Course Info

AP Psychology: Goals and Course Outline

 

TEXTBOOKS:

Myers, D. (2011).  Myers’ Psychology for AP. Worth Publishers: New York.

Supplemental Material

Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink. Time Warner Group: New York

GOALS: 

1. Understand the implications of biological and environmental influences on behavior (neuroscience, sensation, perception, and nature v. nurture debate).
2. Evaluate various research methods and critique ethical treatment of participants in psychological study.
3. Critically consider research results and statistics relating to human behavior
4. Detail major psychological concepts (development, learning, memory, personality).
5. Identify historical psychologists as they relate to major concepts
6. Evaluate modern psychological concepts (Social Psychology, Motivation, Emotion, States of Consciousness, Stress)
7. Identify symptoms and treatments for various psychological disorders
8. Compare and contrast cultural influences on all aspects of behavior
9. Develop a fundamental understanding of APA (American Psychological Association) formatting for writing
10. Be fully prepared to take the Advanced Placement exam in Psychology in May

CONTENT OF COURSE:

Marking Period I

 UNIT 1 History & Methods

1)    Define Psychology

2)    The History of Psychology

3)    Contemporary Psychology

4)    Subfields of Psychology and Careers in Psychology

5)    Research Methods

6)    Ethics in Research

Unit I Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Define psychology and explain it relation to science and the modern world.

2.     Identify influential psychologists and explain their contributions to the development of psychology.

3.     Explain the differences between the biological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, socio-cultural, and evolutionary theories.

4.     Compare and contrast the roots of psychology as well as the contemporary approaches.

5.     Describe research methods of Naturalistic Observation, Survey, Case Study, Archival, and Experimental Methods

6.     Explain correlational research and how it differs from experimental research

7.     Explain the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics

8.     Describe the different measures of central tendency and variability within data.

9.   Identify ethical concerns in research and assess the importance, relevance, and purpose of the major APA Ethical Guidelines.

UNIT II  Biological Basis of Behavior

1)    Neural Processing and the Endocrine System

2)    The Brain

3)    Genetics and Individual Differences

4)    Evolutionary Psychology and Human Nature

Unit II Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Describe the structure, purpose, and function of neurons

2.     Explain the influence of neurotransmitters on behavior

3.     Identify and explain the human nervous system

4.     Explain the importance and function of the endocrine system

5.     Identify the major areas of the brain and explain the function of each

6.     Assess the relationship between behavior and genetics

7.     Discuss how evolutionary theory explains human behavior

8.     Explain how behavior geneticists explain individual differences in behavior

UNIT III Development

1)    Prenatal and Infancy (physical, cognitive, social changes)

2)    Childhood (physical, cognitive, social changes)

3)    Adolescence (physical, cognitive, social changes)

4)    Adulthood (physical, cognitive, social changes)

Unit III Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Evaluate and apply the Nature v. Nurture debate to various situations

2.     Compare and contrast major theories of Development

a.     Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg

3.     Explain the changes in dimensions of development (physical, cognitive, social, moral) for major life stages (childhood, adolescence, adulthood).

4.     Assess the development of gender identity and gender roles

Marking Period II

UNIT IV: Learning

1)    Associative Learning

2)    Classical Conditioning

3)    Operant Conditioning

4)    Observational Learning

Unit IV Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Explain the process of associative learning

2.     Describe the process of classical conditioning

3.     Explain the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination as they relate to classical conditioning

4.     Explain Skinner’s experiments and the concept of operant conditioning

5.     Identify unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response.

6.     Identify and explain the four schedules of reinforcement

7.     Describe the effects of punishment on behavior

8.     Explain Bandura’s experiments as they relate to observational learning

9.     Explain practical applications of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning

UNIT V: Memory

1)    Phenomenon of Memory

2)    Encoding

3)    Storage

4)    Retrieval

5)    Forgetting

6)    Memory Construction

7)    Eyewitness Recall

8)    Improving Memory

Unit V Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Explain information processing (encoding, storage, retrieval)

2.     Explain the differences between sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

3.     Compare and contrast implicit and explicit memories

4.     Discuss forgetting and explain how encoding failure, storage decay, and retrieval failure lead to forgetting

5.     Describe memory construction

6.     Explain the misinformation effect and source amnesia

7.     Assess the relevance of children’s eyewitness recall as it relates to constructed memories

UNIT VI: Thinking, Language and Intelligence

1)    Problem Solving

2)    Decision Making

3)    Language Structure

4)    Language Development

5)    Thinking and Language

6)    Defining Intelligence

7)    Assessing Intelligence

8)    Dynamics of Intelligence

9)    Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Unit VI Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Explain problem solving methods such as trial and error, algorithms, heuristic, and insight

2.      Describe heuristics as they affect judgments

3.     Explain language structure

4.     Describe the stages of language development

5.     Describe Whorf’s linguistic determinism hypothesis as it relates to the effect of language on thinking

6.     Explain how creativity relates to thinking and intelligence

7.     Describe types of intelligence

8.     Explain how statistical measures are used to describe intelligence

9.     Explain the difference between reliability and validity in intelligence tests

10.  Identify current assessments of intelligence

11.  Explain the Flynn Effect

12.  Describe the genetic and environmental effects on intelligence

13.  Discuss differences in intelligence scores based on gender and ethnicity

Marking Period III

UNIT VII: Personality

1)    Psychoanalytic Perspective

2)    Humanistic Perspective

3)    Trait Perspective

4)    Social-Cognitive Perspective

5)    Exploring the Self

Unit VII Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Explain the psychoanalytic perspective of personality and unconscious processes

