AP Psychology
Unit Plan
Unit I
History and Approaches
Content Description
(AP Topic Description)
Psychology has evolved markedly since its inception as a discipline in 1879. There have been
significant changes in the theories that psychologists use to explain behavior and mental
processes. In addition, the methodology of psychological research has expanded to include a
diversity of approaches to data gathering.
AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:
• Recognize how philosophical and physiological perspectives shaped the development of
psychological thought.
• 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.
• Recognize the strengths and limitations of applying theories to explain behavior.
• Distinguish the different domains of psychology (e.g., biological, clinical, cognitive,
counseling, developmental, educational, experimental, human factors, industrial–organizational,
personality, psychometric, social).
• 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).
Schedule
2% to 4% of course content
6 class days
9/2/14 – 9/11/14
Unit Objectives
Enduring Understanding
Remember Forever
Psychology is a science, not a
pseudoscience.
Essential Questions
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Psychology is about the behavior of
people (and other animals) every day;
it is about how people learn and think,
why people forgive, even in the face of
immense loss and tragedy, and how to
potty train a child.
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What makes psychology a science?
What are the goals of psychological
scientists?
What four attitudes are at the core of the
scientific approach?
How can we understand how and why
things go right in life?
How can we understand how and why
things go wrong?
Psychology is a relatively new science
and has a good deal of variety and
interesting history.
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Psychologists range in what they do
every day; some teach, some counsel,
some determine why children lie;
some design new mp3 players.
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How and why did the science of
psychology begin?
Why did the science of psychology
flourish in the United States?
Why did the focus and methods of each
school of thought evolve?
What are the assumptions of each of the
contemporary psychological
approaches?
What are some career options for a
person with an undergraduate degree in
psychology?
What careers might someone with a
graduate degree in psychology pursue?
What areas of specialization in
psychology exist?
Classroom Activity and Assignment Schedule
DAY
DATE
TOPIC / ACTIVITY
READINGS & ASSIGNMENTS DUE
1
9/2/14
Introduction and Expectations
2
9/3/14
Defining and Describing
Psychology
Nairne, Ch. 1: 1 – 7
3
9/4/14
The Science of Psychology:
Nairne, Ch. 1: 7 – 16
Quiz
4
9/5/14
A Brief History
Conversation on the Nature of Aggression:
Boston Marathon Bombing
5
9/8/14
The Focus of Modern
Psychology
6
9/9/14
Research and Application
Nairne, Ch. 1: 16 – 21
Introspection 1.6
Choose your approach 1.7
Library
Research In Action
7
9/10/14
Careers in Psychology
Library
Careers In Psychology Research
8
9/11/14
9/11
9/11
Flashbulb Memories
Why?
Key Terms
psychology
mind
behavior
clinical psychologists
psychiatrists
applied psychologists
research psychologists
empiricism
nativism
Gestalt psychology
structuralism
systematic introspection
functionalism
behaviorism
psychoanalysis
humanistic psychology
eclectic approach
cognitive revolution
evolutionary psychology
culture
science
mental processes
critical thinking
positive psychology
natural selection
biological approach
neuroscience
sociocultural approach
psychopathology