Download Psychology Course Overview

Psychology Course Overview
Number of
Subtopics
Multiple
Choice %
Proposed
Essential
Unit
King
Chapter
Myers Modules
I. History and
Approaches
5
2-4
1
1
1, 33, 34
II. Research
Methods
10
8-10
1
1
2
III. Biological
Bases of
Behavior
8
8-10
2
2
3,4,5,6
IV. Sensation
and Perception
9
6-8
3
3
11,12, 13,14
V. States of
Consciousness
7
2-4
3
4
15,16,17
VI. Learning
10
7-9
4
5
18,19,20
VII. Cognition
8
8-10
5
6,7
21,22,23,24
VIII.
Motivation
and Emotion
8
6-8
6
9
26,27,28,29.30,31,32
XIX.
Developmental
Psychology
11
7-9
7
8
7,8,9,10
X. Personality
5
5-7
8
10
35
XI. Testing
and Individual
Differences
8
5-7
8
-
25
XII. Abnormal
Behavior
6
7-9
9
12
XIII.
Treatment of
Abnormal
Behavior
7
5-7
9
13
40,41,42
XIV. Social
Psychology
11
8-10
10
11
43,44,45
AP Topic
36,37,38,39
Percent of
AP Test
Covered in
Unit
Allotted
Teaching
Time (days)
&
Start/Stop
Dates
King Text
Chapter(s)
1. History,
Approaches and
Research
Methods
Teacher Notes
10-14
-
1
1, 2
Teacher Notes
1, 2
2. Biological
Bases of
Behavior
8-10
(5 days)
End Oct 22
2
3, 4, 5, 6
Teacher Notes
3, 4, 25
3. Sensation,
Perception and
States of
Consciousness
8-12
(15 days)
Start Nov 1
End Nov 19
3&4
11, 12, 13, 14,
15, 16, 17
Teacher Notes
7, 13
4. Learning
7-9
(10 days)
Start Nov 22
End Dec 3
5
18, 19, 20
Teacher Notes
8
5. Cognition
8-10
(15 days)
Start Dec 6
End Winter
Break
6&7
21, 22, 23, 24
QSI
Essential
Unit
Number &
Title
Myers Text
Module(s)
Discovering
Psychology
Annenberg
Videos
6, 9, 10, 14
Teacher Notes
Other
Resources
Ch 1 Art. 1
Ch 1 Art. 2
2010 Exam Q1
2008 Exam Q2
2006 Exam Q1
2004 Exam Q1
2003 Exam Q1
Ch 2 Art. 1
Ch 2 Art. 2
Brains Can
Change
2009 Exam Q1
2009 Exam Q2
2007 Exam Q1
2009 Exam Q2
2005 Exam Q1
60 Minutes
Supermemory
Secrets of the
Wild Child
6. Motivation
and Emotion
6-8
(10 days)
Start Jan 10
End Jan 21
9
26, 27, 28, 29,
30, 31, 32
Teacher Notes
12, 23
7.
Developmental
Psychology
7-9
(10 days)
Start Jan 24
End Feb 4
8
7, 8, 9, 10
Teacher Notes
5, 17, 18
8. Personality,
Testing and
Individual
Differences
10-14
(15 days)
Start Feb 7
End Feb 25
10
25, 33, 34, 35
Teacher Notes
15, 16, 26,
9. Abnormal
Behavior and
Treatment of
Abnormal
Behavior
12-16
(15 days)
Start Feb 28
End Apr 1
12 & 13
36, 37, 38, 39,
40, 41, 42
Teacher Notes
21, 22
2007 Exam Q2
10. Social
Psychology
8-10
(10 days)
Start Apr 4
End Apr 15
11
43, 44, 45
Teacher Notes
11, 19, 20
2010 Exam Q2
2006 Exam Q2
2003 Exam Q2
24
2004 Exam Q2
Review
NA
essential questions
suggested resources
(10 days)
Start Apr 18
End Apr 29
NA
NA
2008 Exam Q1
2005 Exam Q2
suggested activities
A level vs. B level
Course Overview
E01 - History, Approaches and Research Methods - Students will learn the theories that
psychologists use to explain behavior and mental processes, a description of the various approaches to
data gathering, and the ways in which research is used to develop theories to explain behavior and
solve problems in behavior.
1. Recognize how philosophical perspectives shaped the development of psychological thought.
2. Describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior.
3. Recognize the strengths and limitations of applying theories to explain behavior.
4. Distinguish the different domains of psychology.
5. Identify the major historical figures in psychology.
6. Differentiate types of research (e.g., experiments, correlational studies, survey research,
naturalistic observations, and case studies) with regard to purpose, strengths, and weaknesses.