2.     Describe Freud’s theory of Psychosexual Stages

3.     Explain the id, ego, and superego

4.     Identify and explain defense mechanisms

a.     Compare and contrast the psychoanalytic perspective with the humanistic perspective

5.     Describe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as it relates to personality

6.     Evaluate Carl Rogers’ Person-Centered Perspective

7.     Describe the Trait Perspective and the Big Five Factors

8.     Explain the Social-Cognitive Perspective highlighting reciprocal influences, personal control, and learned helplessness

9.     Compare and contrast individualism and collectivism

UNIT VIII: Psychological Disorders and Therapy

1)    Perspectives on Psychological Disorders

2)    Anxiety Disorders

3)    Mood Disorders

4)    Somatoform Disorders

5)    Dissociative Disorders

6)    Schizophrenia

7)    Personality Disorders

8)    Rates of Disorders

9)    Psychological Therapies

10) Biomedical Therapies

Unit VIII Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Explain how Psychological disorders are defined and the purpose of the DSM-IV

2.     Explain the difference between the medical model and the biopsychosocial approach to psychological disorders

3.     Explain how disorders are labeled and evaluate possible problems with such labels

4.     Identify and describe causes, symptoms, and treatments for:

                                                        i.     Anxiety Disorders (Generalized Anxiety, Panic, Phobia, OCD, PTSD)

b.     Mood Disorders (Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder

c.     Schizophrenia

d.     Personality Disorders

e.     Dissociative Disorders

f.      Somatoform disorders

5.     Explain the method of psychoanalysis

6.     Describe humanistic, behavioral, and cognitive therapies

7.     Explain the benefits of group/family therapy

8.     Compare and contrast different psychotherapies

9.     Apply appropriate psychotherapy to psychological disorders

10.  Describe different types of biomedical therapy

11.  Explain electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery and when these are used

UNIT IX: Social Psychology

1)    Social Thinking

2)    Social Influence

3)    Social Relations

Unit IX Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Evaluate the importance of attribution in social behavior

2.     Explain the interacting effects of attitudes and actions

3.     Describe the fundamental attribution error

4.     Explain the concepts of compliance, conformity, and obedience

5.     Describe Milgram’s obedience study

6.     Describe Asch’s experiments relating to conformity

7.     Explain concepts of social facilitation and social loafing

8.     Assess the influence of groups on individual behavior (deindividuation, groupthink)

9.     Explain the significance of a cultural influences on behavior

10.  Describe the social, emotional, and cognitive causes of prejudice

11.  Evaluate the biological and environmental influences on aggression

12.  Explain the process of interpersonal attraction

13.  Explain altruism, the bystander effect, and social exchange theory

14.  Explain and identify social norms and their effect on behavior

Marking Period IV

UNIT X: States of Consciousness

1)    Sleep and Sleep Disorders

2)    Hypnosis

3)    Drugs and Consciousness

Unit X Proficiencies: SWBAT

1. Describe the sleep cycle, explaining the differences between each stage
2. Identify major sleep disorders
3.    Explain the purpose of dreams and discuss dream theories
4. Explain the process of hypnosis and psychological explanations for the phenomenon
5. Identify applications for hypnosis
6. Describe the concepts of dependence and addiction
7. Explain tolerance and how it relates to addiction
8. Classify psychoactive drugs and describe the effects of different categories

UNIT XI: Sensation and Perception

1)    Basic Principles of Sensation

2)    Vision

3)    Hearing

4)    Other Senses

5)    Perceptual Organization

6)    Perceptual Interpretation

Unit XI Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Explain difference and absolute thresholds

2.     Explain sensory adaptation

3.     Describe theories of color vision, depth perception, perceptual constancies, and cues.

4.     Evaluate Gestalt psychology

5.     Assess how assumptions, expectations, and context affect perception

UNIT XII: Motivation

1)    Instincts and Evolutionary Psychology

2)    Drives and Incentives

3)    Hierarchy of Motives

4)    Hunger

5)    Eating Disorders

6)    Need To Belong

7)    I/O Psychology

Unit XII Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Explain Drive-reduction theory, arousal theory, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

2.     Explain physiological and social factors relating to hunger

3.     Compare and contrast extrinsic and intrinsic motivation

4.     Explain the stages of the human sexual arousal cycle

5.     Explain the role of personnel psychology in maximizing worker productivity and satisfaction

UNIT XIII: Emotion and Stress

1)    Theories of emotion

2)    Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System

3)    Physiological Similarities and Differences among specific emotions

4)    Cognition and Emotion

5)    Nonverbal Communication

6)    Culture and Emotional Expression

7)    The effects of facial expressions

8)    Causes and effects of stress

Unit XIII Proficiencies: SWBAT

1.     Compare and contrast the James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and Two-Factor Theories of emotion

2.     Describe how the nervous system is related to emotional arousal

3.     Compare and contrast physiological symptoms of specific emotions

4.     Describe nonverbal communication

5.     Explain the catharsis hypothesis

6.     Identify causes of stress and physiological effects

7.     Explain stress reduction techniques