TOWNSHIP OF UNION PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Advanced Placement Psychology
Curriculum Guide
2012
Curriculum Guide Approved June 2011
Board Members
Francis “Ray” Perkins, President
Versie McNeil, Vice President
Gary Abraham
David Arminio
Linda Gaglione
Richard Galante
Thomas Layden
Vito Nufrio
Judy Salazar
TOWNSHIP OF UNION PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Administration
District Superintendent …………………………………………………………………...…………………….... Dr. Patrick Martin
Assistant Superintendent …………………………………………………………..……………………….….…Mr. Gregory Tatum
Director of Elementary Curriculum ……………………………….………………………………..…………….Ms. Tiffany Moutis
Director of Secondary Curriculum ……………………………….………………………….…………………… Dr. Noreen Lishak
Director of Student Information/Technology ………………………………..………………………….…………. Ms. Ann M. Hart
Director of Athletics, Health, Physical Education and Nurses………………………………..……………………Ms. Linda Ionta
DEPARTMENT SUPERVISORS
Language Arts/Social Studies K-8 ……..………………………………….…………………………………….. Mr. Robert Ghiretti
Mathematics K-5/Science K-5 …………………………………………….………………………………………. Ms. Deborah Ford
Guidance K-12/SAC …..………………………………………………………………………………….……….Ms. Bridget Jackson
Language Arts/Library Services 8-12 ….………………………………….…………………………………….…Ms. Mary Malyska
Math 8-12…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Mr. Jason Mauriello
Science 6-12……...... …………………………………………………….………………………………….Ms. Maureen Guilfoyle
Social Studies/Business………………………………………………………………………………………..…….Ms. Libby Galante
World Language/ESL/Career Education/G&T/Technology….…………………………………………….….Ms. Yvonne Lorenzo
Art/Music …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….Mr. Ronald Rago
Curriculum Committee Nathan Surget
Academic Area AP Psychology
Table of Contents
Title Page
Board Members
Administration
Department Supervisors
Curriculum Committee
Table of Content
District Mission/Philosophy Statement
District Goals
Course Description
Recommended Texts
Course Proficiencies
Curriculum Units
Appendix: New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
Mission Statement
The Township of Union Board of Education believes that every child is entitled to an education designed to meet his or her individual needs in an environment that is conducive to learning. State standards, federal and state mandates, and local goals and objectives, along with community input, must be reviewed and evaluated on a regular basis to ensure that an atmosphere of learning is both encouraged and implemented. Furthermore, any disruption to or interference with a healthy and safe educational environment must be addressed, corrected, or when necessary, removed in order for the district to maintain the appropriate educational setting.
Philosophy Statement
The Township of Union Public School District, as a societal agency, reflects democratic ideals and concepts through its educational practices. It is the belief of the Board of Education that a primary function of the Township of Union Public School System is to formulate a learning climate conducive to the needs of all students in general, providing therein for individual differences. The school operates as a partner with the home and community.
Statement of District Goals
Ø Develop reading, writing, speaking, listening, and mathematical skills.
Ø Develop a pride in work and a feeling of self-worth, self-reliance, and self discipline.
Ø Acquire and use the skills and habits involved in critical and constructive thinking.
Ø Develop a code of behavior based on moral and ethical principals.
Ø Work with others cooperatively.
Ø Acquire a knowledge and appreciation of the historical record of human achievement and failures and current societal issues.
Ø Acquire a knowledge and understanding of the physical and biological sciences.
Ø Participate effectively and efficiently in economic life and the development of skills to enter a specific field of work.
Ø Appreciate and understand literature, art, music, and other cultural activities.
Ø Develop an understanding of the historical and cultural heritage.
Ø Develop a concern for the proper use and/or preservation of natural resources.
Ø Develop basic skills in sports and other forms of recreation.
Course Description
Advanced Placement Psychology has been designed to provide students with an introductory overview of the field of psychology. The course is designed to introduce students to the scientific study of human and animal behavior with an emphasis on empirical data. The curriculum covers the major fields and subfields of psychology in a manner that is consistent with an introductory college course. The curriculum is designed to match the National Standards for The Teaching Of Psychology published by the College Board. Students are expected to complete all assignments on time and to present only the finest examples of their work. Students are consistently reminded that the course is designed to be comparable to an introductory course at the finest academic institutions in the nation and should be approached as such. Students have an opportunity to earn 3 college credits for this course and are expected to take the AP Psychology Exam in May.
Recommended Textbooks
Coon, Dennis.
Introduction To Psychology Gateways To Mind And Behavior. (2010: 12th edition Wadsworth)
Supplemental Text: Baucum, Don. Psychology. (1999: Barron’s College Review Series) Hock, Roger.
40 Studies That Changed Psychology. (2005: Pearson Prentice Hall)
Course Proficiencies
Students will be able to…
AP Psychology Proficiencies 2011
Nate Surget
1. All students must be able to answer multiple choice questions at a rate of 30 seconds per question.
2. All students must be able to write free responses in the college board style.
3. Incorporate new vocabulary in written work.
4. All students will be able to write about how physiological changes affect behavior.
5. All students must demonstrate research skills through case studies.
6. All students must analyze data from psychology experiments.
7. All students must be able to develop skills necessary to evaluate behavior.
8. All students must be able to develop, identify, and explain the similarities and differences in personality theories.
9. All students must be able to differentiate among the plethora of mental illnesses.
10. All students must be able to describe in writing the experiments of social psychology.
Curriculum Units
Unit 1: History and research methods Unit 2: Biopsychology
Unit 3: Sensation and Perception Unit 4: Learning
Unit 5: Cognition Unit 6: Motivation and emotion
Unit 7: Development Unit 8: Personality theory
Unit 9: Abnormal Psychology Unit 10: Social Pscycholgy
Pacing Guide- Course
Content Number of Days
Unit 1: History and research methods 18
Unit 2: Biopsychology 18
Unit 3: Sensation and perception 18
Unit 4: Learning 18
Unit 5: Cognition 18
Unit 6: Motivation and emotion 18
Unit 7: Development 18
Unit 8: Personality theory 18
Unit 9: Abnormal psychology 18
Unit 10: Social psychology 18
Course Outline
The course outline for AP Psychology is intended as a guide and is neither comprehensive nor restrictive of the material to be covered.
