The purpose of the Advanced Placement course in Psychology is 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 empirically-supported psychological facts, research findings, terminology, major figures, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They learn about the methods psychologists use in their science and practice. The aim of this course is to provide the student with a learning experience equivalent to that obtained in most college introductory psychology courses.
AP Psychology is a highly structured, very demanding course. Students are required to thoroughly read the college-level text and prepare text-notes, which usually take an outline form, prior to attending the lecture on the assigned reading. One of the primary objectives of this course is to expose students to all areas of information covered on the AP Examination. This is accomplished through lecture, class discussion, video clips, select outside readings as appropriate, guest-lecturers, demonstrations and projects. These teaching methods are discussed throughout this syllabus. A daily schedule of study is required to meet the expectations of this course and will typically require 1-2 hours of preparation per class meeting.
Text: David Myers Exploring Psychology – Eighth Edition. Worth Publishers, 2007.
Supplemental Reading: Roger Hock Forty Studies That Changed Psychology. Prentice Hall, 2006.
These are the major content areas covered by the AP Psychology Examination, as well as the approximate percentages of the multiple choice section that are devoted to each area.
The attached class calendar details exactly when and how we will be covering each area.
History & Approaches
Research Methods
Biological Bases of Behavior
Sensation & Perception
States of Consciousness
Learning
Cognition
Motivation & Emotion
Developmental Psychology
Personality
Testing & Individual Differences
Abnormal Psychology
Treatment of Psychological
Disorders
Social Psychology
1

Unit 1: History & Approaches / Research Strategies
27/28-
Aug
Welcome to AP Psych (Introductions, syllabus, books, What is psych?, Subfields of psychology, Psychology as a science-scientific method)
29/30-
Aug Practice AP exam (testing strategies & study tips), Intro & history
31-
\ pp. 1-8
Aug04-
Sep Approaches (Biological, Behavioral, Cognitive, Humanistic, Psychodynamic, Sociocultural & Evolutionary/Sociobiological) pp. 9-17
5/6-
Sep Research methods (Experimental, Correlational-observations & surveys- , Case studies, Naturalistic Observations & Clinical Research) pp. 23-44
7/10-
Sep ESSAY WORKSHOP A / Distribute Qtr 1 Assignment (Design an Experiment)
11/12-
Sep Ethics in Research (human and animal ethics, APA Guidelines for ethical experimentation)
13/14-
Sep TEST UNIT 1
Essay A pp. 44-51
Unit 1 Vocabulary
Unit 2: Biological Bases of Behavior
17/18-
Sep Neuroanatomy (field trip to bathroom!) & Neural Transmission
19/20-
Sep Organization of the nervous system; Brain Imaging (scans, surgery, autopsies…)
21/24-
Sep Brain structures & functions
25/26-
Sep Brain "dissection"
27/28-
Sep Endocrine system; Genetics; ; Split-brain research
1/2-Oct TEST UNIT 2 / ESSAY B pp. 52-61 pp. 61-70 pp. 71-93 pp. 95-114 pp. 114-137
Unit 2 Vocabulary
Unit 3: Sensation & Perception
3/4-Oct Intro to Sensation & Perception (thresholds, attention, sensory adaptation); Eye & vision (color vision)
5/8-Oct Ear & hearing AND "other" senses (smell, taste, touch)
9/10-
Oct Perception - part 1 (perceptual illusions, perceptual constancies, depth perception, perceptual set, extra sensory perception)
11/12-
Oct Perception - part 2 Collect First quarter Project pp. 197-214 pp. 214-235 pp. 237-254 pp. 255-269
2

15/16-
Oct TEST UNIT 3 / ESSAY WORKSHOP B
Unit 4: Consciousness
17/18-
Oct Sleep & dreams (biorhythms, why we need sleep, sleep disorders, dream theories)
19/22-
Oct Hypnosis & psychoactive drugs
23/24-
Oct TEST UNIT 4 / ESSAY C
Unit 3 Vocabulary pp. 271-290 pp. 290-311
Unit 4 Vocabulary
3

