Advanced Placement Psychology Syllabus
Mr. Stanfield
Mason Co. High School
Course Overview
During the course of this school year, we will cover the basic principles of general psychology.
The field of psychology is a very wide area to cover, and everything will not be addressed;
however, main theories and crucial information will be covered and emphasized in an effort to
prepare you for the AP Psychology exam. (If you choose not to take the exam, at the very least
you should come out of the course with an understanding of psychology that many incoming
college freshmen do not have.)
Numerous psychological fields, methods of study, and basic psychological principles will be
addressed, as will their founders and followers. However, the basic understanding of the field, as
a whole, will serve as the main purpose of the course (for the entirety of the school year).
F.Y.I.
It should be noted, by all students who plan on completing this course, that this WILL NOT be
your “everyday” course. This course is taught, for your benefit, on a college level. Similarly, the
course will be taught in a collegiate format (i.e. – lecture, note-taking, class discussions, student
analysis, independent reading assignments, etc.).
The subjects that will be covered will, again, be covered in a collegiate format; that is, they will
be covered through extensive lecture and note-taking sessions, as well as often lengthy class
discussions. You will need to come to class prepared each and every day. If you have any doubts
about whether or not you wish to stay in this course, or if you have any questions about the
course or its proceedings, NOW is the time to ask. Please feel free to ask ANY questions that
you might have. Do not take this course lightly; if you do, your grade will serve as a testament to
your work ethic (or lack thereof). If the class is taken seriously, you will learn a great deal
(while, ideally, having an enjoyable time).
Course Text
For the entirety of the course, we will use Psychology (8th Ed.) (Bernstein, Penner, ClarkeStewart, Roy) as the text of choice; said text is used in both AP high school courses as well as
intro courses at many universities. It should be noted that there will be nightly reading
assignments from the text that you will be responsible for as individuals. This text is aligned with
the AP psychology exam and will serve as an excellent tool in your preparation for the
forthcoming AP exam. (Unlike my other courses, students will be issued their own individual
textbooks and, thusly, will be duly responsible for them.)
(OVER)
Grading
The approved school-based grading scale will be used for this course. (However, it should be
noted that, because this is an Advanced Placement course, the grading scale is weighted on your
transcripts.)
A= 90-100
B= 80-89
C= 70-79
D= 60-69
F= 0-59
Course Work/Assignments
A variety of assignments will be used throughout the year. Some include:

Various independent assignments (i.e. - readings, opinion writings, analyses, etc.)

Writings (Some writings will be opinion-based, while others could deal with:
ideas and principles, theoretical stances, ethical procedures, case studies,
specific cases, and/or personal psychological assignments.)

Debates (Self-explanatory. These will focus more on contemporary psychological
issues and ethical procedures.)

Assessment Tasks (These will vary. Numerous tasks are possible, including: exams, term
papers, group-work assignments, artistic expression, and actual
casework.)
