10—Personality - Chapter 12- 2 weeks
Topics
·Psychodynamic Perspective: Freud, Jung, Adler
·Trait Perspective: Allport, factor analysis and the five-factor model, assessment (Myers-Briggs, MMPI)
·Humanistic Perspective: Maslow and Rogers
·Social-Cognitive Perspective: Bandura and Seligman
Objectives
·Explain how the different perspectives—psychodynamic, humanistic, trait, and social-cultural—approach the study of personality.
·Evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of each theory of personality.
·Determine how psychologists assess personality according to the various perspectives.
Unit 11—Testing and Individual Differences - Chapter 9- 2 weeks
Topics
·Psychological Testing: Methodology, norms, reliability, validity
·Intelligence: Defining intelligence, history of intelligence and aptitude testing, nature-nurture issues
Objectives
·Compare and contrast Gardner’s and Sternberg’s theories of intelligence.
·Evaluate Alfred Binet’s contribution to intelligence testing.
·Evaluate Lewis Terman’s role in the development of intelligence testing.
·Describe David Weschler’s contribution to intelligence testing.
·Explain how group tests of intelligence differ from individual tests.
·Differentiate between an aptitude test and an achievement test.
·Explain the difference between reliability and validity.
·Analyze the reasons for the differences in test scores among people of different genders, races, and ethnic groups.
Unit 12—Psychological Disorders and Treatment - Chapter 14 & 15- 4 weeks
Topics
·Approaches to Abnormality: The Rosenhan study, historical approaches (deviance), the medical model, the bio psycho social model
·Classifying Disorders: Evolution of the DSM-IV-TR
·Major Categories of Disorders: Anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders
·Major Approaches to Psychotherapy: Psychoanalysis, behavioristic, humanistic, cognitive, group, pharmacological
·Does Therapy Work? Eysenck, outcome studies, and the Consumer Reports study
Objectives
·Identify the criteria psychologists use to diagnose psychological disorders.
·Differentiate among the different perspectives psychologists take to understand psychological disorders.
·Describe the characteristics of mood, anxiety, somatoform, dissociative, schizophrenia, personality and brain-based disorders.
·Describe the different treatment options for the various types of psychological disorders.
Unit 13—Social Psychology - Chapter 16- 3weeks
Topics
·Attitudes and Behavior: Fundamental attribution error, roles, Festinger and cognitive dissonance
·Group Influence: Asch and conformity, Milgram and obedience, facilitation and loafing, Janis and groupthink
·Prejudice and Scapegoating
·Altruism: Darley and Latané
Objectives
·Differentiate between situational and dispositional attribution.
·Identify the conditions in which people are more likely to conform and obey.
·Determine how the presence of others influences actions.
·Evaluate why people are attracted to each other.
·Describe the conditions under which people are more likely to help others.
·Differentiate among the terms prejudice, stereotype, and discrimination.
·Determine the biological and social contributors to aggressive behavior.
·Define culture and how it develops.