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AP PSYCHOLOGY COURSE OUTLINE AND SYLLABUS
Metro Academic and Classical High School
2015-2016
Mr. Detjen
Rm. 121
Textbook and Resources
Ciccarelli and White, Psychology AP Edition, 2/e (Pearson, 2011)
Hock, 40 Studies that Changed Psychology 5/e (Pearson, 2005)
Readings and Handouts
5-subject spiral notebook
Course Description and Objectives
This elective, college-level course is designed to introduce junior and senior students to the systematic and scientific study of
the behavior and mental processes of human beings in a curriculum consistent the College Board’s AP Psychology course.
Students will learn about the field of psychology through in-depth study, discussion, and hands-on activities, and will be exposed to
the psychological facts and vocabularies, principles, research, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within
psychology. In the course of the course, students will, among other things:
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Study the history and major core concepts and theories of psychology, and be able to define key terms and use them in their
everyday vocabulary;
Learn the basic skills of psychological research and be able to apply psychological concepts to their own lives;
Recognize psychological principles when they encounter them in everyday situations;
Assess some of the differing approaches adopted by psychologists, including the biological, behavioral, cognitive,
humanistic, psychodynamic, and sociocultural perspectives;
Develop and build reading comprehension and fluency skills, critical thinking and writing skills, and discussion and
presentation skills.
Topics in the AP Psychology Curriculum
History and Approaches
Testing and Individual Differences
Research Methodology
Motivation and Emotion, and Stress and Health Psychology
The Biological Bases of Behavior
Developmental Psychology
Sensation and Perception
Personality
States of Consciousness
Abnormal Psychology
Learning
Treatment of Psychological Disorders
Cognition (Memory, Thinking and Language)
Social Psychology
AP Psychology Exam: Monday, May 2, 2016 @ 12:00pm
Class Requirements, Assessment and Evaluation
Students will have a number of opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and proficiency in this course through class
participation and discussion, quizzes and tests, writing assignments, projects and group work, oral reports and presentations, and a
cumulative final exam. Those methods of evaluation will be based on information given in the classroom and assigned reading
materials. The required notebook should be brought to class every day and well used. Good notes will comprise the main tool for
studying and learning. Students will be required to outline every chapter, including and especially the vocabulary and key terms and
people/contributors to the field of psychology presented in each chapter. Readings will be substantial, but hopefully not
overwhelming, and, along with classroom discussion and lectures, will feature prominently in quizzes and tests. Quizzes will
comprise multiple choice questions and AP vocabulary practice, asking students to explain and distinguish between terms and explain
their relationship to each other; tests will reflect an AP Exam template, and include multiple choice questions and Free Response
Questions, graded with an AP rubric or scoring guideline.
Grades will be based on a positive point scale, with students earning some percentage of a total number of possible points.
Students will have ample time to complete all assignments, and test and due dates will be clearly announced. (Unannounced ‘pop’
quizzes are always a possibility on the due dates for reading assignments.) Students will be expected to organize their time to
anticipate potential problems (computer crashes, hungry dogs and the like) and to meet their obligations and deadlines. The
announced due date is the due date whether a student is present or not.
Students in this elective course are required to take the AP Psychology exam, historically administered on the first Monday
of May at year’s end (see above: this year on May 2, 2016 @ 12:00p).
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Classroom Procedures, Conduct, and Policies
CLASS PARTICIPATION AND DEPORTMENT: This course will be conducted in a professional manner and with the
utmost seriousness of purpose, though I also promise that there’s also lots of fun to be had in the process. We share two essential jobs:
one is teaching and the other is learning, and while one of us will do most of the first and the others of us will do most of the second,
ideally we will both do some amount of teaching and learning. I am devoted to both of those processes. It is my position that the task
of learning is proactive and a matter of determination. Ultimately, I cannot make you learn; learning—or not—will be your choice,
and evident in the commitment and dedication you choose, the actions you take and the behaviors you exhibit. The course is note-,
text-, discussion-, and document-driven, and the processes of teaching and learning will involve reading for comprehension and
interpretation, the development of effective note-taking skills, critical thinking and analysis, and then effective communication
through both a Socratic methodology of question-and-answer discussion, as well as written assignments, presentations, and testing, all
of which presuppose solid content knowledge. Opinions without benefit and specific support of textual evidence have no value in an
academic classroom setting. Come to class fully prepared, with all assignments (reading and/or written) completed on time. Finally,
it is critical that students participate in class by asking questions, listening to questions asked by others, and discussing the issues and
topics under consideration. We all learn from one another, so speak up, speak out, and speak often. I absolutely encourage you to
raise pertinent questions and offer pertinent observations about the material on a regular basis. That said, I also absolutely discourage
(read forbid) private conversations of any kind while class is in session. Social time ends the moment you walk through the portals of
the classroom; any and all talking should benefit the entire class, not interrupt or disrupt it. In other words, students (and teachers) are
expected to act with respect for themselves, other students, and the goals and purposes of the class itself. Ours is academic time, not
personal time. Students who act in ways deemed by the teacher to be contrary to the standards and objectives of the course risk
expulsion from class, disciplinary referrals to the administration, parental phone calls or conferences and other consequences, all of
which are avoidable. Please make the deliberate choice to conduct yourself in a responsible and considerate manner.
