Advanced Placement Psychology
2013-2014 Summer Assignment
Ms. Parr & Ms. Zavlanos
In order to hit the ground running this fall it is imperative that our summer work reflect where we are going
with this course. You will have 2 parts to your summer assignment and all work is due on the first day of fall
semester. You will need to turn in hard copies to your teacher the first day of fall semester and keep
electronic copies for submission to www.turnitin.com.
Part 1:
Psychology,
8th
Edition by David Myers
Prologue and Chapter 1
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Read the Prologue and Chapter 1 of our textbook
o You can access this information by going to the following:
http://fultonschools.edmodo.com Join if you do not already have an edmodo account. It is free to
join. The group code is:
uerh1a
Note that is a number ONE after the letter h
If you are currently signed up just join this group with the same code. Once logged in under
“groups” select join.
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o NOTE: These files are large and will take a few minutes to load…be patient!
For Chapter 1, answer all of the questions in complete sentences. Please read the directions on the
questions sheet for details on how to complete this work.
For Chapter 1, you will need to handwrite any individuals and bolded vocab terms on an index card
and include important information and/or a definition. In addition you will need to include an original
example of applying this term.
For example:
(FRONT OF CARD)
Naturalistic Observation
(BACK OF CARD)
Observing and recording behavior in
naturally occurring situations without trying
to manipulate and control the situation
Application  At the zoo Johnny watched
the mother panda bear feed her cub and
noted the parent-child interactions
BE AWARE: We will be having a test within the first week of school over the Prologue and Chapter 1. Please
do not wait until the last part of summer break to start this work! Give yourself time to review this material
before we start school.
Part 2:
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
Sacks, Oliver. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. New York: Simon & Schuster,
1985. (ISBN 0-684-85394-9) (Available at local bookstores and public libraries.)
“Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with fantastic perceptual and
intellectual aberrations: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no
longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout
involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with
uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.” (quoted from www.amazon.com)
All work for Part 2 needs to be in 12 pt font, double spaced, times new roman font with 1 inch page margins.
Label each chapter and number your responses (you do not need to restate the question). Failure to adhere to
these guidelines will result in a loss of points.
ASSIGNMENT: Read the entire book, not just the chapters listed and be prepared to discuss the entire book
in class this fall. After reading Sacks’ book, respond to the following:
From “On the Level”
“The old man suddenly became intent, his brows knitted, his lips pursed. He stood motionless, in deep
thought, presenting the picture that I love to see: a patient in the actual moment of discovery – half-appalled,
half-amused – seeing for the first time exactly what is wrong and, in the same moment, exactly what there is to
be done. This is the therapeutic moment.” (Sacks 72)
1. What is the situation that this paragraph is describing?
2. Give another example of a “therapeutic moment” described in the book and cite where it is from.
From “The President’s Speech”
1. What disorders were described in the chapter titled “The President’s Speech?”
2. What is ironic about the patients’ reactions to the President’s speech?
From “Witty Ticcy Ray”
The chapter, “Witty Ticcy Ray,” brings to light the phenomenon of a disorder seeming to become exponentially
more common once it has been identified.
1. Can you think of any current disorders (within the last ten to fifteen years) that have suddenly
“boomed” with the publicity of their existence? Be specific.
From “Reminiscence”
1. After reading the chapter, “Reminiscence,” what are your thoughts on the composition of memories?
2. Are they physical?
3. Are they mental?
4. Is there a definable difference between the two?
From “Rebecca”
In the chapter, “Rebecca,” Sacks says, “She had come apart, horribly, in formal testing, but now she was
mysteriously ‘together’ and composed.”
1. What does he mean by this?
2. How does this chapter expand your understanding of psychological testing, both in its use as a tool and
its limitations?
NOTE: All written work is subject to submission at www.turnitin.com when we start school in the fall. Please
keep electronic copies of all your summer assignment work saved as we will give you more details about
submitting work to turnitin.com the first week of school. Failure to submit to the site will result in a loss of
points.
You have the entire summer to do this work; do not wait until the last minute. We have taken great pains to
make sure this assignment is thorough and clear to understand. Please do not email us with mundane
questions. Also, as it is the summer time please note that we will have limited access to email and may or may
not respond right away. Any emails sent 1 week from the beginning of school cannot be guaranteed an answer.
Have a Happy Summer!!
