Download AP Psych Syllabus Lenox - Hanover Park High School

Course Title: Advanced Placement Psychology
Course Goal:
 Advance Placement Psychology is equivalent to an introductory college level course
offered to students who wish to expand their understanding of the concepts related to
this field of study. The purpose or this course is to address the universal question:
“Why do we, as humans, think and behave as we do? The AP Psychology course is
designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and
mental processes of human beings. Students are exposed to the psychological facts,
principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within
psychology. A variety of activities, demonstrations, and projects will be provided to
meet this goal of instructing scientific and empirical approaches. The focus of this
class is not simply memorizing terms and theories but truly learning how to apply
psychological concepts to everyday life. {SC 17}
Course Description:
 AP Psychology is a yearlong course, scheduled in a 42 minute period that meets each
day. The school year is 186 days long with 151 days before the AP exam, allowing for
4 days for semester exams.
Textbook:
 Text: Myers, David G., Psychology, 10th ed. New York: Worth Publishers, 2011.
With Psychportal
Supplemental Texts:




Slater, L. Opening Skinner’s Box. Norton: New York. 2004.
Butler, T. 50 Psychology Classics: Who we are, how we think, what we do. Insight and
inspiration from 50 key books. New York: MJF Books. 2007.
Hock, R. 40 Studies that Changed Psychology. New York: Pearson. 2012.
Mook, D. Classical Experiments in Psychology. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
2004
1
Grading Policy:

Final course grade is determined using the following percentages:
Quarterly Grades
Final and Quarterly Exams
20% each
20% each

Students take midterm exams covering the first seven units of material. The exam is the same
format as the AP exam (objective multiple-choice questions and two free response questions).
The number of multiple choice has been adjusted to fit the time allotted.

The final exam consists of an interest research project which must be presented in class.

Quarterly grades are determined using the following percentages
Tests
30% each
Quizzes
Assessments
(Projects, Essays)
15% each
20%
Research Notes (readings
& Media)
Homework
Class Participation
10%
15%
10%
Course Scope:

All tests are cumulative. Tests consist of multiple choice questions and 1 free-response AP
style question per unit. An assessment or quiz that is either objective or subjective (such Free
Response Practice) is given weekly. Additional assignments given vary by unit.

Homework and vocabulary from the textbook is assigned nightly.

Students work on projects and demonstrations on various topics individually and in groups
throughout the year. There is final oral project, which is an interest presentation, which will
occur after the AP examination in June. {SC17}

