Course Outline

  1. General Information

    1. Advanced Placement Psychology

    2. Requirements: Students must be in 10th grade or higher, and must have earned a B grade or better in English and history the year prior to taking this course.

    3. Grade Level 10, 11, 12

    4. Overview – The central question addressed in AP Psychology is "how do psychologists think"? The psychologist David Myers wrote that to think as a psychologist, one must learn to "replace intuition with critical thinking, judgementalism with compassion, and illusion with understanding." (Sternberg, 1997) Whether students choose to pursue a career related to psychology or one in some entirely different field, this habit of mind will be of great value.

    The AP Psychology course at Pacific Grove High School is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings.

  2. Academic Objectives

    · Understand psychology as a science, including the techniques used and psychological perspectives;

    · demonstrate knowledge of the mind-body connection, including sensory processes and development;

    · explore thought, including learning, memory, cognition, and intelligence;

    · evaluate theories of personality, motivation, and emotion in the development of self;

    · survey maladaptive behavior, stress and adjustment;

    · connect the power of the situation to individual behavior; and

    · take the AP Psychology test on May 10th, 2006.

  3. Instructional Plan

First Semester

I. Methods, Approaches, and History

Myers: Intro and Chapter 1

    1. History of Psychology

    2. Approaches

      1. Biological

      2. Behavioral

      3. Cognitive

      4. Humanistic

      5. Psychodynamic

    3. Types of Psychologists

    4. Methods of Study

      1. Experimental

      2. Correlational

      3. Clinical

    5. Statistics

      1. Descriptive

      2. Inferential

    6. Ethics in Psychology

Test Unit 1

II. Biological Basis of Behavior

Myers: Chapter 2

    1. Genetics

      1. Mendelian

      2. Modern Behavioral

    2. Neuroanatomy

      1. Structure and Function

      2. Electrochemical Transmission

    3. Functional Organization of the Nervous System

      1. Central Nervous System

      2. Peripheral Nervous System

      3. Autonomic Nervous System

    4. Endocrine System

      1. Structure and Function

      2. Hormones and Behavior

    5. The Brain

      1. Structure and Function

      2. Split Brain

Test Unit II

III. Altered States of Consciousness

Myers: Chapter 7

    1. Consciousness

    2. Sleep and Dreaming

1. Stages

2. Functions

      1. Theories

      2. Disorders

    1. Hypnosis and Meditation

    2. Drugs

1. Chemicals

    1. Disorders

Quiz Unit III

IV. Sensation and Perception

Myers: Chapters 5&6

    1. Thresholds

    2. Vision

      1. Structure and Function

      1. Light

      2. Theories of Color Vision

      3. Colorblindness

    3. Hearing

      1. Structure and Function

      1. Sound

      2. Deafness

    4. Vestibular and Touch Senses

    5. Chemical Senses

      1. Taste

      1. Olfaction

    6. Perceptual Interpretation

      1. Attention

      1. Perceptual Organization

      2. Depth Perception

      3. Movement Perception

      4. Pattern Perception

      5. Perceptual Learning

Test Unit IV

*****MIDTERM: Units I-IV*****

V. Lifespan Development

Myers: Chapters 3&4

    1. Life Span Approach

    2. Research Methods

    3. Heredity/Environment Issues

    4. Developmental Theories

    5. Dimensions of Development

1. Physical

2. Cognitive

    1. Social

    2. Moral

    3. Language

    1. Gender Differences

Test Unit V

VI. Learning

Myers: Chapter 8

A. Biological Factors

B. Classical Conditioning

C. Operant Conditioning

D. Social Learning

E. Cognitive Processes in Learning

Test Unit VI

VII. Memory and Cognition

Myers: Chapters 9&10

A. Memory

B. Thinking

C. Problem Solving

    1. Creativity

      Biography Project

      Test Unit VII

      VIII. Intelligence and Measurement

      Myers: Chapter 11

      A. Standardization and Norms

      B. Reliability and Validity

      C. Types of Tests

      D. Ethics and Standards in Testing

      E. Intelligence

    2. Heredity/Environment and Intelligence

      Test Unit VIII

      *****FINAL: Units I-VIII*****

      Second Semester

      IX. Motivation and Emotion

      Myers: Chapters 12&13

      A. Biological Basis

      B. Theories of Motivation

      C. Hunger, Thirst, Sex, and Pain

      D. Social Motives

      E. Theories of Emotion

      F. Conflict

      G. Stress

      Test Unit IX

      X. Personality

      Myers: Chapter 15

      A. Personality Theories and Approaches

      B. Research Methods

      C. Assessment Techniques

      D. Self-Concept, Self-Esteem

      E. Growth and Adjustment

      Test Unit X

      XI. Abnormal Psychology and Treatment

      Myers: Chapters 16&17

      A. Definitions of Abnormality

      B. Theories of Psychopathology

      C. Anxiety Disorders

      D. Affective Disorders

      E. Dissociative Disorders

      F. Somatoform Disorders

    3. Psychosis

    4. Personality Disorders

Test Unit XI

Biography Project

XII. Social Psychology

Myers: Chapter 18

A. Group Dynamics

B. Attribution Processes

C. Interpersonal Perception

D. Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience

E. Attitudes and Attitude Change

F. Organizational Behavior

    1. Aggression/Antisocial Behavior

Test Unit XII

XIII. Review Projects

The year is designed to complete two-thirds of the material in the first semester. Only four units are completed in the second semester, which allows time for in-class review. Much of the review will be student run. Students will be broken into teams of three and will prepare a day of review activities on an assigned unit. Students will receive a grade on their activity as well as their ability to respond to questions on the content.

*****CLASS FINAL; Units I-XII*****

  1. Assessment

    As the syllabus indicates, students are evaluated by a unit test approximately every two weeks. All tests consist of a multiple-choice section and an essay. In the first semester there is a midterm and a comprehensive final. In the second semester, prior to the AP Exam, students are given a comprehensive final that includes material from Units I-XII. Each semester requires a project that expects students to apply concepts.

    At the end of each unit, students receive participation grades that include quickwrites, activities, or preparation checks that have taken place during the unit. Quickwrites require students to answer a prompt that is put on the overhead projector when the bell rings at the start of class. The prompt may be a question from the previous night’s reading, review questions, or a short worksheet. Quickwrites are part of the students’ participation grades. Preparation checks will be done periodically to evaluate students’ attention to reading material outside of class.

  2. Text and Other Materials

Psychology by David G. Meyers

 

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