ATTENDANCE: There is a marked correlation between doing well and attending class faithfully. Please be on time every
day, in no small part because I shall make announcements and ‘do administrative business’ at the start of class, but also because it is
discourteous and disruptive to interrupt a class already in progress. In the final analysis it is the student’s responsibility to make sure
he/she is abreast of all classroom, administrative, and academic matters. The student is responsible for all assignments, notes,
information and discussions—in sum, for his/her own learning. Students are expected to take all tests and exams on the announced
dates of those assessments.
ACADEMIC HONESTY: The presumption in my class is of honesty and integrity; the presumption is that juniors and
seniors at Metro High School have had ample exposure to definitions and rules of plagiarism and academic honesty, and that now as
upperclassmen and –women en route to adulthood will now and forever chose honesty, integrity, character, ethical behavior, efficacy,
and self esteem. Neither the Social Studies Department nor Metro High School nor I tolerate plagiarism or any form of dishonesty on
exams or written assignments, including all Reading Study Guide (RSG) assignments in the notebook. I shall distribute “Academic
Integrity,” a policy statement of what constitutes academic honesty and dishonesty in my classes. Metro AP Psychology is an elective
course offered (limited) to juniors and seniors, and those students are responsible for knowing and complying with the rules and
regulations that I have determined for the course. In brief summary, if a student chooses to behave dishonestly on an assignment
designed for individual student learning and achievement, on that first occasion (out of respect and awareness that all people/students
make mistakes) I shall deal with the situation between teacher and student, and will award a “0” for that assignment or test with no
chance to make up that assignment, accompanied by a reminder, a reiteration of the class and Metro rules of academic integrity. In the
unfortunate event that the student chooses to behave a second time in an academically dishonest manner, I shall bring the matter to the
attention of the principal and the parents. The purpose of that conference will be to inform your parents of now ongoing academically
dishonest behavior and to make clear that a third infraction will result in an official 1-day suspension that will then be part of your
permanent record, and so available to college admission officers. Please respect and honor yourself and your mind in these matters.
These class policies are meant to be shared with your parents. Please ask your parent(s) to read this document, and sign the last page
to indicate they are aware of these guidelines, then return the signature page to me. A copy of this document will be posted on the
course website. I shall provide a separate reading and assignment schedule.
Finally, I am absolutely thrilled to be back at Metro and I look forward to a wonderful school year! Welcome back to you as well.
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Course Overview (from the AP Psychology Curriculum Guide published by the College Board)
The following learning outcomes or topic objectives constitute the bare minimum of demonstrable knowledge required to pass the
course. At the end of the year, students who are able to demonstrate their understanding of all of these learning outcomes will have
earned a passing grade (70% at Metro) in the course. “Demonstrate understanding” means that for each learning outcome, a student is
able to write a formal response that includes a comprehensive and thorough answer to the question/prompt with specific references to
research. Beyond the classroom the student should be able to demonstrate the ability to apply that knowledge to his/her own life.
CR15: 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: The course provides instruction in ethics and research methods used in psychological science and practice.
 Throughout the course, students will read, take notes on, and write a brief summarizing and evaluative essay on the research
studies in Roger Hock, ed., Forty Studies that Changed Psychology 5e (Pearson, 2005) . The studies will be chosen as they
pertain to the unit of study, and students must demonstrate an active intellectual “conversation” with the study by underlining
or highlighting the study and writing comments or questions in the margin, then must take notes on the essay demonstrating
their understanding of the aim, purpose, method, procedure, data, results, conclusions, applications, critiques, ethical issues
and evaluations of the study. Students must finally write a 2-page summary and evaluative essay on the study.