Ms. Parr: parrsz@fultonschools.org
Ms. Zavlanos: zavlanoss@fultonschools.org
OPTIONAL: To be fully prepared at the beginning of the semester, we also recommend buying the Study
Guide and the textbook so that you can read and complete the Chapter Quizzes for Chapters 1 and 2. Chapter
1 has detailed explanations of the statistics used in Psychological studies, as well as the different types of
psychological research. Chapter 2 is often a challenge for students, as there is a lot of scientific information you
must know about the brain, nervous system, and how neurons function, so it can be very helpful to spend some
time looking over this chapter. If you want to choose one to buy, buy the Study Guide, since it has worksheets
and practice tests and you may want to write directly in it. Keep in mind, however, that this is OPTIONAL.
You do NOT have to buy your own textbook or study guide.
Myers, David G. Psychology, 8th Edition. New York: Worth Publishers, 2006.
(ISBN 0-716-76428-8)
Straub, Richard. Study Guide to accompany Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition. New York: Worth
Publishers, 2006. (ISBN 0-716-72800-1)
Chapter 1: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science
QUESTIONS
DIRECTIONS: You are to type up your responses to these questions in complete sentences. Your work needs
to be in 12 pt font, times new romans with 1 inch page margins. You do not need to restate the question, simply
number your response. Please double space between questions. Your paper should include your name, subject,
date turned in and teacher’s name. You should title your work “Chapter 1 Questions”.
1.
2.
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10.
Based on the readings, should we trust our intuition, and why?
Provide examples of hindsight bias, and why is it known as the “I knew-it all-along phenomenon”?
Describe the research done by Robert Vallone on how people are at predicting human behavior.
What were the results of Ohio State psychologists Phillip Tetlock’s experiment when he collected
expert’s predictions of political, economic, and military situations?
How did Magician James Randi disprove aura-seers, and what was his objective in doing so?
Explain the quote “the rat is always right”.
Provide four examples of how psychology’s critical thinking proved surprising findings, and provide
four examples of critical thinking debunked popular presumptions
Apply the scientific method to self-esteem and depression.
What standards are required to make a theory useful?
How might the scientific method help us understand the roots of terrorism?
11. Explain and provide an example how a case study could be misleading.
12. How have case studies help study behaviors?
13. Provide examples of how the wording effect can have major effects on a survey.
14. How is random sampling critical in eliminating the false consensus effect?
15. Describe the dangers in generalizing from a few vivid but unrepresentative samples
16. Why is a survey a using smaller representative sample better than a larger unrepresentative sample?
17. How is sampling voters analogous to sampling 1500 mixed beans?
18. How is naturalistic observation different from case study and survey methods in studying behavior?
19. Describe in detail the three examples if naturalistic observations done with humans.
20. Can you recall examples of misleading surveys you have experience or read about? What principles for a
good survey did they violate?
21. Provide two ORIGINAL examples of negative correlation and two examples of positive correlation.
22. Describe the difference between a negative correlation coefficient and a positive correlation coefficient.
23. Describe the three possible cause-effect relationships regarding low self-esteem and depression and
why is it not prove causation.
24. Provide two other examples of illusory correlation
25. How would watching basketball or monitoring investment adviser performance leads to misperception
of order in random events?
26. Why was it not bizarre that Evelyn Marie Adams won the New Jersey lottery twice, even if the
newspapers reported the odds of her feat as 1 in 7 trillion?
27. Describe how Alan Lucas experimented on infant nutrition and later intelligence.
28. Why were results different when the National Institutes of Health conducted their massive experiment
on hormone replacement hormones and lower rates of heart disease compared to correlation studies?
29. Describe the independent variable, control condition, dependent variable, double-blind procedure in
the research experiment studying Viagra and intercourse.
30. Explain the three measures of central tendency, and provide an example of which measure is affected by
extreme scores.
31. Explain the differences between the two measures of variation, range and standard deviation.
32. Why are representative samples better than biased samples?
33. How are scores with low variability from a basketball player more reliable than cores with a high
variability?
34. Provide an example of how more cases are better than fewer cases.
35. How do comparisons of intelligence test scores among hundreds of thousands of first-born and laterborn individuals provide statistical significance but little practical significance?
36. Find a popular magazine ad. How does the advertiser use (or abuse) statistics to make a point?
37. Provide examples of laboratory research applicable to reality.
38. Provide four examples of how our shared biological heritage unite us as a universal human family.
39. How are man and women psychologically as well as biologically similar?
40. Provide explanations why psychologists study animals.
41. Describe the guidelines established by the British Psychological Society, and the American
Psychological Association for the humane use of animals.
42. How has animal research benefited animals, and how has experimentation on animals improved our
understanding of animals?
43. List the four ethical principles developed by the American Psychological Association and the British
Psychological Society regarding experimentation on people.
44. How is psychology manipulative to people, yet beneficial?