7. Describe how research design drives the reasonable conclusions that can be drawn (e.g.,
experiments are useful for determining cause and effect; the use of experimental controls
reduces alternative explanations).
8. Identify independent, dependent, confounding, and control variables in experimental designs.
9. Distinguish between random assignment of participants to conditions in experiments and
random selection of participants, primarily in correlational studies and surveys.
10. Predict the validity of behavioral explanations based on the quality of research design (e.g.,
confounding variables limit confidence in research conclusions).
11. Distinguish the purposes of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.
12. Apply basic descriptive statistical concepts, including interpreting and constructing graphs
and calculating simple descriptive statistics (e.g., measures of central tendency, standard
deviation).
13. Discuss the value of reliance on operational definitions and measurement in behavioral
research
14. Identify how ethical issues inform and constrain research practices.
15. Describe how ethical and legal guidelines (e.g., those provided by the American
Psychological Association, federal regulations, local institutional review boards) protect
research participants and promote sound ethical practice.
Essential Questions
1. What ways does psychology approach the study of human and animal behavior?
2. How has psychology changed the study of human and animal behavior?
3. How do the different perspectives in psychology compare and contrast?
4. Who were the movers and shakers in the evolution of psychology as a science?
5. How do psychologists use the scientific method to study behavior and mental processes?
6. Which methods of research are appropriate for the study of different behaviors?
7. How do psychologists draw appropriate conclusions about behavior from research?
8. How do psychologists make ethical decisions about researching behavior with human and
animal subjects?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapter 1.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York: McGrawHill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 1, 2, 33, 34.” Exploring Psychology in Modules, 7e, E-book Access
Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers, 2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
4.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level
E02 - Biological Bases of Behavior - Students will learn the relationship between physiological
processes and behavior, including the influence of neural function, the nervous system and the brain
and genetic contributions to behavior.
1. Identify basic processes and systems in the biological bases of behavior, including parts of the
neuron and the process of transmission of a signal between neurons.
2. Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e.g., reuptake mechanisms).
3. Discuss the effect of the endocrine system on behavior.
4. Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions (CNS, PNS, major brain
regions, lobes, and cortical areas, brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization).
5. Recount historic and contemporary research strategies and technologies that support research
(e.g., case studies, split-brain research, imaging techniques).
6. Discuss psychology’s abiding interest in how heredity, environment, and evolution work
together to shape behavior.
7. Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value.
8. Identify key contributors (e.g., Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael Gazzaniga, Roger
Sperry, Carl Wernicke).
Essential Questions
1. How do biological processes relate to behavior?
2. How do the biological processes work to create and sustain behavior?
3. How does damage to a biological process or part affect behavior?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapter 2.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York: McGrawHill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 3, 4, 5 and 6.” Exploring Psychology in Modules, 7e, E-book
Access Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers, 2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level
E03 - Sensation, Perception and States of Consciousness - Students will learn how we interpret
sensory inputs as a cognitive process to provide perception of external stimuli. They will also learn
what consciousness is, and how it is represented at various stages, such as during the sleep cycle,
dreams, hypnosis, and while affected by psychoactive drugs.
1. Discuss basic principles of sensory transduction, including absolute threshold, difference
threshold, signal detection, and sensory adaptation.
2. Describe sensory processes (e.g., hearing, vision, touch, taste, smell, vestibular, kinesthesis,
pain), including the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant anatomical structures, and
specialized pathways in the brain for each of the senses.
3. Explain common sensory disorders (e.g., visual and hearing impairments).
4. Describe general principles of organizing and integrating sensation to promote stable
awareness of the external world (e.g., Gestalt principles, depth perception).
5. Discuss how experience and culture can influence perceptual processes (e.g., perceptual set,
context effects).
6. Explain the role of top-down processing in producing vulnerability to illusion.
7. Discuss the role of attention in behavior.
8. Challenge common beliefs in parapsychological phenomena.
9. Identify the major historical figures in sensation and perception (e.g., Gustav Fechner, David
Hubel, Ernst Weber, Torsten Wiesel).
10. Describe various states of consciousness and their impact on behavior.
11. Discuss aspects of sleep and dream: stages and characteristics of the sleep cycle, theories of
sleep and dreaming, and symptoms and treatments of sleep disorders.
12. Describe historic and contemporary uses of hypnosis (e.g., pain control psychotherapy).
13. Explain hypnotic phenomena (e.g., suggestability, dissociation).
14. Identify the major psychoactive drug categories (e.g., depressants, stimulants) and classify
specific drugs, including their psychological and physiological effects.