In addition to the dedicated unit on research methods, students complete researched
presentations on important research experiments. Further throughout each unit students utilize
the supplement material ( such as Slater, L. Opening Skinner’s Box. Norton: New York. 2004.
Or Mook, D. Classical Experiments in Psychology. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
2004 ). They must summarize the article and correctly identify the research methodology used
in the study as well concepts from class that were recently discussed. {SC17}
2
Course Objectives:
1) Describe and explain the significant changes in the major theories that psychologists use to
explain behavior and mental processes throughout history as well as the major historical
figures in the field of psychology. Provide critique for each of the major theories. {SC1}
2) Identify the methodology of psychological research and the diversity of approaches to data
gathering as well as understand why psychology is an empirically researched subject. {SC2}
3) Differentiate types of research, the elements involved in every research study (such as
independent and dependent variable, central tendencies, etc…), the types of errors that occur
in research, as well as ethical issues regarding research. {SC2}
4) Calculate and comprehend basic statistical data as related to research. {SC2}
5) Understand the relationship between physiological processes and behavior — including the
influence of neural function, the nervous system and the brain, and genetic contributions to
behavior. {SC3}
6) Identify each brain structure responsible for different neural functions and describe sensory
processes (e.g., hearing, vision, touch, taste, smell, vestibular, kinesthesis, pain), including
the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant anatomical structures, cognitive
processing, and specialized pathways in the brain for each of the senses. {SC3, SC4, SC5,
SC7}
7) Differentiate and understand the variations in states of consciousness including sleep cycles,
dreams, hypnosis, circadian rhythms, and the effects of drugs. {SC6}
8) Comprehend and recognize the different kinds of learning Explain the biological bases of
behavior as predispositions for learning and synthesize how humans convert sensory input
into kinds of information. {SC7}
9) Examine human cognitive processing and memory to understand how humans learn,
remember, and retrieve information. {SC7, SC8}
10) Comprehend how biological, cognitive, and cultural factors converge to facilitate
acquisition,
development, and use of language. {SC7, SC8}
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11) Discuss biological and social factors that motivate behavior and biological and cultural
factors that influence emotion as well as define and explain the theories of motivations and
emotion. {SC9, SC10}
12) Categorize the behavior of organisms from conception to death and examine the processes
that contribute to behavioral change throughout the life span. {SC11}
13) Identify and detail the major areas of development throughout the lifespan- prenatal
development, motor development, socialization, cognitive development, adolescence, and
adulthood. {SC11}
14) Differentiate major theories of how humans develop enduring patterns of behavior and
personal characteristics that influence how others relate to them. {SC12}
15) Know the research methods used to assess personality as well as define intelligence and
understand how individual differences are assessed. {SC12, SC13}
16) Comprehend issues related to intelligence test construction and fair use and examine the
nature of common challenges to adaptive functioning. {SC13}
17) Describe contemporary/historical conceptions of psychological disorders. {SC14}
18) Understand the classification of disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association as
the primary reference for making diagnostic judgments, the treatment modalities based on
various orientations in psychology, as well as the consequences of diagnosis. {SC15}
19) Explain the theories regarding social attitudes, social influence, and other social
phenomena. {SC16}
20) Identify the research, theories, and contributions of all major psychologists for each studied
area of this course. {SC16}
4
Course Outline:
I.
History and Approaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Days
A. History of Psychology
B. Approaches
1. Biological
2. Behavioral
3. Cognitive
4. Humanistic
5. Psychodynamic
6. Sociocultural
7. Evolutionary
8. Biopsychosocial
C. Subfields in Psychology
Objectives: {SC1}
1. Understand the study and practice of Psychology is critical in understanding human behavior.
2. Understand the perspectives and the scope of Psychology are continually changing due to shifts
in modern thought and continual breakthroughs in modern research.
3. 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 bio-psychosocial as more
contemporary approaches.
4. Understand how philosophical and physiological perspectives shaped the development of
psychological thought.
5. The strengths and limitations of applying each of the psychological perspectives to explain
behavior.
6. Distinguish the different domains of psychology (e.g., biological, clinical, cognitive,
counseling, developmental, educational, experimental, human factors, industrial–
organizational, personality, psychometric, social).
7. 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).
II. Research Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Days
A. Experimental, Correlational, and Clinical Research
B. Statistics
1. Descriptive
2. Inferential
C. Ethics in Research
5
Objectives: {SC2}
1. Understand the importance of the scientific attitude.
2. Identify the types of research (e.g., experiments, correlational studies, survey research,
naturalistic observations, case studies) with regard to purpose, strengths, and weaknesses.