Course Outline
What follows is a list of topics/chapters (using the aforementioned text) that will be covered
throughout the course. Order is not set in stone; however, change (if any) will be minimal. (It
should also be noted that, because of frequent school-related interruptions, a “day-specific
reading schedule” is not listed. Readings will be assigned daily as the year progresses.) Course
content to be covered will be as follows:
Unit I
Ch. 1 – Introducing Psychology & Ch. 2 – Research in Psychology
Intro./Subfields of Psych. – pp. 2-13
History of Psych. – pp. 13-17
Approaches to Psych. – pp. 17-25
Non-experimental Research Methods/Correlation – pp. 28-39
Experimental Method: Cause & Effect – pp. 40-44
Experimental Method: Selecting Participants – pp. 44-49
Descriptive Statistics – pp. 49-52 & Appendix B
Ethics/Inferential Statistics – pp. 52-56 & Appendix B
 End of Unit Exam
Unit II
Ch. 12 – Human Development
Intro Discussion – pp. 457-460
Beginnings of Development – pp. 460-464
Cognitive Development (Piaget) – pp. 464-473
Cognitive Development – pp. 473-479
Social Development – pp. 479-484
Social Development – pp. 484-493
Adolescence – pp. 494-503
Adulthood – pp. 503-513
 End of Unit Exam
Unit III
Ch. 3 – Biological Aspects of Psychology
Organization of the Nervous System/Cells – pp. 59-62
Action Potential/Synapses – pp. 62-67
Peripheral Nervous System/Brain Studying Techniques – pp. 67-68 &72-77
Central Nervous System – pp. 69-70 & 77-81
CNS – Cerebral Cortex – pp.81-87
The Divided Brain/Brain Plasticity – pp. 87-94
The Chemistry of Psychology – pp. 95-98
Endocrine & Immune Systems – pp. 99-103
Intro to Neuropsychology, Brains Dysfunction, & Disorders of Movement – pp. 762-770 & 782783
 End of Unit Exam
Unit IV
Ch. 4 – Sensation
Coding/Sound – pp. 106-113
Hearing – pp. 113-118
Light & The Eye – pp. 118-121
Vision – pp. 121-127
Color Vision – pp. 127-133
Smell & Taste – pp. 133-139
Somatic Senses – pp. 139-146
Proprioception – pp. 146-149
 End of Unit Exam
Unit V
Ch. 5 – Perception
Approaches/Psychophyscis – pp. 152-162
Organizing the Perceptual World – pp. 163-173
Recognizing the Perceptual World – pp. 174-181
Attention – pp. 182-187
Applications of Research – pp. 187-190
Disorders of Perception – pp. 776-780
 End of Unit Exam
Unit VI
Ch. 6 – Learning
Intro to Classical Conditioning – pp. 194-198
Classical Conditioning – pp. 198-205
Operant Conditioning – pp. 205-210
Operant Conditioning: Forming & Strengthening – pp. 210-215
Punishment & Applications of Operant Conditioning – pp. 215-220
Cognitive Processes/Learned Helplessness – pp. 220-223
Additional Cognitive Processes – pp. 223-226 & 230-233
Class Discussion: Effects of Violent Television Programming – pp. 227-229
 End of Unit Exam
Unit VII
Ch. 7 – Memory
Nature of Memory: Basic Processes & Models of Memory – pp. 237-245
Storing New Memories: Sensory & Short-Term – pp. 245-248
Storing New Memories: Long-Term – pp. 248-252
Retrieving Memories – pp. 252-261
Forgetting – pp. 261-268
Biological Bases of Memory – pp. 268-273
Applications of Memory Research – pp. 273-277
Amnestic Disorders – pp. 770-773
 End of Unit Exam
Unit VIII
Ch. 8 – Cognition and Language
Basic Functions of Thought – pp. 280-284
Mental Representations – pp. 284-289
Thinking Strategies – pp. 289-294
Problem-Solving – pp. 295-304
Decision-Making – pp. 304-309
Elements of Understanding Speech – pp. 309-313
Development & The Acquisition of Language – pp. 313-317
Nonhuman Use of Language & Culture and Language – pp. 317-322
Language Disorders & The Brain – pp. 780-782
 End of Unit Exam
Unit IX
Ch. 9 – Consciousness
Analysis of Consciousness: Functions, Levels, & Mental Processing – pp. 326-331
Analysis of Consciousness: Subliminal Messaging, Neuropsychology, & States of Consciousness
– pp. 331-336
Sleeping – pp. 336-344
Dreaming & Hypnosis – pp. 344-350
