MARSH AP Psychology
Syllabus 2017-2018
Welcome to AP Psychology! I am very glad to be able to work with you this year, and hope that you will walk out of this class with a solid foundation in the principles of psychology. Please read the course syllabus, sign, have a parent sign, and return to me THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL.
Course Description: This college-level psychology class is not designed to enable you to psychoanalyze anyone, but to give you a broad exposure to all of the principles of psychology that you would see in an introductory college course. Think of it as a buffet; you will try a little of several items, but no one topic will be covered enough to make you an expert. The class is heavily content-focused, which means that you will be reading frequently, if not daily. Because we are required by the College Board to complete an entire college-level textbook, we will be examining some issues that might not ordinarily be found in a high-school psychology class. Some of the issues we will be studying include death and dying, sexual attraction, gender issues, evolutionary psychology, and physiology. I encourage you to examine your book for specific information about these topics. If you deem any topic too controversial and wish to be exempted from it, you may request that in writing. However, be aware that this can lead to a lower score on the AP Exam, as you may have sizable gaps in your knowledge base if you choose to exempt yourself.
Expectations: Because this class is heavily focused on content, you will need to develop excellent study skills. Vocabulary is an essential part of this course; in order to do well, you should grow your psychology-related vocabulary by 400-500 words before the AP Exam. Additionally, you will do chapter outlines; some will be mandatory, and some will be for extra-credit. I expect you to be here, physically and mentally, and to participate in all activities. I expect you to ask questions when you do not understand something, and to bring your own background and insights into discussion. I expect you to come speak with me if you have any problems, concerns, or questions. Reading is imperative; you will be held accountable for reading assignments with quizzes and short response writings.
Grading: Grades will be assessed as follows:
Tests/projects/vocabulary 55%
Daily assignments/outlines/quizzes 45%
Be aware that during any nine weeks there will be many daily grades and few test/project/vocabulary grades. Therefore, you must study and complete your vocabulary studies. Late work: Homework and assignments should be turned in within five minutes of the start of class, and should be hand written unless otherwise instructed. Late homework will not be accepted and your grade will be a zero. However, I understand that sometimes extreme, unexpected things happen; if you have a situation that prevents you from completing an assignment, discuss with me as soon as you are able, so that we can make the necessary arrangements. Contacting me after the fact is not acceptable.
Extra credit assignments will be offered at various times during the year, and will not be accepted late. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense, and any suspicion of cheating, plagiarizing, or otherwise engaging in dishonest conduct will result in a referral to Ms. Sneed and a grade of zero on that assignment. Problematic behaviors will receive a verbal warning, then a parent conference will be scheduled. Students may be placed on a behavioral improvement plan if needed.
Please note that any textbook that is damaged or lost will result in a fine equivalent to the replacement value of the textbook.
Extra Credit
Extra Credit Extra credit can be earned by reading an article from a psychology journal or magazine and writing a summary and critique of the article. Only one article per nine weeks can be completed for extra credit. Points for extra credit are added into the quiz portion of the overall grade.
For 10 Points: Read a full-page article from the APA’s Monitor on Psychology. Write a one-page summary and a one-page critique.
For 20 Points: Read a full journal article from American Psychologist, the Journal of Educational Psychology, or the Journal of Social Issues. Write a two-page summary and a one-page critique of the article.
AP Psychology Topics
Because the AP Psychology is a content-driven exam, it is important that we cover every unit during the school year. Remember to keep up with your reading assignments in the Meyers textbook. Keep your notecards and begin reviewing them during the Memory unit. Use what you learn in the Memory unit to guide you for the rest of the class. Remember that deep encoding can become automatic; the more you practice, rehearse,
self-quiz, and try to make the information relevant, the more you will remember.
Scoring Components
SC1 The course provides instruction in history and approaches.
SC2 The course provides instruction in research methods used in psychological science, practice and ethics.
SC3 The course provides instruction in biological bases of behavior.
