Syllabus
Table of Contents
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Lesson 1: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence
Lesson 2: Motivation, Emotion, and Stress
Lesson 3: Personality
Lesson 4: Psychological Disorders and Psychotherapy
Lesson 5: Social Psychology
Lesson 6: AP Psychology Essay Questions, Taking the National
Exam, and Getting College Credit
What You Should Already Know
This is an Advanced Placement course, so you should already have some
experience with psychology, or you should have already taken APPSY 59
(AP Psychology Part 1) or its equivalent. You should be ready to handle
the rigor of college-level material. If you have not taken an introductorylevel psychology course, I recommend that you do that before taking this
course. Although I have had some students take AP Psychology without
having taken an introduction to psychology course, most of them have had
difficulty keeping up. Those who have been motivated enough to “catch
up” by supplementing the course with a high school text, however, have
been successful (McMahon’s Psychology and You is an excellent choice).
At the risk of sounding patronizing, I must tell you that to succeed
in this course you must know how to read well. You must also be willing
to read. The high school, college, and university students who have the
greatest difficulty with studying psychology at any level are those who
do not read the assigned textbooks. Because I did not write the national
test you will take in May, I can only guess what will be on it. Some college and university colleagues of mine have commented on how much
more difficult the AP psychology test is than an introductory psychology
course is on their campuses. The breadth of material you need to know
and understand can only be acquired through your commitment to read.
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Syllabus
At the end of the prologue of your textbook (Myers 2004, p.16), the author
quotes Charles Eliot: “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends,
and the most patient of teachers.” The corresponding Web site for your
textbook is available at http://www.worthpublishers.com/myers. This site
is very helpful if you need additional clarification.
You should also know that I see myself as somewhat of a spy. Although
I have never read the actual AP tests that my students have taken, I do
have my students tell me what content areas they feel they under-learned,
over-learned, or adequately learned relative to the questions they found
on the test. This feedback has guided me in planning what information
to teach you. I have ordered and seen only two (1994 and 1999) of the
past AP psychology tests that were analyzed and made available through
the College Board. Both of these tests are available to you to order (with
a credit card) through:
The College Board, Advanced Placement Program
Dept. E-05, P.O. Box 6670
Princeton, New Jersey 08541-6670
or http://store.collegeboard.com/enter.do
or (609) 771-7243.
What You’ll Learn to Do
You will have fun observing your own and others’ behavior. You will
prepare to know yourself and others better than you do now. You will
learn to look to the past, the present, and the future. Each of these time
perspectives applies to looking at yourself, your family, your friends, your
community, and your world. You may even learn to laugh, cry, ponder,
and marvel at your own and others’ behavior.
In addition to gaining an awareness of individual behavior, you will also
get practice measuring and testing how well you have learned principles
of human behavior. You will have the opportunity to read course material,
check your understanding, get feedback, and self-correct—a process that
will let you know whether or not you have learned the material.
Because this course is designed to prepare you to take and pass the
national AP psychology test in May, my instruction will be a guide to
taking and passing that test. All of your assignments and tests in this
course will model that test. David Myers, the author of your textbook, is
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AP PSY 60: AP Psychology Part 2
an excellent author. More of my students pass the AP test using his book
than using anyone else’s. (Using his textbook, more than 80 percent of
my students pass the AP exam each year. In 2005, 100 percent of them
passed!) One former student of mine was unable to enroll in AP psychology because of schedule conflicts. She made arrangements with me to
read Myers’ text, meet with me to ask questions when needed, and then
take the test. Without ever receiving class instruction, she passed the test
with the highest score (5) just by reading the Myers’ text and occasionally asking for clarification. That is how this course works; you must read
Myers’ book, and I will supplement your reading and guide you through
the course. The lessons in this course are intended to highlight what he
has written and add anything I have found on the past AP psychology
tests that he has not included in his book.
Upon successfully completing this course, you should be able to do
the following:
1. Describe psychology’s history and scientific methods.
2. Describe and define the neurology and biology of human behavior.
3. Identify and describe the nature and nurture of human
development.
4. Explain how sensation, perception, and states of consciousness
relate to each other.
5. Describe how learning and memory are acquired.
6. Review and identify past essay question topics.
What You’ll Need
Myers, David G. Psychology: 7th Edition. New York: Worth
Publishers, 2004.
This text is available through BYU Independent Study and the BYU
Bookstore.
How the Course Works
Course Requirements
APPSY 60: Advanced Placement Psychology Part 2 is divided into six
lessons. You are required to complete each lesson and do the reading
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Syllabus
associated with the first five lessons. Lesson six is an analysis of past
essay questions and procedures used for grading the written answers.
The Speedback assignments at the end of the lessons will give wronganswer feedback. You may retake the Speedback assignments, but you
will be charged a fee.
Self-Checks
Let me explain how Self-Checks work. As you read each lesson, you will
see that the beginning of the lesson has an outline, which is immediately
followed by learning outcome objectives. At the end of each objective, you
should complete the Self-Check questions. You will receive feedback for
your correct or incorrect answers when you click on the submit button.
Please take the time to reflect on your understanding by responding to the
questions and reviewing the feedback. If you can correctly answer them,
you probably understand the lesson well enough to go on. If, however,
you are unclear, just go back to the content in that lesson or in the corresponding reading in the textbook. This will ensure that you do not get
in over your head. Although the Self-Check questions and answers are
not graded, they provide an excellent self-directed guide for you.
Speedback Assignments
At the end of each lesson, you will answer some Speedback questions.
These questions are great for two reasons: first, you will get to practice
taking multiple-choice questions just like you will take on the national
AP test in May. Like my Grandma Liedtke used to say, “Practice makes
perfect.” Second, you will get feedback on the questions you answered.
Not only will you get your score back, but you will get “wrong-answer
feedback” so you will know what questions you got wrong with an explanation regarding the reason it was not correct. These assignments will
contribute to 70 percent of your grade.
Final Examination
You will take a proctored final exam after you have completed the
Speedback assignments for every lesson. You will receive a score on this
exam, but you will not receive wrong-answer feedback. It will contain
fifty multiple-choice questions covering lessons 1-5 and the chapters
from Myers’s Psychology textbook associated with those lessons. You
must score at least 50 percent on this exam to pass the course, and this
score will make up 30 percent of your final grade. You must pass the final
exam to pass the course.
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AP PSY 60: AP Psychology Part 2
Let’s Talk About Your Grade
Assignment
Grade Weight
1 Speedback Assignment
10%
2 Speedback Assignment
10%
3 Speedback Assignment
10%
4 Speedback Assignment
15%
5 Speedback Assignment
10%
6 Speedback Assignment
15%
Final Exam
30%
Total
100%
You must also pass the final exam to pass this course!
Grade Breakdown by percentage
You will notice that the grade breakdown isn’t the same as traditional
breakdowns. The rigor of this course’s lessons and reading inspires me
to model the national pass-rate practice. Because scores of 3, 4, or 5
are passing scores on the national AP Exam, I will emphasize the same
grading principle in this course and award the grades as identified above.
Your grade will be determined as indicated below:
A
100-95
C
69-65
A-
94-90
C-
64-60
B+
89-85
D+
59-57
B
84-80
D
56-53
B-
79-75
D-
52-50
C+
74-70
E (Fail)
49-0
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