15. Discuss drug dependence, addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.
16. Identify the major figures in consciousness research (e.g., William James, Sigmund Freud,
Ernest Hilgard).
Essential Questions
1. How much free will do humans have?
2. To what extent is human behavior a product of psychology or conscious choice?
3. Does consciousness matter? Is perception reality?
4. How do the five senses receive and translate signals to the brain for processing?
5. How does each of the senses affect behavior?
6. What are the limitations of each sense and how do those limitations affect behavior?
7. How do sensation and perception differ?
8. How does the brain process sensory signals accurately? Inaccurately?
9. Why do we dream?
10. What happens during the sleep cycle?
11. What roles do REM and NREM sleep play in behavior?
12. How does lack of sleep affect behavior?
13. How do psychoactive drugs affect behavior?
14. How do we know whether hypnosis is a real psychological phenomenon?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapters 3 and 4.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.” Exploring Psychology in Modules,
7e, E-book Access Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers,
2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level
E04 - Learning - Students will learn the difference between learned and unlearned behavior, with a
focus on classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning. The biological bases
of behavior illustrate predispositions for learning.
1. Distinguish general differences between principles of classical conditioning, operant
conditioning, and observational learning (e.g., contingencies).
2. Describe basic classical conditioning phenomena, such as acquisition, extinction, spontaneous
recovery, generalization, discrimination, and higher-order learning.
3. Predict the effects of operant conditioning (e.g., positive reinforcement, negative
reinforcement, punishment, schedules of reinforcement).
4. Predict how practice, schedules of reinforcement, and motivation will influence quality of
learning.
5. Interpret graphs that exhibit the results of learning experiments.
6. Provide examples of how biological constraints create learning predispositions.
7. Describe the essential characteristics of insight learning, latent learning, and social learning.
8. Apply learning principles to explain emotional learning, taste aversion, superstitious behavior,
and learned helplessness.
9. Suggest how behavior modification, biofeedback, coping strategies, and self-control can be
used to address behavioral problems.
10. Identify key contributors in the psychology of learning (e.g., Albert Bandura, John Garcia,
Ivan Pavlov, Robert Rescorla, B.F. Skinner, Edward Thorndike, Edward Tolman, John B.
Watson).
Essential Questions
1. How do people learn prejudice?
2. How do we change attitudes?
3. Why do people obey authority?
4. How do psychologists define learning?
5. How do principles of classical conditioning work to create learning?
6. In what ways does classical conditioning work in human contexts?
7. How do principles of operant conditioning work to create learning?
8. In what ways does operant conditioning work in human contexts?
9. How do principles of observational learning work to create learning?
10. In what ways does observational learning work in human contexts?
11. How are the various principles discussed different and similar?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapter 5.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York: McGrawHill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 18, 19 and 20.” Exploring Psychology in Modules, 7e, E-book
Access Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers, 2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level
E05 - Cognition - Students learn how humans convert sensory input into learning, memory, retrieval
of information, and how we solve problems, use language and engage in creative endeavors.
1. Compare and contrast various cognitive processes; effortful vs. automatic processing, deep
vs. shallow processing, focused vs. divided attention.
2. Describe and differentiate psychological and physiological systems of memory (e.g., shortterm memory, procedural memory).
3. Outline the principles that underlie effective encoding, storage, and construction of memories.
4. Describe strategies for memory improvement
5. Synthesize how biological, cognitive, and cultural factors converge to facilitate acquisition,
development and use of language.
6. Identify problem-solving strategies as well as factors that influence their effectiveness.
7. List the characteristics of creative thought and creative thinkers.
8. Identify key contributors in cognitive psychology (e.g., Noam Chomsky, Hermann
Ebbinghaus, Wolfgang Kohler, Elizabeth Loftus, George A. Miller).
Essential Questions
1. Why is learning more effective when it is interesting?
2. How do humans encode, store, and retrieve information from memory?
3. How can humans enhance memory encoding, storage, and retrieval?
4. How do humans think?
5. In what ways is thinking flawed or constrained? How can people avoid falling for these errors
in thinking?
6. How do humans acquire language?
7. How do humans use language to communicate ideas?
8. How is language flawed or constrained? How can people avoid falling for these errors in
using language?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapters 6 and 7.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 21, 22, 23 and 24.” Exploring Psychology in Modules, 7e, E-book
Access Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers, 2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level
E06 - Motivation and Emotion - Students explore biological and social factors that motivate
behavior and biological and cultural factors that influence emotion.
1. Identify and apply basic motivational concepts to understand the behavior of humans and
other animals (e.g., instincts, incentives, intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation).