Unit 1;History and research methods
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsHow did psychology begin?
How do psychologists conduct research?
What are the different types of research? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Scope, History, and Methodology [CR1]
Historical Schools: Functionalism vs. Structuralism
Modern Approaches: Psychodynamic, Behaviorist, Cognitive, Humanistic, Evolutionary,
Neuroscience
Nature of Scientific Inquiry: Sources of bias and error
Research Methods: Introspection, observation, survey, psychological testing, controlled experiments [CR2]
Statistics: Central tendency, variance, significance, correlation
Ethics in Research: Human participants, animal subjects [CR16] / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Design an experiment project
Unit 2: Biospychology
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsHow does the nervous system work?
What is the relationship between biological brain states and behavior? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Neuroscience [CR3]
Neuron: Neuronal and synaptic transmission, psychopharmacology, drug abuse
CR1 Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in psychology’s history and approaches.
CR2 Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in psychological research methods.
CR3Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in biological bases of behavior.
CR15Evidence of Curricular Requirement: As relevant to each content area, the course provides instruction in empirically supported psychological facts, research findings, terminology, associated phenomena, major figures, perspectives, and psychological experiments.
CR16 Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in ethics and research methods used in psychological science and practice.
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 / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Design a 3D brain
Unit 3: Sensation and perception
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsHow do we perceive the world through our 5 senses?
What is the difference between sensation and perception? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Psychophysics: Thresholds (absolute, difference, Webers 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 / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Design an optical illusion
Unit 4:Learning
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsWhat is classical conditioning?
What is reinforcement? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Behaviorism
Historical Background and Philosophy of Radical Behaviorism
Classical Conditioning: Pavlov, Watson, applications, biological critique, cognitivist challenge
Operant Conditioning: Thorndike, Skinner, Bandura, behavior modification, biological critique,
cognitivist challenge [CR15 / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Design an experiment project
Unit 5: Cognition
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsWhat is cognition?
How do we produce language?
What is intelligence and how is it measured? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Consciousness, Memory, and Language [CR5]
States of Consciousness: Waking, sleep and dreaming, hypnosis, altered states
Memory: Information processing, storage, retrieval
Accuracy of Memory: Loftus and Schacter
Cognition: Problem solving and heuristics [CR7]
Language: Skinner and Chomsky
CR11Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in testing and individual differences.
CR4Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in sensation and perception.
CR5Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in states of consciousness.
CR6Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in learning.
CR7 Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in cognition / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Design and present a form of artificial intelligence.
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / Assessments
Unit 6:Motivation and emotion
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsWhat are the primary emotions?
How do humans get stimulated toward action?
What are the major theories related to motivation? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Motivation and Emotions [CR8]
Motivational Concepts: Instincts, drives, optimal arousal, Maslows 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 / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Design an experiment project
Unit 7:Development
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsWhat stages do humans go through as they age?
What are the major theories about development?
How do physical changes occur in humans? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Developmental Psychology [CR9]
Methodology: Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies
Nature vs. Nurture (maturation versus learning)
Influential Theories: Piaget and cognitive development, Freud and psychosocial development,
Kohlberg and moral development, Gilligan and gender differentiation [CR6]
Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Design an interview of different ages project
Unit 8:Personality theory
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsWhat are the major theories of personality?
What determines personality?
What are the personality types? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Personality [CR10]
Psychodynamic Perspective: Freud, Jung, Adler
Trait Perspective: Allport, factor analysis and the five-factor model, assessment (Myers-Briggs, MMPI-II)
Humanistic Perspective: Maslow and Rogers
Social-Cognitive Perspective: Bandura and Seligman
Stress and Health
Stress as a Concept: Selye
Stress and Health
Adjustment / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Design a life book that chronicles the students past, present, and future.
Unit 9: Abnormal Psychology
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsWhat is normal?
What disorders are diagnosable?
How are disorders treated? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Abnormal Psychology [CR12, CR13]
Approaches to Abnormality: The Rosenhan study, historical approaches (deviance), the medical model, the biopsychosocial 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
CR8Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in motivation and emotion.
CR10Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in personality.
CR12Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in abnormal psychology.
CR13Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course provides instruction in treatment of psychological disorders. / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Diagnosing case studies
Unit 10: Social Psychology
Essential Questions / Instructional Objectives/ Skills and Benchmarks (CPIs) / Activities / AssessmentsHow does behavior change in groups?
What are the significant experiments in social psychology?
Why do people join cults?
What are the differences between discrimination, prejudice, and racism? / Students will demonstrate an understanding of:
Social Psychology [CR14]
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 / Situational experiments and demonstrations.
Utilization of ancillary materials
Supplemental videos
Presentation of project / Chapter quizzes
Unit test
Outline summary of Barron’s book
Design and run a social experiment project
New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards currently do not include Psychology