Ms. Taylor
Fairmont Heights HS
Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology
Objectives:
- To master the information in the key areas of introductory college-level Psychology,
prepare for the AP Psychology exam and gain college-level reading, writing and
critical thinking skills.
- Students will investigate and explain course material using psychological
approaches (Biological, Cognitive, Psychodynamic, Behaviorial, Humanistic,
Sociocultural) and essential questions for each Unit.
Textbook:
- Myers, David, Psychology, 8th edition (New York: Worth, 2007)
- The Website for the book, which will be a required resources is:
http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/myers8e/default.asp?s=&n=&i=&v=&o=&ns=0&uid=0
&rau=0
It can also be found by searching for Psychology, David Myers, Eighth Edition”
Required Materials:
1. three ring binder with dividers,
2. lined paper,
3. pen and pencil,
4. 5 steps to a 5 AP Psychology, copyright 2008 or more recent
- These books can be purchased on Amazon.com or at a book store. This is a
necessary supplement to our textbook.
5 . Access to your PGCPS.org email address, out classes’ Google site for regular classroom
updates, and other web sites as assigned by Ms. Taylor.
Grading and Workload:
Assessment: 50%
- You will have daily quizzes and summative exams at the end of every unit to assess
student’s mastery of curriculum material. By the second semester your exams will
be AP-exam length, 100 multiple-choice questions and 2 essay questions.
Homework: 25%
- You will be given daily homework assignments that consist mainly of reading and
writing essays. Every unit, you will have one major project that will assess your
progress toward our objective.
Classwork: 25%
- You will read and write every day in class. This class will be structured like a college
class for high school students. You must be prepared to work every class!
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Ms. Taylor
Fairmont Heights HS
Course Plan
Unit 1 History and Research Methodology
Essential Questions
- How has psychology evolved to study behavior and mental processes?
- How do the different perspectives compare and contrast?
- How do psychologists use the scientific method to study behavior and mental
processes?
- Which methods of research are appropriate for the study of different behaviors?
- How do psychologists draw appropriate conclusions about behavior from
- research?
- How do psychologists make ethical decisions about researching behavior with
human and animal subjects?
Unit 2 Social Psychology
Essential Questions
- How do people explain (or attribute) the behavior of others?
- What impact do these attributions have on individuals and society?
- How are individuals affected by groups?
- Under what conditions do people obey, conform, and help others?
- How do attitudes and actions influence individual and group behavior?
- How do psychologists define culture? What influence does culture have on
- individuals and groups?
Unit 3 Neuroscience and Biological Processes
Essential Questions
- How do biological processes relate to behavior?
- How do the biological processes work to create and sustain behavior?
- How does damage to a biological process or part affect behavior?
Unit 4 Development
Essential Questions
- How do we develop physically, socially, and cognitively?
- How does the theories of Piaget, Freud, Erikson, and Kohlberg describe child
development? How does they compare and contrast?
- How do children develop a idea of self-concept.
Unit 5 Sensation and Perception
Essential Questions
- How do the five senses receive and translate signals to the brain?
- How does each of the senses affect behavior?
- What are the limitations of each sense
- How do sensation and perception work together?
- How does the brain process sensory signals accurately? Inaccurately?
Unit 6 States of Consciousness
Essential Questions
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Ms. Taylor
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Fairmont Heights HS
How do psychologists define consciousness?
What happens during the sleep cycle?
What roles do REM and NREM sleep play in behavior?
How do psychoactive drugs affect behavior?
How do we know whether hypnosis is a real psychological phenomenon?
Unit 7: Cognition – Learning, Memory, Thinking and Language,
Essential Questions
- How do humans encode, store, and retrieve information from memory?
- How can humans enhance memory encoding, storage, and retrieval?
- How do humans think?
- In what ways is thinking flawed or constrained?
- How do humans acquire language?
- How do humans use language to communicate ideas?
- How is language flawed or constrained?
Unit 8: Intelligence
Essential Questions
- How do psychologists define and study intelligence?
- How did the use of intelligence tests evolve throughout the last two centuries?
- How do testing scores differ between group administrations and individual
- administrations of intelligence tests?
- How do psychologists know whether a test is reliable and/or valid? Why are
these qualities of tests important?
Unit 9: Motivation and Emotion
Essential Questions
- In what ways are humans motivated to behave?
- What methods of motivation are more effective than others?
- What is the role of hunger in motivating behavior?
- What role do emotions play in behavior?
- How do cognitions affect emotions?
Unit 10: Personality
Essential Questions
- How do psychologists define and study personality?
- What advantages and limitations exist for each theory’s description of
personality?
- How do psychologists reliably measure personality and interpret personality’s role
in behavior?
Unit 11: Psychology Disorder and Therapy
Essential Questions
- How do psychologists measure and define abnormal behavior?
- How are the various psychological disorders identified and studied?
- What impact do these psychological disorders have on individuals?
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Ms. Taylor
Fairmont Heights HS
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