Unit 5: Learning
11/13&14 Classical conditioning (Pavlov)
11/15&16 Operant conditioning (Watson, Thorndike, Skinner)
11/19&20 Operant conditioning continued (reinforcement schedules, experiments) Projects due
11/26&27 Social Learning / Modeling (Bandura); Biological factors Introduce Second Quarter Project: Motivation and Emotion
11/28&29 TEST UNIT 5 / ESSAY
Unit 6: Cognition
11/30&12/3 Memory (encoding – storage – retrieval)
12/4&5 Forgetting (memory reconstruction vs. construction
– Loftus; Alzheimers)
12/6&7 Language (language structure and development, theories (Chomsky, Whorf), animals and language)
12/10&11 Language continued (critical period -- Genie)
12/12&13 Thinking (Concepts and prototypes) , Problem Solving (heuristics and algorithms
) & Creativity
12/14&
17
TEST UNIT 6 / ESSAY D
Unit 7: Motivation & Emotion
12/18&19 Theories of Motivation (drive-reduction, Maslow, social, achievement & sex)
12/20&1/2 Theories of Motivation (hunger, thirst & pain)
01/3&4 Theories of Emotion (James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schacter); facial expressions as cultural universsals
01/7&8 TEST UNIT 7 / ESSAY WORKSHOP D
01/9&10 Stress
Unit 8: Stats
01/11&14 Psychologist's Guide to Descriptive & Inferential Statistics/Measures of Central Tendency/ Writing about Stats -- ESSAY WORKSHOP E
Unit 9: Testing & Individual Differences
01/11&14
Intelligence theories (Influence of heredity & environment; Guilford, Gardner, Thurstone, Spearman, Sternberg)
01/15&16 Psychological Testing (Standardization & norms, reliability & validity, ethics; Intelligence testing - Binet)
01/17&18 Psychological Testing: Objective (MMPI)- vs. Projective (Rorschach) Collect Second Quarter Project *Couch’s Bday
01/23&24 Midterm
Unit 10: Personality 4
Reading
Assignments/
"What's due?" pp. 313-325 pp. 326-340
Case Study:
Pavlov pp. 341-347
Unit 5
Vocabulary pp. 349-375 pp. 375-393 pp. 410-429
Case Study:
What You
Expect…
Unit 6
Vocabulary pp. 469-473; pp.
481-511 pp. 473-480 pp. 513-547
Unit 7
Vocabulary pp. 549-591 enjoy your
Winter Break! pp. 431-442 pp. 430-467 pp. 602-603; pp.
616-618
Unit 9
Vocabulary

11/14-Jan Personality according to Freud
15/16-Jan Neo-Freudians (Jung, Adler, Horney)
17/18-Jan - On-line personality tests pp. 595-600 pp. 601-608
\
Reading
Assignments/
"What's due?"
23/24-Jan Locus of Control pp. 625-637
25/28-Jan Trait theory, Social-cognitive, Behaviorist (Skinner) & Humanistic theories (Maslow & Rogers) Introduce Third Quarter Project: Serial Killer pp. 609-625
Unit 10
29/30-Jan TEST UNIT 10 / ESSAY Workshop F Vocabulary
Unit 11: Developmental Psychology
31-Jan
01-Feb Physical development
– prenatal development (heredity-environment issues) & the newborn AND parenting
4/5-Feb lifespan psychology (longitudinal & cross sectional studies): Kubler-Ross, adolescence, sex roles & differences & aging
6/7-Feb Piaget - cognitive development &Vygotsky
8/11-Feb Harlow - attachment studies; Erikson - social development
12/13-Feb Kohlberg & Gilligan - moral development pp.139-146 pp.164-167; 173-
194 pp. 147-154 pp. 154-164; pp.
170-172 pp. 167-170
Unit 11
Vocabulary 14/15-Feb TEST UNIT 11 / ESSAY G
Unit 12: Social Psychology
19/20-Feb Conformity studies (Milgram, Zimbardo, Rosenhan, Asch) & attribution
21/22-Feb Group/organizational behavior (norms, roles, groupthink) attitudes & prejudice
25/26-Feb Aggression, attraction & altruism (Kitty Genovese case) pp. 723-737 pp. 737-748 pp. 749-772
Unit 12
Vocabulary 27/28-Feb TEST UNIT 12 / ESSAY H
Unit 13: Abnormal Psychology
1/4-Mar Quarter 3 Project Workday
5/6-Mar Defining abnormality (DSM-IV, how different perspectives explain disorders)
7/8-Mar Anxiety, somatoform, dissociative & personality disorders
11/12-Mar Mood disorders, organic disorders AND "others" -- ADHD, autism…
13/14-Mar Schizophrenias
\ pp. 639-649 pp. 649-658 pp. 658-669 pp. 669-683
5

15/18-Mar Diagnosing Psychopathology: Case study lab
19/20-Mar speaker
21/22-Mar TEST UNIT 13 / ESSAY I
QUARTER 3
PROJECT DUE
\
Unit 13
Vocabulary
6

Unit 14: Treatment of Psychological Disorders
25/26-Mar Psychotherapy (Psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral & cognitive approaches to treating disorders)
27/28-Mar How affective is therapy? Mo des of therapy (individual, group, family…). Community & Preventative Approaches
8/9-Apr Biomedical therapies (psychopharmacology / psychosurgery)
10/11-Apr TEST UNIT 14 / ESSAY J
12/15-Apr Practice exam (multiple choice only)
16/17-Apr Units 1-3 Review
18/19-Apr Units 4-6 Review
22/23-Apr Units 7-9
24/25-Apr Units 10-14 Review
26/29-Apr AP Psych Exam
Reading
Assignments/"What's due?" pp. 685-699 pp.700-710- pp. 711-721
Unit 14 Vocabulary
Key names due
Enjoy Your Spring Break! prepare for AP Exam prepare for AP Exam prepare for AP Exam prepare for AP Exam
7

