Download Subject: Psychology I - Pascack Valley Regional High School District

Pascack Valley Regional High School District
Pascack Hills High School, Montvale, New Jersey
Pascack Valley High School, Hillsdale, New Jersey
Course Name:
Psychology II
Psychology II: Course description
Psychology II takes students even deeper into the world of psychology, and into the world of their own mind. Students in this class will be able to
apply the knowledge acquired in Psychology I, while learning about many new and exciting areas of human behavior. Students will develop more
advanced kinds of experiments and studies, and will learn the basics of statistical analysis. They will also be called upon to look inside themselves
and contemplate the meaning of their own dreams. Students will learn how to conduct psychoanalytic dream analyses through class activities and
guest speakers. Students will also discover their own learning styles, and discover how to implement learning and memory strategies in their own
lives. They will become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses as learners. During the unit entitled “Thinking and Intelligence” students will
come to appreciate and understand the complexities of their own minds, and to a more complete understanding of what intelligence is. Due to the
prevalence of movies and TV shows dealing with the subject matter, students are always fascinated by the nature of psychological disorders. They
will encounter these gripping and bizarre stories in Psychology II, and learn how to separate fact from fiction. As students look to the future, it is
also important to show students what a future career in psychology would be. That is why the final unit of Psychology II deals with real world
applications. Students will discover that studying psychology could lead them to a career in business, advertising, sports, and criminal justice, among
many others. Taken together, Psychology I and Psychology II constitute an academically challenging and personally applicable program of studies
that will touch every aspect of a student’s life, from his/her relationships to his/her dreams.
Subject: Psychology II
Unit 1
OBJECTIVES
ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
EVALUATION
Research methods and ethics:
1. Evaluate the shortcomings of
intuition and common sense
in understanding human
behavior.
2. Apply the principles of the
scientific method to the
practice of psychological
research.
3. Understand the uses and
shortcomings of case studies.
4. Design surveys and analyze
the data.
5. Participate in naturalistic
observations.
6. Understand the difference
between causation and
correlation.
7. Design and carry out
psychological experiments.
8. Understand and apply basic
statistical analysis concepts
such as central tendency and
variation.
9. Discuss the ethical
considerations of research
and the responsibilities of
psychological researchers.
Textbook readings: Psychology: Principles in
Practice
Experimental design and execution, along
with APA-style write-up
Additional readings and handouts from other books,
journals, and magazines, especially about current
news relating to psychology
Homework
Guest speaker: researcher
Quizzes
Demonstrations
Class participation
Cooperative learning activities
Projects and presentations
Lecture/class discussion
Test: objective and subjective items
Videotapes
Entrance and exit slips and/or do-nows
NJCCCS
Subject: Psychology II
Unit 2
OBJECTIVES
ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
EVALUATION
States of Consciousness, Sleep, and
Dreams:
1. Define what consciousness is
and how it changes.
2. Discuss the reasons why we
need sleep.
3. Identify all of the stages of
the sleep cycle.
4. Explain the special
implications of REM sleep
as shown through REM
deprivation experiments.
5. Identify and diagnose sleep
disorders.
6. Interpret dreams according
to various theories.
7. Discuss the principles of
hypnosis and its applications.
8. Assess the impact of drugs
on human consciousness.
Textbook readings: Psychology: Principles in
Practice
Dream journals
Homework
Additional readings and handouts from other books,
journals, and magazines, especially about current
news relating to psychology
Entrance and exit slips and/or do-nows
Quizzes
Guest speakers: Freudian dream analyst, hypnotist
Class participation
Dream analysis small-group discussion
Projects and presentations
Demonstrations: meditation and hypnosis
Reaction papers
Keep sleep logs
Test: objective and subjective items
Conduct surveys on sleep
Cooperative learning activities
Lecture/class discussion
Videos
Transparencies
NJCCCS
Subject: Psychology II
Unit 3
OBJECTIVES
ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
EVALUATION
Learning, Memory, and
Forgetting:
1. Discuss the work of Ivan
Pavlov and the principles of
classical conditioning as they
operate in humans and
animals in theory as well as
in daily life.
2. Discuss the work of B.F.
Skinner and the principles of
operant conditioning as they
operate in theory as well as
in practice.
3. Investigate the effectiveness
of various schedules of
reinforcement.
4. Analyze Bandura’s theory of
observational learning.
5. Identify the different ways
that people encode
information initially.
6. Understand the connections
among the three different
stages of memory: sensory,
short-term, and long-term.
7. Discuss the specific physical
parts of the brain involved in
creating and storing
memories.
8. Identify factors involved in
the retrieval of memories.