2. Discuss the biological underpinnings of motivation, including needs, drives and homeostasis.
3. Compare and contrast motivational theories (e.g., drive reduction theory, arousal theory,
general adaptation theory), including the strengths and weaknesses of each.
4. Describe classic research findings in specific motivation systems (e.g., eating, sex, social).
5. Discuss theories of stress and the effects of stress on psychological and physical well-being.
6. Compare and contrast major theories of emotion (e.g., James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter
two-factor theory).
7. Describe how cultural influences shape emotional expression, including variations in body
language.
8. Identify key contributors in the psychology of motivation and emotion (e.g., William James,
Alfred Kinsey, Abraham Maslow, Stanley Schachter, Hans Selye).
Essential Questions
1. How does stress influence health and behavior?
2. How can people reduce stress?
3. In what ways can stress be beneficial?
4. How do social factors affect the influence of stress on health and behavior?
5. What motivates human behavior?
6. What methods of motivation are more effective than others?
7. How can one increase their motivation to behave in various ways?
8. What is the role of hunger in motivating behavior?
9. How do maladaptive eating patterns affect behavior?
10. What role do emotions play in behavior?
11. How do cognitions affect emotions?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapter 9.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York: McGrawHill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 30 and 31.” Exploring Psychology in Modules, 7e, E-book Access
Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers, 2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level
E07 - Developmental Psychology - Students learn how humans develop from conception to death,
with a focus on prenatal development, motor development, socialization, cognitive development,
adolescence and adulthood.
1. Discuss the interaction of nature and nurture (including cultural variations) in the
determination of behavior.
2. Explain the process of conception and gestation, includng factors that influence successful
fetal development (e.g., nutrition, illness, substance abuse).
3. Discuss maturation of motor skills.
4. Describe the influence of temperament and other social factors on attachment and appropriate
socialization.
5. Explain the maturation of cognitive abilities (e.g., Piaget’s states, information processing).
6. compare and contrast models of moral development (e.g., Kohlberg, Gilligan).
7. Discuss maturational challenges in adolescence, including related family conflicts.
8. Characterize the development of decisions related to intimacy as people mature.
9. Predict the physical and cognitive changes that emerge as people age, including stepts that
can be taken to maximize function.
10. Describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.
11. Identify key contributors in developmental psychology (e.g., Mary Ainsworth, Albert
Bandura, Diana Baumrind, Erik Erikson, Sigjund Freud, Carol Gilligan, harry Harlow,
Lawrence Kohlberg, Konrad Lorenz, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky).
Essential Questions
1. Why is gaining an identity critical to us as individuals?
2. How do people grow and develop physically throughout the lifespan?
3. How do people grow and develop intellectually throughout the lifespan?
4. How do people grow and develop socially throughout the lifespan?
5. How do people grow and develop morally throughout the lifespan?
6. How do people grow and develop personality throughout the lifespan?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapter 8.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York: McGrawHill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 7, 8, 9 and 10.” Exploring Psychology in Modules, 7e, E-book
Access Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers, 2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level
E08 - Personality, Testing and Individual Differences - Students learn major theories about how
humans develop enduring patterns of behavior and personal characteristics that influence how others
relate to them. The unit also addresses research methods used to assess personality. Finally students
develop an understanding of intelligence and assessment of individual differences, with an emphasis
on test construction and fair use.
1. Compare and contrast the major theories and approaches to explaining personality:
psychoanalytic, humanist, cognitive, trait, social learning, and behavioral.
2. Describe and compare research methods (e.g., case studies and surveys) that psychologists
use to investigate personality.
3. Identify frequently used assessment strategies (e.g., the Minnesota Multi-phasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI), the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)), and evaluate relative test quality
based on reliability and validity of the instruments.
4. Speculate how cultural context can facilitate or constrain personality development, especially
as it relates to self-concept (e.g., collectivistic vs. individualistic cultures).
5. Identify key contributors to personality theory (e.g., Alfred Adler, Albert Bandura, Paul Costa
and Robert McCrae, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers).
6. Define intelligence and list characteristics of how psychologists measure intelligence: abstract
vs. verbal measures, speed of processing.
7. Discuss how culture influences the definition of intelligence.
8. Compare and contrast historic and contemporary theories of intelligence (e.g., Charles
Spearman, Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg).
9. Explain how psychologists design tests, including standardization strategies an other
techniques to establish reliability and validity.