CR1: History and Approaches (2-4%). The course provides instruction in psychology’s history and approaches.
Learning Outcomes (Students Will Be Able To):
1.1 Recognize how philosophical and physiological perspectives shaped the development of psychological thought.
1.2 Describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior:
--structuralism, functionalism, and behaviorism in the early years;
--Gestalt, psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, and humanism emerging later;
--evolutionary, biological, cognitive, and biopsychosocial as more contemporary approaches.
1.3 Recognize the strengths and limitations of applying theories to explain behavior.
1.4 Distinguish the different domains of psychology (e.g., biological, clinical, cognitive, counseling, developmental, educational,
experimental, human factors, industrial–organizational, personality, psychometric, social).
1.5 Identify major historical figures in psychology (e.g., Mary Whiton Calkins, Charles Darwin, Dorothea Dix, Sigmund Freud, G.
Stanley Hall, William James, Ivan Pavlov, Jean Piaget, Carl Rogers, B. F. Skinner, Margaret Floy Washburn, John B. Watson,
Wilhelm Wundt).
CR2: Research Methods (8-10%). The course provides instruction in research methods.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
2.1 Differentiate types of research (e.g., experiments, correlational studies, survey research, naturalistic observations, case studies)
with regard to purpose, strengths, and weaknesses.
2.2 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).
2.3 Identify independent, dependent, confounding, and control variables in experimental designs.
2.4 Distinguish between random assignment of participants to conditions in experiments and random selection of participants,
primarily in correlational studies and surveys.
2.5 Predict the validity of behavioral explanations based on the quality of research design (e.g., confounding variables limit confidence
in research conclusions).
2.6 Distinguish the purposes of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.
2.7 Apply basic descriptive statistical concepts, including interpreting and constructing graphs and calculating simple descriptive
statistics (e.g., measures of central tendency, standard deviation).
2.8Discuss the value of reliance on operational definitions and measurement in behavioral research.
2.9 Identify how ethical issues inform and constrain research practices.
2.10 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.
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CR3: Biological Bases of Behavior (8-10%). The course provides instruction in biological bases of behavior.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
3.1 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.
3.2 Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e.g., reuptake mechanisms, agonists, antagonists).
3.3 Discuss the effect of the endocrine system on behavior.
3.4Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions:
--central and peripheral nervous systems;
--major brain regions, lobes, and cortical areas;
--brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization.
3.5 Discuss the role of neuroplasticity in traumatic brain injury.
3.6 Recount historic and contemporary research strategies and technologies that support research (e.g., case studies, split-brain
research, imaging techniques).
3.7 Discuss psychology’s abiding interest in how heredity, environment, and evolution work together to shape behavior.
3.8 Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value.
3.9 Identify key contributors (e.g., Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael Gazzaniga, Roger Sperry, Carl Wernicke).
CR4: Sensation and Perception (6-8%). The course provides instruction in sensation and perception.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
4.1 Discuss basic principles of sensory transduction, including absolute threshold, difference threshold, signal detection, and sensory
adaptation.
4.2 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.
4.3 Explain common sensory disorders (e.g., visual and hearing impairments).
4.4 Describe general principles of organizing and integrating sensation to promote stable awareness of the external world (e.g., Gestalt
principles, depth perception).
4.5 Discuss how experience and culture can influence perceptual processes (e.g., perceptual set, context effects).
4.6 Explain the role of top-down processing in producing vulnerability to illusion.
4.7 Discuss the role of attention in behavior.
4.8 Challenge common beliefs in parapsychological phenomena.
4.9 Identify the major historical figures in sensation and perception (e.g., Gustav Fechner, David Hubel, Ernst Weber, Torsten
Wiesel).
CR5: States of Consciousness (2-4%). The course provides instruction in states of consciousness.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
5.1 Describe various states of consciousness and their impact on behavior.
5.2 Discuss aspects of sleep and dreaming:
--stages and characteristics of the sleep cycle;
--theories of sleep and dreaming;
--symptoms and treatments of sleep disorders.
5.3 Describe historic and contemporary uses of hypnosis (e.g., pain control, psychotherapy).
5.4 Explain hypnotic phenomena (e.g., suggestibility, dissociation).
5.5 Identify the major psychoactive drug categories (e.g., depressants, stimulants) and classify specific drugs, including their
psychological and physiological effects.
