Purpose of the AP Psychology Summer Homework Assignment
Purpose:
There are several purposes for homework. The AP Psychology homework assignment is designed to help
students understand and review the work that will be covered in class, to see whether students understand
the content, and to help assimilate students to the rigorous curriculum that is set forth by the CollegeBoard.
Due Date:
The below assignment will be due Day 1: 9/8/2015 or Day 2: 9/9/2015 depending on your class schedule.
Late Policy:
Students turning in homework after the original due date will receive a loss of credit for each day that it is late.
Be mindful, that the days late is calendar days, not ‘class days’. You have all summer to complete the
summer assignment, therefore there is absolutely no reason as to not being prepared with the completed
work. This assignment will account for two summative assessments for Marking Period 1.
1 Day Late: 90%
2 Days Late: 80%
3 Days Late: 70%
4 Days Late: 60%
After the above assignment has been late 4 days, the assignment will no longer be accepted.
**Late entrants to the class will be given individualized schedules based on the date of entry into the
course**
Communication:
If you are in need of help or any clarification for this assignment, please send all emails to
DTarallo@longbranch.k12.nj.us.
Dear AP Psychology Student,
Part I Summer Assignment:
Your summer assignment for AP Psychology is to read up on 5 of the most important perspectives of
Psychology; behavioral, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive, and developmental. It is crucial that you are
familiar with and understand these 5 main perspectives, as they will be revisited throughout the entire school
year.
A psychological perspective is a different way to look at human feelings, actions, and thoughts. Each
perspective may have an entirely different explanation for the same situation. To help guide you in this task it
would help for you to associate certain famous psychologists with each of these perspectives. Here they are.
-For the behavioral perspective, learn about this guy named B.F. Skinner, he does all these experiments with
rats and pigeons in little boxes with levers and so forth. If you’re still not sure how behaviorism works, check
John Watson, who also did some experiments, most (in) famously on a small child!
-For the Psychoanalytic perspective¸ check out Sigmund Freud who has all sorts of things to say about the
deeply rooted unconscious conflicts and motivations that drive us.
-For the Humanistic perspective, read-up on Abraham Maslow, who said there is a hierarchy of needs that
motivate humans to be better people.
-For the Cognitive perspective check out Elizabeth Loftus who studies how reliable (and unreliable) memory can
be through her studies of eyewitness testimony.
-For the Developmental Perspective, go see what Erik Erikson has to say about how humans grow
psychosocially over their lifespan. If you still need some more developing for developmental development,
check out how human morality also has different stages of development.
Once you grasp the scope of the perspectives you will be able to understand the next step. Think of ONE
SITUATION from your life. Examples could be anything; however they need to be specific. Look at the table
below, and note how the good example is just like the corresponding bad example, except it is more detailed
and specific.
Good examples that are specific enough:
That one time that I had to wait on the really
mean lady at my summer job
The moment we won the county
championship
When I failed the parallel parking part of the
driver’s test
Bad examples that are too general
Working as a waitress
Playing baseball
Driving a car
My specific situation is:____________________________________________
Once you have come up with your specific situation, type the summary of the situation along with an analysis
from each perspective in a word document (you may use google docs as well). The first few sentences of your
assignment is dedicated to describing the situation to us. Don’t go overboard. Your description of the situation
should be smaller than the rest of your activity.
In the next section(s) of your paper, think of how the feelings you had, actions you did and thoughts in your
head from that situation could be explained from each of the perspectives. To do this, explain how each of
those famous psychologists would interpret the situation that you wrote about from your life. Using at least
one key term from each perspective is the difference between an “excellent paper” and an “average’ paper.
Checklist you should follow:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
I thoroughly read about each perspective and each of the people from the links above
I thought out a specific event from my own life
I began my assignment by putting a name and title on it
I described that event in a few sentences to start off my paper
I explained my feelings, thoughts, and/or actions for each of the five perspectives, as they apply.
When explaining each perspective, I used at least one term (this could be any term as long as the term is
relevant to the perspective) associated with that perspective. This shouldn’t be a problem, because of
the links that were provided.