3. Understand the elements ( E.g. variables, settings, statistics, ethics, etc) that compose scientific
research in the psychological field.
4. Recognize the statistical analysis of data derived from scientific research.
5. Know the limitations of correlation analysis.
6. Understand that personal values and culture can influence psychologists’ research and its
application;
7. Recognize Psychology’s potential to manipulate people and the code of ethics that was put in
place to restraint the negative use of psychology due to this reason.
8. Realize that multiple types of research, such as experiment, are needed in this field because
they all have inherent strengths and weaknesses.
9. Understand the difference between random assignment of participants to conditions in
experiments and random selection of participants, primarily in correlation studies and surveys.
10. Identify the independent, dependent, confounding, and control variables in experimental
designs.
11. The purposes of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.
12. Realize how ethical issues inform and constrain research practices.
13. Realize 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.
14. 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).
15. Predict the validity of behavioral explanations based on the quality of research design (e.g.,
confounding variables limit confidence in research conclusions).
16. Apply basic descriptive statistical concepts, including interpreting and constructing graphs and
calculating simple descriptive statistics (e.g., measures of central tendency, standard deviation).
17. Discuss the value of reliance on operational definitions and measurement in behavioral
research.
III. Biological Bases of Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Days
A. Physiological Techniques (e.g., imaging, surgical)
B. Neuro-anatomy
C. Functional Organization of Nervous System
D. Neural Transmission
E. Neuroplasticity
F. Endocrine System
G. Genetics
H. Evolutionary Psychology
6
Objectives: {SC3}
1.
2.
3.
4.
Understand the basic biological processes and systems that are the bases for behavior.
Recognize that heredity, environment, and evolution work together to shape behavior.
Know the effect of the endocrine system on behavior.
Recognize the historic and contemporary strategies and technologies that support research (e.g.,
case studies, split-brain research, imaging techniques).
5. Identify the importance of key contributions from- Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael
Gazzaniga, Roger Sperry, Carl Wernicke.
6. 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.
7. Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e.g., reuptake mechanisms, agonists, and
antagonists).
8. Discuss the role of neuroplasticity in traumatic brain injury.
9. Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value.
10. Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions:
a) central and peripheral nervous systems;
b) major brain regions, lobes, and cortical areas;
c) brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization.
IV. Sensation and Perception. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 days
A. Thresholds and Signal Detection Theory
B. Sensory Mechanisms
C. Attention
D. Perceptual Processes
Objectives: {SC4, SC5}
1. Identify the sensory processes (e.g., hearing, vision, touch, taste, smell, vestibular, kinesthesia,
pain), including the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant anatomical structures, and
specialized pathways in the brain for each of the senses.
2. Understand the basic principles of sensory transduction, including absolute threshold, difference
threshold, signal detection, and sensory adaptation.
3. Comprehend the role of top-down processing in producing vulnerability to illusion.
4. Identify the major historical figures and the importance of their contributions in sensation and
perception (e.g., Gustav Fechner, David Hubel, Ernst Weber, Torsten Wiesel).
5. Understand how experience and culture can influence perceptual processes (e.g., perceptual set,
context effects).
V. States of Consciousness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Days
A. Sleep and Dreaming
B. Hypnosis
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C. Psychoactive Drug Effects
Objectives: {SC6}
1. Know the various states of consciousness and their impact on behavior.
2. Understand the major psychoactive drug categories (e.g., depressants, stimulants) and classify
specific drugs, including their psychological and physiological effects.
3. Describe historic and contemporary uses of hypnosis (e.g., pain control, psychotherapy).
4. Explain hypnotic phenomena (e.g., suggestibility, dissociation).
5. Identify the major figures in consciousness research (e.g., William James, Sigmund Freud, Ernest
Hilgard).
6. Comprehend the difference between drug dependence, addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.
7. Recognize the aspects of sleep and dreaming:
a. Stages and characteristics of the sleep cycle;
b. theories of sleep and dreaming;
c. symptoms and treatments of sleep disorders.
VI. Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Days
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Cognitive Processes
Biological Factors
Social Learning
Objectives: {SC7}
1. Understand that a person learns using multiple techniques.
2. Realize that biological constraints create learning predispositions.
3. Recognize learning techniques such as behavior modification, biofeedback, coping strategies,
and self control can be used to address behavioral problems.
4. Know the effects of operant conditioning (e.g., positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement,
punishment).
5. Understand how practice, schedules of reinforcement, and motivation will influence quality of
learning.