10. Interpret the meaning of scores in terms of the normal curve.
11. Describe relevant labels related to intelligence testing (e.g., gifted, cognitively disabled).
12. Debate the appropriate testing practices, particularly in relation to culture-fair test uses.
13. Identify key contributers in intelligence research and testing (e.g., Alfred Binet, Francis
Galton, Howard Gardner, Charles Spearman, Robert Sternberg, Louis Terman, David
Wechsler).
Essential Questions
1. What is the source of human personality?
2. How do psychologists define and study personality?
3. What advantages and limitations exist for each theory’s description of personality?
4. How do psychologists reliably measure personality and interpret personality’s role in
behavior?
5. How do psychologists define and study intelligence?
6. How did the use of intelligence tests evolve throughout the last two centuries?
7. How do testing scores differ between group administrations and individual administrations of
intelligence tests? Between genders? Races? Socioeconomic groups?
8. How do psychologists know whether a test is reliable and/or valid? Why are these qualities of
tests important?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapter 10.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York: McGrawHill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 25, 35.” Exploring Psychology in Modules, 7e, E-book Access
Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers, 2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level
E09 - Abnormal Behavior and Treatment of Abnormal Behavior - Students examine the nature of
common challenges to adaptive functioning, as well as conventions that guide psychologists’
judgments about diagnosis and problem severity. Students then look at empirically based treatments
of psychological disorders, emphasizing treatment based on various orientations in psychology.
1. Describe contemporary and historical conceptions of what constitutes psychological
disorders.
2. Recognize the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
published by the American Psychiatric Association as the primary reference for making
diagnostic judgments.
3. Discuss the major diagnostic categories, including anxiety and somatoform disorders, mood
disorders, schizophrenia, organic disturbance, personality disorders, and dissociative
disorders, and their corresponding symptoms.
4. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of various approaches to explaining psychological
disorders: medical model, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive, biological and sociocultural.
5. Identify the positive and negative consequences of diagnostic labels (e.g., the Rosenhan
study).
6. Discuss the intersection between psychology and the legal system (e.g., confidentiality,
insanity defense).
7. Describe the central characteristics of psycho-therapeutic intervention.
8. Describe the major treatment orientations used in therapy (e.g., behavioral, cognitive,
humanistic) and how those orientations influence therapeutic planning.
9. Compare and contrast different treatment formats (e.g., individual, group).
10. Summarize effectiveness of specific treatments used to address specific problems.
11. Discuss how cultural and ethnic context influence choice and success of treatment (e.g.,
factors that lead to premature termination of treatment).
12. Describe prevention strategies that build resilience and promote competence.
13. Identify major figures in psychological treatment (e.g., Aaron Beck, Albert Ellise, Sigmund
Freud, Mary Cover Jones, Carl Rogers, B.F. Skinner, Joseph Wolpe).
Essential Questions
1. How do psychologists measure and define abnormal behavior?
2. How are the various psychological disorders identified and studied?
3. What impact do these psychological disorders have on individuals, families, communities,
and society?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapters 12 and 13.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 and 42.” Exploring Psychology in Modules,
7e, E-book Access Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers,
2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level
E10 - Social Psychology - Students learn how individuals relate to one another in social situations,
focusing on attitudes, influence and other social phenomena.
1. Apply attribution theory to explain motives (e.g., fundamental attribution error, self-serving
bias).
2. Describe the structure and function of different kinds of group behavior (e.g., deindividuation,
group polarization).
3. Explain how individuals respond to expectations of others, including groupthink, conformity,
and obedience to authority.
4. Discuss attitudes and how they change (e.g., central route to persuasion).
5. Predict the impact of the presence of others on individual behavior (e.g., bystander effect,
social facilitation).
6. Describe processes that contribute to differential treatment of group members (e.g., ingroup/out-group dynamics, ethnocentrism, prejudice).
7. Articulate the impact of social and cultural categories (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity) on selfconcept and relations with others.
8. Anticipate the impact of behavior on a self-fulfilling prophecy.
9. Describe the variables that contribute to altruism, aggression, and attraction.
10. Discuss attitude formation and change, including persuasion strategies and cognitive
dissonance.
11. Identify important figures in social psychology (e.g., Solomon Asch, Leon Festinger, Stanley
Milgram, Philip Zimbardo).
Essential Questions
1. What is culture?
2. What influence does culture have on individuals and groups?
Suggested Resources
1. King, Laura A. “Chapter 11.” The Science of Psychology: Essentials. New York: McGrawHill, 2009. Print.
2. Meyers, David. “Modules 43, 44 and 45.” Exploring Psychology in Modules, 7e, E-book
Access Card (Activation code for 365-day access). New York: Worth Publishers, 2008. Print.
3. " Psychology Home ." Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by
Annenberg Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology>.
Suggested Activities
A Level vs. B Level