5.6 Discuss drug dependence, addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.
5.7 Identify the major figures in consciousness research (e.g., William James, Sigmund Freud, Ernest Hilgard).
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CR6: Learning (7-9%). The course provides instruction in learning.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
6.1 Distinguish general differences between principles of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning (e.g.,
contingencies).
6.2 Describe basic classical conditioning phenomena, such as acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization,
discrimination, and higher-order learning.
6.3 Predict the effects of operant conditioning (e.g., positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment).
6.4 Predict how practice, schedules of reinforcement, and motivation will influence quality of learning.
6.5 Interpret graphs that exhibit the results of learning experiments.
6.6 Provide examples of how biological constraints create learning predispositions.
6.7 Describe the essential characteristics of insight learning, latent learning, and social learning.
6.8 Apply learning principles to explain emotional learning, taste aversion, superstitious behavior, and learned helplessness.
6.9 Suggest how behavior modification, biofeedback, coping strategies, and self-control can be used to address behavioral problems.
6.10 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).
CR7: Cognition (Memory, Thinking and Language, Problem Solving, Creativity) (8-10%). The course provides instruction in
cognition.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
7.1 Compare and contrast various cognitive processes:
--effortful versus automatic processing;
--deep versus shallow processing;
--focused versus divided attention.
7.2 Describe and differentiate psychological and physiological systems of memory (e.g., short-term memory, procedural memory).
7.3 Outline the principles that underlie effective encoding, storage, and construction of memories.
7.4 Describe strategies for memory improvement.
7.5 Synthesize how biological, cognitive, and cultural factors converge to facilitate acquisition, development, and use of language.
7.6 Identify problem-solving strategies as well as factors that influence their effectiveness.
7.7 List the characteristics of creative thought and creative thinkers.
7.8 Identify key contributors in cognitive psychology (e.g., Noam Chomsky, Hermann Ebbinghaus, Wolfgang Köhler, Elizabeth
Loftus, George A. Miller).
CR8: Motivation and Emotion (6-8%). The course provides instruction in motivation and emotion.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
8.1 Identify and apply basic motivational concepts to understand the behavior of humans and other animals (e.g., instincts, incentives,
intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation).
8.2 Discuss the biological underpinnings of motivation, including needs, drives, and homeostasis.
8.3 Compare and contrast motivational theories (e.g., drive reduction theory, arousal theory, general adaptation theory), including the
strengths and weaknesses of each.
8.4 Describe classic research findings in specific motivation systems (e.g., eating, sex, social)
8.5 Discuss theories of stress and the effects of stress on psychological and physical well-being.
8.6 Compare and contrast major theories of emotion (e.g., James–Lange, Cannon–Bard, Schachter two-factor theory).
8.7 Describe how cultural influences shape emotional expression, including variations in body language.
8.8 Identify key contributors in the psychology of motivation and emotion (e.g., William James, Alfred Kinsey, Abraham Maslow,
Stanley Schachter, Hans Selye).
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CR9: Developmental Psychology (7-9%). The course provides instruction in Developmental Psychology.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
9.1 Discuss the interaction of nature and nurture (including cultural variations) in the determination of behavior.
9.2 Explain the process of conception and gestation, including factors that influence successful fetal development (e.g., nutrition,
illness, substance abuse).
9.3 Discuss maturation of motor skills.
9.4 Describe the influence of temperament and other social factors on attachment and appropriate socialization.
9.5 Explain the maturation of cognitive abilities (e.g., Piaget’s stages, information processing).
9.6 Compare and contrast models of moral development (e.g., Kohlberg, Gilligan).
9.6 Discuss maturational challenges in adolescence, including related family conflicts.
9.7 Explain how parenting styles influence development.
9.8 Characterize the development of decisions related to intimacy as people mature.
9.9 Predict the physical and cognitive changes that emerge as people age, including steps that can be taken to maximize function.
9.10 Describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.
9.11 Identify key contributors in developmental psychology (e.g., Mary Ainsworth, Albert Bandura, Diana Baumrind, Erik Erikson,
Sigmund Freud, Carol Gilligan, Harry Harlow, Lawrence Kohlberg, Konrad Lorenz, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky).
CR10: Personality (5-7%). The course provides instruction in theories of personality.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
10.1 Compare and contrast the major theories and approaches to explaining personality (e.g., psychoanalytic, humanist, cognitive,
trait, social cognition, behavioral).
10.2 Describe and compare research methods (e.g., case studies and surveys) that psychologists use to investigate personality.