SC4 The course provides instruction in sensation.
SC5 The course provides instruction in perception.
SC6 The course provides instruction in states of consciousness.
SC7 The course provides instruction in learning.
SC8 The course provides instruction in cognition.
SC9 The course provides instruction in motivation.
SC10 The course provides instruction in emotion.
SC11 The course provides instruction in developmental psychology.
SC12 The course provides instruction in personality.
SC13 The course provides instruction in testing and individual differences.
SC14 The course provides instruction in abnormal psychology.
SC15 The course provides instruction in treatment of psychological disorders and ethics used in psychological practice.
SC16 The course provides instruction in social psychology.
SC17 As relevant to each content area, the course provides instruction in empirically supported psychological facts, research findings, terminology, and associated phenomena, perspectives, and major figures.
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Cognition Part A
• Memory
• Information Processing
• STM/LTM
• Serial Positioning Effect
• Flashbulb Memory
• Chunking
• Types of Memory
• Forgetting
• Memory Construction
• Eyewitness Memory
Cognition Part B
• Thinking
• Prototypes
• Problem Solving
• Heuristics
• Algorithms
• Creativity
• Conformation Bias
• Functional Fixedness
• Language
• Phonemes
• Morphemes
• Receptive and Expressive Language
• Language Acquisition
Week 1-2 Aug 7-18(Part A)
7A 254-297
Week 3-4 Aug 21-Sep 1 (Part B)
7B 298-323
8-10%
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• History and Approaches
• Brief history of psychology
• Biological approach
• Behavioral approach
• Cognitive approach
• Humanistic Approach
• Psychodynamic Approach
• Sociocultural Approach
• Evolutionary Approach
• Eclectic Approach
Week Sep 2 - 8
Unit 1 pg. 1-17
2-4%
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• Research Methods
• Theories
• Psychology as a science
• Research Methods
• Ethics
• Naturalistic Observations
• Case Studies
• Correlational Studies
• Experiments
• Confirmation and hindsight bias
• Statistics
• Critical thinking
Week 6-7 Sep 9 - 22
Unit 2 p. 18-49
6-8%
______
• Biological Bases of Psychology
• Central Nervous System
• Spinal Cord
• Brain
• Cerebral Cortex
• Somatic Nervous System
• Autonomic Nervous System
• Endocrine System
• Immune System
• Neuroanatomy
• Brain Structures
• Action Potential
• Neurotransmitters
• Neuron structure
• Heritability
• Evolutionary Perspective
• Brain Imaging
Week 8-9-10 Sep 23 – Oct 6
Unit 3 pg. 50-111
8-10%
______
• Sensation and Perception
• Thresholds
• Magnitude Estimation
• Bottom-Up Processing
• Top-Down Processing
• Vision
• Light
• Focus
• Ocular Anatomy
• Visual Pathways
• Blind Spots
• Optical Illusion
• Color Theories
• Hearing
• Sound energy
• Neural messaging
• Aural Anatomy
• Coding frequency/intensity
• The Vestibular Sense
• Pain Perception
• Gate-Control Theory
• Proprioception
• Chemical Senses
• Taste, flavor, smell
• Gestalt theory
• Perceptual Constancy
Week 11-12-13 Oct 7 - 27
Unit 4 pg. 114-173
7-10%
______
• States of Consciousness
• Sleep Cycle
• Sleep Disorders
• Hypnosis
• Psychoactive drugs
• Effects of drugs
Week 14 Oct 28-Nov 3
Unit 5 p. 174-213
2-4%
______
• Learning
• Classical Conditioning
• Behaviorism
• Learned Helplessness
• Spontaneous Recovery
• UR/US/CR/CS
• Operant Conditioning
• Pavlov’s experiments
• Reinforcers
• Punishment
• Reinforcement schedules
• Social Learning
• Other Cognitive processes
Week 15-16 Nov 4 - 17
Unit 6 pg. 214-253
7-9%
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MIDTERM REVIEW
Week 17
• Motivation and Emotion
• Motivation