When explaining each perspective, I used at least one psychologists associated with that perspective.
This shouldn’t be a problem, again because of the links provided to you.
When explaining each perspective, I used bold font, when I used terms or psychologists that I read about
and want my teacher to know that I read about them.
Each perspective should take up a paragraph. When you’re done with one perspective, move to
another paragraph. So in all, you should have 6-7 paragraphs.
I used regular 12 point font Times New Roman, Garamond, Calibri, Georgia, or Tahoma. DO NOT use
large fonts such as Comic Sans and Courier New. Margins should be 1 inch.
My paper is no longer than 3 pages. The average number of pages should be around 2 (remember
quality not quantity). You’ll find that it will take a few pages to cover all the individual perspectives, but
should not take longer than 3 pages.
My paper is printed
My printed paper is now in a folder or book bag of some sort, so the dog or cat cannot eat it, and on the
day I get back to school we don’t say “oops it’s on the kitchen table”.
Perspectives Analysis Rubric:
The following will be used to grade your analysis paper; keep in mind this will count as one summative assessment.
Content X3
Needs Improvement
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
1
2
3
4
The content is absent or not related to the perspective
The content is ordinary and somewhat related to the perspective
The content is clear and directly related to the perspective
The content is substantial, intriguing, and original. It relates directly to the
perspective
Description
Needs Improvement
Basic
Proficient
1
2
3
Advanced
4
Uses little or no concrete language or sensory images
Some concrete language and sensory images; uses some literary devices
Concrete language and sensory images create a descriptive piece; uses many
literary devices
Concrete language and sensory images create a highly imaginative & descriptive
piece
Details X3:
Needs Improvement
Basic
1
2
Proficient
3
Advanced
4
Uses little or no detail to support and explain the perspective
Uses some details that are accurate; some details such as examples &
explanations are not appropriate for the perspective; details do not always
support the perspective
Uses details such as explanations and examples that are accurate and support
the perspectives
Uses details such as explanations and examples that are accurate, appropriate,
and fully support the perspectives
Format X3:
Needs improvement
Basic
1
2
Selects incorrect format; does not follow directions
Selects correct format for the assignment but work is inconsistent with many
errors
Selects and generally uses correct format for the assignment
Selects and consistently uses correct format for the assignment; excellent
effort noted
Proficient
Advanced
3
4
Grammar:
Needs Improvement
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
1
2
3
4
Grammar choices keep readers from understanding the piece
Grammar choices sometimes confuse readers
Uses appropriate grammar that does not interfere with meaning
Uses completely appropriate grammar that helps readers understand meaning
Ideas X3:
Needs Improvement
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
1
2
3
4
Ideas are confusing and do not support the perspectives in anyway
Ideas sometimes do not support the perspectives
Clear ideas support the perspectives
Strong ideas are carefully & imaginatively presented, showing real insight into
the topic
Punctuation:
Needs Improvement
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
1
2
3
4
Frequent and/or major errors that obscure meaning
Many or major errors in punctuation that sometimes confuse the reader
2-3 minor punctuation errors
No errors in punctuation
References:
Needs Improvement
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
1
2
3
4
No supporting references
Few supporting references or references presented in the incorrect format
Many supporting references usually presented in the correct format
Numerous supporting references presented in correct format greatly add
to read understanding of main idea.
Part II Summer Assignment: The purpose of the below assignment will give you a better understanding of key
Psychologists that we will learn about throughout the year. It is imperative that you have an understanding of
these famous Psychologists and what they were famous for in the Psychology world. This assignment will be
counted as one summative and will be graded on accuracy and completion. You will be tested on this
information within the first several weeks back to school.
-
Complete index cards (3X5 or 5X7); if you do not have index cards you can use lined paper or computer
paper.
Cards should be set up as follows…
 Front side-psychologists name
 Year born & year died
 Back side: match the description provided with the correct psychologist. Write the
description on the back side of the card.
