Unit 3 – Nature vs. Nurture and Social Psychology
Day
Wednesday, Sept. 10
Objectives (Be able to…)
Activity
Neuroscience Test
Thursday, Sept. 11
1. Describe goals of the research
project.
2. Select a topic for study.
Friday, Sept. 12
1.
Discuss research related to
your topic.
2. Identify what information
belongs in the introduction
section of a scientific paper.
Monday, Sept. 15
1. Design a method to
research your topic.
2. Identify what information
belongs in the methods
section of a scientific
paper.
Tuesday, Sept. 16
1. Understand the nature vs.
nurture argument underlying
behavior.
2. Demonstrate an understanding
of the concept of “heritability”.
3. Demonstrate an understanding
of how genes and environment
- Assign Research Project
- - Correlation, experiment, or ex post facto?
- finding journal articles using psychinfo
- - Make groups of three, share ideas
( Ask students to group themselves into groups
of any size of people they can work with; then
modify to make groups of three)
Get with groups and share what you found on your
topic.
Read intro to paper and discuss
Read method section of paper and discuss.
Brainstorm method for project
Twins
Fraternal (dizygotic) – two eggs fertilized at same
time (DNA about 50% alike)
Identical (monozygotic) – one egg splits and forms
two babies (DNA 100% alike)
Jim and Jim? (separated at birth activity)
Homework
1. Write down ideas for
your project and BRING
THEM TO SCHOOL
1. Find two articles relating
to your topic and
summarize the findings
of each in 1 paragraph.
One article must come
from a peer-reviewed
journal.
Write an introduction section
for your paper (due
Wednesday). See the
assignment sheet for the
paper for details. Include
parenthetical citations
(author, date).
Read pp. 93 -101; be able to
talk about Jim and Jim and
why such stories are
misleading.
Finish introduction section
and add a proposed method.
(due Wednesday)
Finish introduction section
and proposed method. (due
tomorrow)
Wednesday, Sept. 17
Thursday, Sept. 18
ABSENT
interact to create behavior.
Nature vs. Nurture Lesson
4. Analyze twin and adoption
1. Untangling Nature and Nurture Powerpoint
studies.
2. Nature or nurture worksheet
5. Recognize that the brain can be
physically altered by environmental
conditions.
1. Discuss natural selection as it
1. Collect research proposals (staple together
relates to behavior. Provide
group members)
possible evolutionary explanations
2. Word of the day: Evolutionary Psychology for behavior.
The study of evolutionary explanations for
shared human behaviors; Read “Kids’ food
fussiness….”
3. Evolutionary psychology powerpoint
1. Discuss a case study
2. Begin Sex Unknown
investigation into the biological
control of gender.
Friday, Sept. 19
Tuesday, Sept. 23
1. Discuss research on gender
identity and sexual orientation.
Wednesday, Sept. 24
1. Recognize the situational factors
can drastically affect the behavior
of individuals.
2. Examine one of three famous
social psychology experiments in
depth.
Read pp. 102-110.
Note examples of how
experience can alter brain
development, especially Figure
3.5.
Read pp. 110-116. Define
“androgynous” (it isn’t in
your book) using the term
“gender-typed”.
1. Word of the day: Androgyny (play replacements Read pp. 442-447. Take notes
song as they come in, print lyrics)
and bring them to class for a
2. Finish movie.
quiz.
3. (if time)List gender stereotypes. Where do they
come from? Nature or nurture? Handout 3-9
1. Discussion quiz on sexual orientation.
Read article and take notes.
2. Assign papers and groups (Milgram, Ashe,
Zimbardo)
1. Introduce social psychology with Jonestown
Prepare handout for teaching
massacre and patty hearst stories.
class. The handout must
include the following: your
2. Discuss papers in expert groups
name, the title and authors of
the article, a diagram or brief
description of the experimental
design, one or more graphs of
the results, a summary of the
main conclusion(s), a brief
Thursday, Sept. 25
Monday, Sept. 29
Tuesday, Sept. 30
1. Summarize the following three
important social psychology
studies: Ashe line study, Milgram
obedience study, and the
Zimbardo prison study. What does
each tell us about human nature?
2. List specific factors that increase
the likelihood of conformity to a
group according to Ashe’s line
study.
3. List specific factors that increase
the likelihood of obedience to an
authority according to Milgram’s
study.
1. Discuss examples of how both
our attitudes affect our actions
AND our actions affect our
attitudes.
2. Explain the fundamental
attribution error.
2. Explain: attribution theory, footin-the-door effect, cognitive
dissonance, and effort justification
3. Discuss methods to reduce the
pull of conformity based on
research.
1. Identify factors that promote
social facilitation vs. social loafing
vs. deindividuation.
Meet in teaching groups. (10 min each)
Show Video clips
1. Fundamental Attribution Error – imagine you are
driving and a slow person is in front of you. Why are
they driving slowly? Now imagine you are the one.
Why are you driving slowly?
- This American Life (I’ve got you pegged).
description of the significance
or an application of the
research, and at least one
criticism of the design or
conclusions.
Read pp. 643-649.
Note the three factors that
help us to avoid conformity
and let our attitudes guide
our actions.
2. Bring supplies for the flex
day tomorrow. This includes
your questions, a data table,
debriefing slips, and anything
else you need.
1. Read pp. 649-655. This is
review, but you may want to
note the SEVEN factors that
increase conformity and the
FOUR factors that increase
obedience.
2. Cognitive dissonance (discuss Festinger study)
1. Group polarization (activity), relate to political
polarization
2. Define groupthink and relate to Bay of Pigs.
Read pp. 656-661
Wednesday, Oct. 1
Thursday, Oct. 2
Monday, Oct. 6
Tuesday, Oct. 7
2. Define group polarization and
groupthink and explain how the
two are related.
3. List at least three factors that
increase the likelihood of
groupthink.
1. Review material from first half
of unit.
2. Identify situations in which
individuals play very influential
roles (self-fulfilling prophecy and
minority effect).
1. Distinguish the different types
of conflict experienced in human
relationships.
2. Identify and give examples of
social traps.
3. Describe Sherif’s study on
superordinate goals and conflict
resolution.
4. Distinguish between normative
and informational social influence.
5. Discuss the research on altruism
and the bystander effect.
1.
2. Discuss how natural selection
has influenced our notions of
beauty
3. Discuss the research on
attraction.
4. Explain the Schacter two-factor
theory of emotion and how it
3. Group Influence: Social facilitation, social loafing,
deindividuation
1. Play red-black review game
2. Self-fulfilling prophecy, blue-eyed, brown-eyed
3. Intellectually blossoming study
Read pp. 675-676 and pp.
682-688
1. Quiz
2. Conflicts (approach-approach, social traps,
Sherif, GRIT)
3. Bystander effect, altruism, social exchange
theory
Read pp. 677-682. Complete
“Dear Abby”
Bring supplies for the flex
day tomorrow. This includes
your questions, a data table,
debriefing slips, and anything
else you need.
Read results section of paper and discuss
Meet in HexLab, combinedata with group members
and analyze data.
Share Dear Abby letters
Attraction Lecture
(schacter 2 factor)
Write results section
Read pp. 666-674.
Complete Aggression
Questions.
relates to attraction.
Wednesday, Oct. 8
Monday, Oct. 13
Tuesday, Oct. 14
1. Define prejudice, stereotyping,
and discrimination.
2. Discuss how cognitive
tendencies lead to prejudice beliefs
Prejudice Lesson
- Prejudice assignment in pairs
Study for test.
Catch-up and Review
Test
Study for test