10.3 Identify frequently used assessment strategies (e.g., the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI], the Thematic
Apperception Test [TAT]), and evaluate relative test quality based on reliability and validity of the instruments.
10.4 Speculate how cultural context can facilitate or constrain personality development, especially as it relates to self-concept (e.g.,
collectivistic versus individualistic cultures).
10.5 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).
CR11: Testing and Individual Differences (5-7%). The course provides instruction in Testing and Individual Differences.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
11.1 Define intelligence and list characteristics of how psychologists measure intelligence:
--abstract versus verbal measures;
--speed of processing.
11.2 Discuss how culture influences the definition of intelligence.
11.3 Compare and contrast historic and contemporary theories of intelligence (e.g., Charles Spearman, Howard Gardner, Robert
Sternberg).
11.4 Explain how psychologists design tests, including standardization strategies and other techniques to establish reliability and
validity.
11.5 Interpret the meaning of scores in terms of the normal curve.
11.6 Describe relevant labels related to intelligence testing (e.g., gifted, cognitively disabled).
11.7 Debate the appropriate testing practices, particularly in relation to culture-fair test uses.
11.8 Identify key contributors in intelligence research and testing (e.g., Alfred Binet, Francis Galton, Howard Gardner, Charles
Spearman, Robert Sternberg, Louis Terman, David Wechsler).
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CR12: Abnormal Psychology (7-9%). The course provides instruction in Abnormal Psychology.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
12.1 Describe contemporary and historical conceptions of what constitutes psychological disorders.
12.2 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.
12.3 Discuss the major diagnostic categories, including anxiety and somatoform disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, organic
disturbance, personality disorders, and dissociative disorders, and their corresponding symptoms.
12.4 Evaluate the strengths and limitations of various approaches to explaining psychological disorders: medical model,
psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive, biological, and sociocultural.
12.5 Identify the positive and negative consequences of diagnostic labels (e.g., the Rosenhan study).
12.6 Discuss the intersection between psychology and the legal system (e.g., confidentiality, insanity defense).
CR13: Treatment of Psychological Disorders (5-7%). The course provides instruction in the treatment of psychological disorders.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
13.1 Describe the central characteristics of psychotherapeutic intervention.
13.2 Describe major treatment orientations used in therapy (e.g., behavioral, cognitive, humanistic) and how those orientations
influence therapeutic planning.
13.3 Compare and contrast different treatment formats (e.g., individual, group).
13.4 Summarize effectiveness of specific treatments used to address specific problems.
13.5 Discuss how cultural and ethnic context influence choice and success of treatment (e.g., factors that lead to premature termination
of treatment).
13.6 Describe prevention strategies that build resilience and promote competence.
13.7 Identify major figures in psychological treatment (e.g., Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis, Sigmund Freud, Mary Cover Jones, Carl
Rogers, B. F. Skinner, Joseph Wolpe).
CR14 Social Psychology (8-10%). The course provides instruction in Social Psychology.
Learning Outcomes (SWBAT):
14.1 Apply attribution theory to explain motives (e.g., fundamental attribution error, self-serving bias).
14.2 Describe the structure and function of different kinds of group behavior (e.g., deindividuation, group polarization).
14.3 Explain how individuals respond to expectations of others, including groupthink, conformity, and obedience to authority.
14.4 Discuss attitudes and how they change (e.g., central route to persuasion).
14.5 Predict the impact of the presence of others on individual behavior (e.g., bystander effect, social facilitation).
14.6 Describe processes that contribute to differential treatment of group members (e.g., in-group/out-group dynamics, ethnocentrism,
prejudice).
14.7 Articulate the impact of social and cultural categories (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity) on self-concept and relations with others.
14.8 Anticipate the impact of behavior on a self-fulfilling prophecy.
14.9 Describe the variables that contribute to altruism, aggression, and attraction.
14.10 Discuss attitude formation and change, including persuasion strategies and cognitive dissonance.
14.11 Identify important figures in social psychology (e.g., Solomon Asch, Leon Festinger, Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo).
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Student and Parental Signature Page
AP Psychology
Students and parents, after you have read the Course Outline in its entirety, please sign below to indicate that
you understand the course policies and procedures as outlined above, and return this page to me.
PRINT STUDENT NAME ___________________________________________
Parent(s) Signature ___________________________________________________________
Date _________________________
___________________________________________________________
Date _________________________
Student’s Signature __________________________________________________________
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Date ________________________