AP PSYCHOLOGY COURSE SYLLABUS
Course 45.0160000
Stone Mountain High School
Teacher: T. McCullough
Room Number: C223
Semester: Spring 2014
Textbook: Myers, D.G (1998) Psychology
(5th Ed). New York: Worth
Textbook Price: Replacement Cost
Phone Number: 678-676-6401
Email: tim_s_mccullough@fc.dekalb.k12.us
Tutorial Days: Mondays/Thursdays
Tutorial Hours: 3:15 – 4PM
Tutorial Location: C223
Course Description
The AP Psychology course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and
scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other
animals. Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena
associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They will also learn
about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice.
Course Objectives
The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the field of psychology, promote
critical thinking skills, develop scientific writing skills, and prepare students for and
successfully pass the AP Psychology Exam in May.
Course Overview
Class will be a combination of lecture, group work, coverage of discussion questions,
and answering student questions. Periodically, student essays, reports, or presentations
will be required. All essays will be scored according to the rubric included in the
syllabus. Quiz and test dates will be noted. Students are responsible for keeping up
with reading assignments and being aware of, and ready for, quizzes and tests. Tests
during the year will be modeled after the AP exam so that students will be familiar with
time limits for multiple choice questions and essays.
Course Requirements

Text: Myers, D.G (1998) Psychology (5th Ed). New York: Worth
 Study Techniques
The reading load, especially in the first 9 weeks, is considerable. In order to cover
the maximum amount of material with the least amount of stress, sharing and
working collaboratively with your classmates is definitely encouraged. While each
student is expected to read all text material, outlining discussion questions and
supplemental readings may be shared as a group. You are responsible for
understanding all of the material for testing. The amount of time required for
homework for this class will vary with your reading speed. Assignments vary in
length. It is important that you plan ahead for long assignments, supplemental
essays, take-home essays, etc. Time management is an essential skill for this class,
and you must take the responsibility for budgeting your time. As you become
accustomed to the course format and texts, things will fall into place and become
easier. It is important to not get discouraged. One of the most important grading
factors in this class is consistent effort and improvement. Do not get discouraged if
your grades seem low in the first grading period. If you knew the material already,
you wouldn’t need the course. Effort and improvement are weighed heavily in
grading. What you will learn in terms of writing, thinking, and study skills will be
worth the effort! Attendance in this class is essential. Much of the material for
success is provided through lecture/discussion. Missing class can create problems.

AP Exam
The AP Exam will be administered on Tuesday, May 7 at 12 PM. A complete
description of the AP exam is on the AP Central web site:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com
Grading
 Tests
There are a total of six tests for the semester. Each test is modeled after the AP
Exam and will account for 50% of the total grade for the class. All tests are timed
and are composed of multiple-choice questions (70%) and two essays (30%).

Quizzes
Quizzes will be given weekly over vocabulary terms and will account for 20% of
the total grade.

Homework/Daily
Assignments will be given periodically throughout the semester and are designed
to enrich each lesson. They consist of answering questions about chapters,
reviews, and general homework checks. Homework/daily work accounts for 5%
of total grade.

Journal/Psych Lab-Field Experiments
It will be necessary to maintain a journal of writing assignments and research
date from experiments conducted in class and in the lab throughout the
semester. All grades from the journal will be worth 10% of the total grade.