6. Understand how to interpret graphs that exhibit the results of learning experiments.
7. Distinguish general differences between principles of classical conditioning, operant
conditioning, and observational learning (e.g., contingencies).
8. Describe basic classical conditioning phenomena, such as acquisition, extinction, spontaneous
recovery, generalization, discrimination, and higher-order learning.
9. Provide examples of how biological constraints create learning predispositions.
10. Describe the essential characteristics of insight learning, latent learning, and social learning.
11. Apply learning principles to explain emotional learning, taste aversion, superstitious behavior,
and learned helplessness.
12. 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)
8
VII. Cognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 days
A.
B.
C.
D.
Memory
Language
Thinking
Problem Solving and Creativity
Objectives: {SC8}
1. Understand that there are many processes involved in memory.
2. Identify the different psychological and physiological systems of memory as well as strategies
for memory improvement.
3. Recognize the principles that underlie effective encoding, storage, and construction of
memories.
4. Identify problem-solving strategies as well as factors that influence their effectiveness.
5. Understand that there are many characteristics of creative thought and creative thinkers.
6. Compare and contrast various cognitive processes:
i. Effortful versus automatic processing;
ii. Deep versus shallow processing;
iii. Focused versus divided attention (e.g., short-term memory, procedural
memory).
7. Synthesize how biological, cognitive, and cultural factors converge to facilitate acquisition,
development, and use of language.
8. Identify key contributors in cognitive psychology (e.g., Noam Chomsky, Hermann Ebbinghaus,
Wolfgang Köhler, Elizabeth Loftus, George A. Miller).
VIII. Motivation and Emotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 days
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Biological Bases
Theories of Motivation
Hunger, Thirst, Sex, and Pain
Social Motives
Theories of Emotion
Stress
9
Objectives: {SC9, SC10}
1. Understand that humans and animals are motivated by the same systems.
2. Realize all motivational theories (e.g., drive reduction theory, arousal theory, general adaptation
theory), include strengths and weaknesses.
3. Comprehend how cultural influences shape motivation, biological desires, and emotional
expression, including variations in body language.
4. Comprehend expression of emotion can be both beneficial and damaging to one’s health.
5. Discuss the biological underpinnings of motivation, including needs, drives, and homeostasis.
6. Describe classic research findings in specific motivation systems (e.g., eating, sex, social).
7. Apply the basic motivational concepts to understand the behavior of humans and other animals
(e.g., instincts, incentives, intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation).
8. Understand the theories of stress and the effects of stress on psychological and physical wellbeing.
9. Compare and contrast major theories of emotion (e.g., James–Lange, Cannon–Bard, Schachter
two-factor theory).
10. Identify key contributors in the psychology of motivation and emotion (e.g., William James,
Alfred Kinsey, Abraham Maslow, Stanley Schachter, Hans Selye).
IX. Developmental Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 days
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Life-Span Approach
Research Methods (e.g., longitudinal, cross-sectional)
Heredity–Environment Issues
Developmental Theories
Dimensions of Development
1. Physical
2. Cognitive
3. Social
4. Moral
F. Sex and Gender Development
Objectives: {SC11}
1. Understand the interaction of nature and nurture (including cultural variations) is responsible
each in unique ways for determining behavior.
2. Know the process of conception and gestation is complex and includes many factors that
influence successful fetal development (e.g., nutrition, illness, substance abuse).
3. Identify the maturation of motor skills.
4. Recognize the maturational challenges in adolescence, including related family conflicts.
5. Identify how parenting styles influence development.
6. Recall the physical and cognitive changes that emerge as people age, including steps that can be
taken to maximize function.
10
7. Explain the maturation of cognitive abilities (e.g., Piaget’s stages, information processing).
8. Describe the influence of temperament and other social factors on attachment and appropriate
socialization.
9. Compare and contrast models of moral development (e.g., Kohlberg, Gilligan).
10. Characterize the development of decisions related to intimacy as people mature.
11. Describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.
12. 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).
X. Personality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Days
A. Personality Theories and Approaches
B. Assessment Techniques
C. Growth and Adjustment
Objectives: {SC12}
1. Compare the similarities and differences between major theories and approaches to
2.
3.
4.
5.
explaining personality (e.g., psychoanalytic, humanist, cognitive, trait, social cognition,
behavioral).
Understand how culture can facilitate or constrain personality development, especially as it
relates to self-concept (e.g., collectivistic versus individualistic cultures).
Be able to assess personality, many frequently used assessment strategies (e.g., the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI], the Thematic Apperception Test
[TAT]), are both projective and objective, and are evaluated for relative test quality based
on reliability and validity of the instruments.
Describe and compare research methods (e.g., case studies and surveys) that psychologists
use to investigate personality.