Psychoactive Drugs: Psychopharmacology, Effects, Depressants, & Stimulants – pp. 350-357
Psychoactive Drugs: Opiates & Hallucinogens – pp. 358-362
Disorders of Consciousness – pp. 773-776
 End of Unit Exam
Unit X
Ch. 10 – Cognitive Abilities
Testing for Intelligence – pp. 366-372
Measuring the Quality of Tests – pp. 372-374
Evaluating Intelligence Tests – pp. 374-379
IQ Scores/Innate Ability/Group Difference in IQ Scores – pp. 379-381
Conditions That Can Change IQ Scores – pp. 381-386
Understanding Intelligence – The Theories – pp. 387-391
Understanding Intelligence – Mult. Intelligences & Tracking Cognitive Abilities – pp. 391-395
Diversity in Cognitive Abilities – pp. 395-400
Dementia – pp. 783-785
 End of Unit Exam
Unit XI
Ch. 11 – Motivation and Emotion
Theories of Motivation – pp. 404-411
Hunger Motive – pp. 411-419
Sexual Behavior Motive – pp. 419-427
Achievement Motive – pp. 428-433
Conflicting Motives – pp. 433-436
Nature of Emotion – pp. 436-441
Theories of Emotion – pp. 441-449
Communicating Emotion – pp. 449-452
 End of Unit Exam
Unit XII
Ch. 13 – Health, Stress, and Coping (Ch. 12 – covered previously; Unit II)
Health Psychology/Stress & Stessors – pp. 517-522
Stress Responses – pp. 522-528
Stess Mediators – pp. 528-536
Physiology & Psychology of Health & Illness – pp. 537-542
Promoting Healthy Behavior – pp. 542-547
 End of Unit Exam
Unit XIII
Ch. 14 – Personality
The Psychodynamic Approach – pp. 551-555
The Psychodynamic Approach: Variations & Evaluation – pp. 555-558
The Trait Approach – pp. 558-563
Evaluating the Genetics of Personality Traits & Evaluating the Trait Approach – pp. 563-567
The Social-Cognitive Approach – pp. 567-571
The Humanistic Approach – pp. 571-577
Assessing Personality: Longitudinal Studies & Objective Tests – pp. 578-582
Assessing Personality: Projective Tests & Employee Personality Tests – pp. 582-584
 End of Unit Exam
Unit XIV
Ch. 15 – Psychological Disorders
Defining Abnormality & Explaining Psychological Disorders – pp. 588-596
Classifying Psychological Disorders – pp. 596-603
Anxiety Disorders – pp. 603-609
Somatoform & Dissociative Disorders – pp. 610-613
Mood Disorders – pp. 614-621
Schizophrenia – pp. 621-628
Personality Disorders (w/ An Emphasis on Antisocial Personality Disorder) – pp. 628-632
Sampling of Other Disorders & Mental Illness and the Law – pp. 633-640
 End of Unit Exam
Unit XV
Ch. 16 – Treatment of Psychological Disorders
Basic Treatment Features & Psychodynamic Psychotherapy – pp. 644-650
Humanistic Psychotherapy – pp. 650-653
Behavior Therapy – pp. 653-658
Cognitive- Behavior Therapy – pp. 658-660
Group/Family/Couples Therapy & Evaluating Psychotherapy – pp. 661-670
Choosing a Therapist – pp. 670-674
Biological Treatments & Psychoactive Drugs – pp. 674-681
Evaluating Psychoactive Drug Treatments & Community Psychology – pp. 681-685
 End of Unit Exam
Unit XVI
Ch. 17 – Social Cognition & Ch. 18 – Social Influence
Social Influences on the Self – pp. 689-693
Social Perceptions – pp. 693-701
Attitudes – pp. 701-707
Prejudice & Stereotypes – pp. 707-713
Interpersonal Attraction & Liking – pp. 713-717
Social Influence – pp. 722-726
Conformity & Compliance – pp. 726-731
Obedience – pp. 731-736
Aggression – pp. 736-743
Altruism and Helping Behavior – pp. 744-751
Cooperation/Competition/Conflict and Group Processes – pp. 752-758
 End of Unit Exam
Unit XVII
Ch. 19 – Neuropsychology
All respective facets of material from Ch. 19 have been covered in previous units with
corresponding topics and areas of focus.
Unit XVIII
Ch. 20 – Industrial/Organizational Psychology
A summary of material from Ch. 20 will be incorporated into the Chs. 17 & 18 combination unit.
At year’s end, a period of several days will be
devoted to preparing/reviewing for the
forthcoming Comprehensive AP Psychology
Exam. (The number of preparation days may
vary based on the number of available days
prior to the exam.)