Participation & Class Presentations
Discussion and participation in experiments are essential to this course and it is
necessary for students to be actively engaged. Participation is worth 15% of
grade. Presentations are based on individual reading and research.
Grading Scale:
A = 90 – 100
C = 71 – 79
F = below 70
B = 80 – 89
D = 70
Unit Information
Unit I: History, Approaches and Research Methods
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Define psychology and trace its historical development
-Describe how the different perspectives explore and explain human behavior
-Identify basic and applied research subfields of psychology
-Identify basic elements of an experiment (variables, groups, sampling, population, etc.)
-Compare and contrast research methods (case study, survey, naturalistic observation)
-Understand the importance of descriptive and inferential statistics in psychological
research
-Discuss the ethics of human and animal research
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Introduction and Chapter 1 Test
Demonstration on phrenology
Simulation of Pepsi Challenge
Provide examples of research methods
Students will replicate a psychological experiment and write up results
Unit II: The Biological Bases of Behavior
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Describe the structure of a neuron and explain neural impulses
-Describe neuron communication and discuss the impact of neurotransmitters
-Classify and explain major divisions of the nervous system
-Describe functions of the brain structures
-Identify four lobes of the cerebral cortex and their functions
-Explain split-brain studies
-Discuss the issue of Nature v. Nurture
-Describe the nature of the endocrine system
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter 2 Test
Brainmercials assignment
Brain Coloring book
Students will write abstracts of empirical studies in the biological perspective.
Unit III: Developmental Psychology
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Discuss prenatal development
-Illustrate development changes in physical, social and cognitive areas
-Discuss attachment theories
-Describe developmental theories of Piaget, Erickson, and Kohlberg
-Distinguish between longitudinal and cross-sectional studies
-Describe the early development of self-concept
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter Test
Student presentations on developmental theories
Students will write abstracts of studies in developmental psychology
Unit IV: States of Consciousness
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Define consciousness
-Describe the different stages of sleep
-Analyze the different theories of dreaming
-Determine common sleep disorders and their consequences
-Discuss hypnosis and theories of hypnosis
-Describe and differentiate psychoactive drugs and their effects
-Discuss the nature of drug dependence
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter test
Sleep journals
Students will write abstracts of empirical studies in this area
Unit V: Sensation and Perception
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Contrast the processes of sensation and perception
-Identify the major components of the visual system and the function of each
-Identify the major components of the auditory system and the function of each
-Identify sensory thresholds
-Discuss Gestalt psychology’s contribution to our understanding of perception
-Describe the operation of sensory systems (five senses)
-Discuss research of depth perception
-Analyze the effect of perceptual set on sensory experience
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Individual papers/presentations on topics in sensation and perception
Chapter test
Unit VI: Learning
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Describe elements of classical conditioning
-Apply classical conditioning to different situations
-Describe elements of operant conditioning
-Apply elements of operant conditioning to different situations
-Differentiate between various forms of reinforcement and punishment
-Describe observational learning
-Discuss the importance of cognitive processes and biological predispositions in
conditioning
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Class demonstrations of classical and operant conditioning
Chapter test
Students will write abstracts of empirical studies on the application of classical and
operant conditioning
Unit VII: Memory
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Analyze how humans encode, store and retrieve information in memory
-Distinguish between automatic and effortful processing
-Distinguish between implicit and explicit memory
-Distinguish between sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory
-Describe the importance of retrieval cues
-Discuss the effects of interference and motivated forgetting on memory
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter test
replicate memory study and write up results
Students will write abstracts of important empirical studies in memory
Unit VIII: Thinking and Language
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Describe the characteristics of language and evaluate the importance of language
-Define a concept and explain why it is useful to problem solving
-Differentiate between algorithms and heuristics
-Analyze how fixation, confirmation bias, heuristics, overconfidence, framing and belief
perseverance influence the ability to solve problems
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter test
Students will write abstracts of empirical studies in Thinking and Language
Unit IX: Motivation and Emotion
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Define motivation and identify motivational theories
-Describe the physiological determinants of hunger
-Discuss psychological and cultural influences on hunger
-Define achievement motivation including intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
-Describe the physiological changes that occur during emotional arousal
-Discuss catharsis hypothesis
-Describe biological response to stress
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter test
Unit X: Testing and Individual Differences
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Trace the origins of intelligence testing
-Describe the nature of intelligence
-Identify the factors associated with creativity
-Distinguish between aptitude and achievement tests.
-Describe test standardization
-Distinguish between the reliability and validity of intelligence tests
-Analyze differences in test scores among people of different genders, races and ethnic
groups
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Students create their own intelligence test
Chapter test
Students will write abstracts of empirical studies in intelligence
Unit XI: Personality
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Explain how the different perspectives - psychodynamic, humanistic, trait, and socialcultural
approach the study of personality
-Evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of each theory of personality
-Determine how psychologists assess personality according to the various perspectives
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter test
Write abstracts of important empirical studies in this topic
Unit XII: Abnormal Psychology
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Identify the criteria used by psychologists to diagnose and understand psychological
disorders
-Describe characteristics of mood disorders
-Describe characteristics of anxiety disorders
-Describe characteristics of somatoform disorders
-Describe characteristics of dissociative disorders
-Describe the characteristics of schizophrenia
-Describe the characteristics of personality disorders
-Describe the characteristics of brain-based disorders
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter test
Individual presentations on psychological disorders
Unit XIII: Treatment of Psychological Disorders
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Identify the criteria psychologists use to diagnose psychological disorders
-Describe the different treatment options for the various types of psychological disorders
including
psychoanalysis, humanistic therapies, behavior therapy, cognitive therapies, group
therapy, family
therapy, drug therapy
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter test
role play activity demonstrating knowledge of therapies
Unit XIV: Social Psychology
Content and/or Skills Taught:
-Describe importance of attribution in social behavior
-Explain the effect of role playing on attitudes in terms of cognitive dissonance theory
-Discuss Asch’s experiment on conformity
-Discuss Milgram’s experiment on obedience
-Determine how the presence of others influences actions
-Evaluate why people are attracted to each other
-Describe conditions under which people are more likely to help each other
-Define the terms stereotype, prejudice, discrimination
-Determine biological and social contributors to aggression
-Define culture and how it develops
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
Chapter test
Write abstracts for empirical studies in social psychology
Other Course Materials
Audiovisual Materials
PBS series "Discovering Psychology"
PBS series "The Mind"
PBS series "The Secret Life of the Brain"
PBS series "The Brain"
PBS series "Abnormal Psychology"