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).
XI. Testing and Individual Differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Days
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Standardization and Norms
Reliability and Validity
Types of Tests
Ethics and Standards in Testing
Intelligence
11
Objectives: {SC 13}
1. Comprehend the characteristics of intelligence and understand how psychologists
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
measure intelligence:
a. abstract versus verbal measures;
b. speed of processing.
To understand how culture influences the definition of intelligence.
Understand relevant labels related to intelligence testing (e.g., gifted, cognitively
disabled).
Know the meaning of scores in terms of the normal curve.
Identify the appropriate testing practices, particularly in relation to culture-fair test uses.
Explain how psychologists design tests, including standardization strategies and other
techniques to establish reliability and validity.
Compare and contrast historic and contemporary theories of intelligence (e.g., Charles
Spearman, Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg).
Identify key contributors in intelligence research and testing (e.g., Alfred Binet, Francis
Galton, Howard Gardner, Charles Spearman, Robert Sternberg, Louis Terman, David
Wechsler).
XII. Abnormal Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Days
A. Definitions of Abnormality
B. Theories of Psychopathology
C. Diagnosis of Psychopathology
D. Types of Disorders
1. Anxiety
2. Somatoform
3. Mood
4. Schizophrenic
5. Organic
6. Personality
7. Dissociative
12
Objectives: {SC 14}
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Understand that there are many contemporary and historical conceptions of what constitutes
psychological disorders.
Understand that the stigmatization of those who are labeled with a psychological disorder still
exists in today’s culture.
Use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the
American Psychiatric Association as the primary reference for making diagnostic judgments.
Know the positive and negative consequences of diagnostic labels (e.g., the Rosenhan study).
Explain the intersection between psychology and the legal system (e.g., confidentiality, insanity
defense).
Explain the interplay between genetics and environmental factors on psychological disorders.
Evaluate the strengths and limitations of various approaches to explaining psychological
disorders: medical model, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive, biological, and socio-cultural.
Discuss the major diagnostic categories, including anxiety and somatoform disorders, mood
disorders, schizophrenia, organic disturbance, personality disorders, and dissociative disorders,
and their corresponding symptoms.
XIII. Treatment of Abnormal Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Days
A. Treatment Approaches
1. Psychodynamic
2. Humanistic
3. Behavioral
4. Cognitive
5. Biological
B. Modes of Therapy (i.e., individual, group)
C. Community and Preventive Approaches
Objectives: {SC 15}
1. Understand there are many types of psychotherapeutic interventions, each with varying
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
dynamic characteristics.
Describe each major treatment orientations used in therapy (e.g., behavioral, cognitive,
humanistic) has benefits and drawbacks.
Identify how culture, gender, ethnicity, and ethics all have influence over the use of treatment
interventions.
Know how treatment orientations influence therapeutic planning.
Understand how cultural and ethnic context influence choice and success of treatment (e.g.,
factors that lead to premature termination of treatment).
Identify prevention strategies that build resilience and promote competence.
Compare and contrast different treatment formats (e.g., individual, group)
Summarize effectiveness of specific treatments used to address specific problems.
Identify major figures in psychological treatment (e.g., Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis, Sigmund
Freud, Mary Cover Jones, Carl Rogers, B. F. Skinner, Joseph Wolpe)
13
XIV. Social Psychology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Days
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Group Dynamics
Attribution Processes
Interpersonal Perception
Conformity, Compliance, & Obedience
Attitudes and Attitude Change
Organizational Behavior
Aggression/Antisocial Behavior
Cultural Influence
Objectives:
1. Understand how individuals respond to expectations of others in a variety of ways, including
groupthink, conformity, and obedience to authority.
2. Know that attitudes can be changed (e.g., central route to persuasion).
3. Explain the structure and function of different kinds of group influence the group’s behavior
(e.g., de-individuation, group polarization).
4. Describe the impact of social and cultural categories (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity) on selfconcept and relations with others.
5. Know how culture, race, and gender play large roles in how we think about influence and relate
to one another
6. Know the impact of the presence of others on individual behavior (e.g., bystander effect, social
facilitation).
7. Identify the variables that contribute to altruism, aggression, and attraction.
8. Explain the impact of behavior on a self-fulfilling prophecy.
9. Discuss attitude formation and change, including persuasion strategies and cognitive
dissonance.
10. Apply attribution theory to explain motives (e.g., fundamental attribution error, self-serving
bias).
11. Describe processes that contribute to differential treatment of group members (e.g., ingroup/out-group dynamics, ethnocentrism, prejudice).
12. Identify important figures in social psychology (e.g., Solomon Asch, Leon Festinger, Stanley
Milgram, Philip Zimbardo).
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