• Hierarchy of needs
• Drive-reduction theory
• Sexual motivation
• Belonging
• James-Lange theory
• Cannon-Bard theory
• Schacter Two-Factor theory
• Stress
• Biological bases for motivation and emotion
• Arousal
• Sexual partner selection
Week 18-19-20 Nov 18 – Dec 15 (Thanksgiving Break)
Unit 8
Pg. 326-408
6-8%
______
Developmental Psychology
• Lifespan approach
• Nature v. Nurture
• Piaget’s theory
• Kohlberg’s theory
• Giligan’s theory
• Other theories
• Sex roles, gender identity
• Sexual partner selection
Physical, social, cognitive, and moral development
Week 21-22-23 Dec 16 – Jan 19 (Christmas Break)
Unit 9 pg, 410-477
7-9%
______
Personality
• Psychoanalytic approach
• Defense mechanisms
• Psychosexual stages
• TAT
• Humanistic approach
• Myers-Briggs
• Trait Perspective
• Self-actualization
• MMP
• Social – cognitive perspective
• External and Internal LoC
• Positive Psychology
• Self-serving bias
• Spotlight effect
• Individualism
• Collectivism
Week 24-25-26 Jan 19 - Feb 7
Unit 10, pg. 478-520
6-8%
______
Testing/Individual Differences
• Intelligence
• Nature/Nurture
• IQ/WAIS
• Binet
• Gardner
• Intelligence types
• Ethical considerations
• Validity, Reliability
• Standardization
• Down syndrome
• Intellectual disabilities
• Giftedness
Week (half of 26) 26-27 Feb 8 - 16
Unit 11
Pg. 522-559
5-7%
______
Abnormal Psychology
• Anxiety Disorders
• Dissociative Disorders
• Mood Disorders
• Organic Disorders
• Personality Disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Somatoform Disorders
Week 28-29 Feb 17 – Mar 2
Unit 12
Pg. 560-603
7-9%
______
Abnormal Psychology: Treatment
• DSM-IV-TR diagnoses
• Theories
• Treatments
• Treatment perspectives
• Prevention
Week 30 Mar 3 - 9
(NO CLASS Until April 11)
Unit 13
Pg. 604-640
5-7%
______
• Social Psychology
• Group Dynamics
• Norms and Cultural Differences
• Attribution Processes
• Fundamental Attribution Error
• Cognitive Dissonance
• Obdenience
• Normative and information social influences
• Compliance
• Groupthink
• Prejudice
• Aggression/Antisocial Behavior
• Neural Influence
• Social Scripts
• Sexual attraction
• Proximity
Week 31-32-33 Mar 10 – Mar 30
Unit 14
Pg. 642-693
8-10%
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REVIEW FOR AP EXAM Mar31 - Exam
Week 34-35
______
AP EXAM Date not yet published
May 2-5 Projects
WEEK 36
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Student Projects
Week 37-39
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Additional comments: As a teacher, my philosophy is that no one can force anyone to learn anything. The work of learning is yours. While one of my goals is to provide a foundation for you that will allow you to do earn a 3 or better on the AP Exam, the bigger reward is a richer understanding of the principles of psychology. Simply because you are human, an understanding of psychology will enable you to better understand and interact with the world around you.
I encourage your parents and you to contact me whenever you need to; I am happy to explain concepts, help with projects, etc. I return emails daily during the week, and am happy to help however I can. I often have students come in during lunch to work on projects or to get extra help; if you wish to come in at lunch, let me know in the morning so that I may write you a pass.
Contact information:
Email :
** Please note, in the event that information in this syllabus conflicts with the DFA student handbook, the information in the handbook will prevail **
AP Psychology Syllabus
I, ______have read and understand the course syllabus for AP Psychology and agree to honor the student expectations.
______
Student Signature Date
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Parent Signature Date