Alfred Adler
Mary Ainsworth
Gordon Allport
Solomon Asch
Albert Bandura
Aaron Beck
Paul Broca
Raymond Cattell
Wilhelm Wundt
Noam Chomsky
Hermann Ebbinghaus
Albert Ellis
Erik Erikson
Hans Eysenck
Leon Festinger
Sigmund Freud
Harry Harlow
Lev Vygotsky
Karen Horney
Clark Hull
William James
Carl Jung
Lawrence Kohlberg
Elizabeth Loftus
Abraham Maslow
Stanley Milgram
Philip Zimbardo
Ivan Pavlov
Jean Piaget
Carl Rogers
Stanley Schachter
Martin Seligman
B.F. Skinner
John Watson
Carl Wernicke
Descriptions:
Neo-Freudian psychologist who believed that children experience “feelings of inferiority” and also that birth
order affects one’s personality.
Social psychologist who conducted one of psychology’s most famous experiments, studying obedience to
authority.
Neuroscientist who has a region of the brain responsible for producing speech named after him.
Studied the impact of culture on intellectual and language development.
Studied attachment in rhesus monkeys, and concluded that physical contact is an important aspect of
parenting.
Father of modern psychology and developer of psychoanalytic theory; considered to be the most influential
psychologist of the first half of the 20th century.
Developmental psychologist that proposed the “8 Stages of Psychosocial Development” tracing human
development from infancy to old age.
Considered to be the founder of Positive Psychology and known for his work on “learned helplessness”.
Early American psychologist who founded Functionalism, the precursor of behaviorism, and developed one of
the 3 most often cited theories of emotion.
Social psychologist who developed the idea of “cognitive dissonance”, an incompatibility of one’s thoughts and
behavior.
Social psychologist known for his work in attitude formation; conducted the famous “Stanford Prison
Experiment”.
Early American psychologist who founded behaviorism and studied classical conditioning.
Cognitive psychologist who studied depression and developed a scale for measuring depression.
Famous cognitive psychologist of the early 20th century who studied cognitive development in children and is
famous for his stage theory of cognitive development.
Early psychologist who “discovered” classical conditioning while doing work on salivation in dogs.
Social learning theorist famous for his “bobo doll experiment” and conclusions that much of learning is
accomplished through observing others.
Followed the work of Harry Harlow, studying attachment in children, and developed the “strange situation”
experimental design; described secure and insecure attachment.
Neuroscientist who has a region of the brain responsible for understanding language named after him.
Neo-Freudian psychologist who developed the idea of archetypes and the collective unconscious; famous for
his work on dream interpretation as well.
Cognitive psychologist who studied how children develop morals and developed a stage theory of moral
development.
Famous behaviorist who developed operant conditioning, which elaborated on the “Law of Effect”.
Modern psychologist who studied long term memory, in particular the fallibility of eye witness testimony.
Humanistic psychologist famous for his “Hierarchy of Needs” theory of motivation.
Social psychologist who studied conformity; famous for his “line length” experiment.
Studied the development of language and believes that language development is innate and cannot be fully
explained with learning theory alone.
Humanistic psychologist famous for his “person centered theory” and “client centered therapy”. The father of
psychology who developed the first psychology lab and studied the mind; developed the ideas that led to
structuralism.
Early personality theorist who developed a long list of personality characteristics he called traits; also developed
the idea of self-esteem.
Cognitive behavioral therapist who developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.
Early psychologist who developed “drive reduction theory” of motivation, focusing on physiological needs and
drives.
Developed the “two factor theory of emotions”, one of the most influential emotion theories; famous for his
experiment with Singer.
Neo-Freudian psychologist known for her feminine perspective on psychoanalytic theory and “womb envy”.
Famous for his work on the structure of personality and his attacks on psychotherapy; also his position on
genetic influence on intelligence.
Trait theorist in personality theory who developed the “16 Personality Factors” and 16PF personality
measurement instrument.
Worked in the area of human memory and developed the “forgetting curve”; studied the effect of practice on
memory.
Example of the first card…
Front: Alfred Adler (1870-1937)
Back: Neo-Freudian psychologist who believed that children experience “feelings of inferiority” and also that birth
order affects one’s personality.