GRADING POLICY
I will use the standard CMS grading scale (93-100 = A; 85-92 = B; 77-84 = C; 70-76 = D; below 70 = F). Your quarter grade will be based on a weighted score with unit exam counting 70% of your grade. Reading quizzes and case study questions
(assignments) equal to 15% of your grade, and vocabulary and projects equal to 15% of your grade. The approximate point value for each assignment is listed below:
Unit Vocabulary: 25 points each
Unit Tests: 100 points each
Quarter Projects/Papers: 100 points each
Homework: 5 points each
Essay Workshops / Essays: 25 points each
Your final grade for the course will be weighted the following way:
37.5% 1 st semester grade
37.5% 2 nd semester grade
25% final exam
Students are assessed daily on the reading by means of a quiz, homework check or text-notes check. Students are assessed daily in class by means of verbal questioning and interactions during the lecture. Students are assessed after each unit with a
100-question multiple-choice test and an essay. Two-three projects/papers may also be assigned during the course. See Course
Planner and Teaching Strategies sections for detail on student evaluation.
Typically a 100-point test will be supported with 5-point quizzes or homework checks, 25-point Essay Workshops, 25-point vocabulary card homework, etc. Major projects are approximately 100 points depending on the quarter.
All TESTS are 100-question, multiple-choice exams given in a timed 60- 70 minute session. Test questions are grouped by topic to allow for item and test analysis after each test. For example, on the Prologue and Chap 1 TEST (History, Approaches,
Research Methods and Ethics), Questions 1-10 may deal with the key names in the field, questions 11-20 deal with the main approaches to psychology, questions 21-30 cover the subfields or professions in the field, questions 31-50 cover the experiment, etc. Tests are returned to students the day following the administration and time is scheduled in class for each student to review their exam, analyze their performance in each of the categories or on each of the topics, and prepare a study guide on the material they need to review.
Each subsequent test in the course is cumulative. For example, the Unit 12 TEST (Social Psychology) may include 50-60 questions on the current material and any combination of material from previous chapters. Typically the review material from previous chapters assesses the topics that proved most troublesome in earlier tests.
There is one midterm exam.
Quarter Projects are an opportunity for students to practice psychological methods of inquiry and apply psychological concepts to the world around them. Students address topics such as research design, evaluation of psychological research and application of research and theories.
The final examination is typically scheduled near the actual AP examination.
During the first semester, the “learning semester”, essays are given during every other testing block. One released AP
Psychology essay is given in a 25-minute time period following the multiple choice exam. The essays are collected and held until the next test date. On that date, the essays are returned to the students and in a workshop-format, sample essays and rubrics are reviewed and students assess their own work on the essay. Course credit is given to the students for participating in this process.
Essays are not graded by the instructor for course credit during the first semester.
During the second semester, the “proving semester”, essays are given during every testing block. One released AP Psychology essay is given in a 25-minute time period following the multiple choice exam. Each essay is graded according to the released rubric and the grade is entered in the grade book for course credit.
UNIT VOCABULARY : At the end of each module, there is a section titled: "Terms and Concepts to Remember". Each of these terms should be written in a composition book with their definition written on the back. Or, if you prefer, you may write each term and definition on a notecard. Vocabulary will be checked the day of each unit test. You should keep all of your vocabulary for the entire year.
8

Daily Accountability : reading quizzes, test-notes check, and homework checks (vocabulary cards, study questions, etc) are given at random each day. A variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement is utilized to encourage students to perform all the study behaviors essential to success in the course. Students are verbally quizzed throughout the lecture. Open-ended questions are utilized frequently during a classmeeting to allow students to “fill-in-the-blank” and demonstrate their preparation for class. Class participation points could be given here, although I do not.
Modeling the Testing Environment on the AP exam : all tests are 100-question multiple choice in a timed 60-minute session in order to mirror the length and timing of the actual exam in May. The extra 15 minutes they receive in the actual exam will seem excessive after the year of training. All essays given in class are actual released AP Free Response Essays and given in a 25minute timed session in order to mirror the time allotted for the essays on the actual AP exam.
Cumulative Chapter Tests: tests are cumulative to negate the serial position effect. “Old” information retains the freshness and accessibility of “new” information through this strategy and retrieval of the entire course information on the May AP Exam is more effective. Cumulative testing eliminates the need for intensive review sessions in April and allows more course time to explore and learn new information.
Video Clips: short 5-20 minute clips covering specific topic s (split brain, Broca’s area, Dissociative Identity Disorder, etc.) are embedded within the lecture either introducing or summarizing points made in the lecture. A lecture/discussion may incorporate several starts and stops to interject an appropriate and useful clip. See Teacher Resources section below for specific titles.
Hollywood feature films, ripe with artistic and sensational alterations of psychological processes, are not used in the course.
9