Textbook readings: Psychology: Principles in
Practice
Learning disabilities project
Homework
Additional readings and handouts from other books,
journals, and magazines, especially about current
news relating to psychology
Entrance and exit slips and/or do-nows
Quizzes
Demonstrations
Classical conditioning experiment
Analysis of teaching methods and
classroom management project
Debate: Does media violence lead to real violence?
Class participation
Cooperative learning activities
Projects and presentations
Lecture/class discussion
Writing assignments
Learning skits
Test: objective and subjective items
Memory improvement workshops
Internet activities: memory techniques
Film: Memento
Debate: Should recovered memories be
accepted in court?
Guest speaker: attorney to discuss implications
of memory
NJCCCS
OBJECTIVES
9. Explain the reasons for
forgetting things.
10. Discuss the reconstructive
nature of memory.
11. Explain the shortcomings
of eyewitness testimony and
recovered memories and
their relationship to the legal
system.
ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
EVALUATION
NJCCCS
Subject: Psychology II
Unit 4
OBJECTIVES
ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
EVALUATION
Thinking and Intelligence:
1. Discuss the strategies that
people use to solve
problems.
2. Explain the manner in which
people make decisions.
3. Understand the process by
which humans acquire
language.
4. Explain the connections
between thinking and
language.
5. Identify the shortcomings of
traditional IQ tests.
6. Discuss and evaluate
Spearman’s theory of
general intelligence.
7. Evaluate Gardner’s theory of
multiple intelligences and its
connection to savant
syndrome.
8. Evaluate Goleman’s theory
of Emotional Intelligence.
9. Discuss the influence of
brain size and function on
intelligence.
10. Discuss the history of
intelligence testing and its
uses.
11. Understand the ways in
which ways intelligence
Textbook readings: Psychology: Principles in
Practice
Homework
Entrance and exit slips and/or do-nows
Debate: Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences
theory
Quizzes
Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence
Class participation
Additional readings and handouts from other books,
journals, and magazines, especially about current
news relating to psychology
Projects and presentations
Demonstrations
Test: objective and subjective items
Cooperative learning activities
Lecture/class discussion
Reaction papers
NJCCCS
OBJECTIVES
12.
13.
14.
15.
changes and remains the
same over the life span.
Discuss the extremes of
intelligence, from low to
high.
Explain the phenomenon of
creativity.
Understand the highly
debatable issue of
environmental, genetic,
ethnic, and sociocultural
influence on intelligence.
Assess gender differences.
ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
EVALUATION
NJCCCS
Subject: Psychology II
Unit 5
OBJECTIVES
ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
EVALUATION
Psychopathology and Therapies:
1. Describe the medical and
bio-psycho-social
perspectives on
psychological disorders.
2. Discuss the DSM-IV and its
uses in identifying and
describing disorders.
3. Describe the anxiety
disorders.
4. Discuss dissociative
personality disorders.
5. Identify and describe
personality disorders such as
antisocial personality,
borderline, narcissistic and
histrionic disorders.
6. Identify and describe mood
disorders such as bi-polar
and depression.
7. Identify and describe the
many different
manifestations of
schizophrenia.
8. Explain what therapy is and
the major goals of the
therapeutic process.
9. Describe the process of
psychoanalysis.
10. Discuss humanistic therapy.
11. Explain ways of utilizing
Textbook readings: Psychology: Principles in
Practice
Homework
Entrance and exit slips and/or do-nows
Additional readings and handouts from other books,
journals, and magazines, especially about current
news relating to psychology
Projects
Student-directed research
Demonstrations
Quizzes
Research project and presentation
Class participation
Guest speakers: forensic psychologist, social
worker, clinical psychologist
Films: A Beautiful Mind, One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest, Girl, Interrupted
Reaction papers
Test: objective and subjective items
Literature reviews on mental disorders
Role playing activities: clinical evaluations in small
groups
Lecture/class discussion
NJCCCS
OBJECTIVES
behavioral modification
techniques in everyday life.
12. Identify and describe new
trends in therapy as they
come about.
ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
EVALUATION
NJCCCS
Subject: Psychology II
Unit 6
OBJECTIVES
ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
EVALUATION
Real World Applications of
Psychology:
Analysis of advertising, media, sports, and other
practical applications of psychology in the real
world
Research project about a career in
psychology
1. Identify the important job
skills used by people in the
field of psychology.
2. Explore specific types of
psychologists: forensic,
personality, developmental,
clinical, engineering,
consumer, etc.
3. Discuss the applications of
psychology in fields not
directly related to
psychology.
4. Explore the career prospects
for psychologists.
5. Identify the types of training
and certification necessary to
become a licensed
psychologist.
Entrance and exit slips and/or do-nows
Additional readings and handouts from other books,
journals, and magazines, especially about current
news relating to psychology
Quizzes
Class participation
Guest speakers
Projects and presentations
Cooperative learning activities
Reaction papers
Lecture/class discussion
Test: objective and subjective items
NJCCCS