Psychology 12
Semester 2
YCMHS
Mr. B. Goreham
Teacher Information
Mr. Brennan Goreham
Bachelor of Science, Acadia University, 2010
Bachelor of Education, Acadia University, 2011
Previous Teaching
9 Math and Science, Centre Consolidated School
8/9 French and 9 Social Studies, Barrington Municipal High School
Elementary Guidance Teacher, Barrington Family of Elementary Schools
9 Math, 9 Science, 9 Social Studies, Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School
Teacher Contact Information
E-mail: brennan.goreham@tcrsb.ca
Website:
http://sharepoint.tcrsb.ca/ycmhs/webpage/bgoreham/default.aspx
Phone: 902-749-2810
Room Number: 2028
Extra Help: Thursdays from 12:20-12:55 or other times by previous
arrangement
Course Objectives
• Provide an overview of the history of psychology, research methods
used in psychological investigations, and compare major
perspectives of psychological thought
• Link human physiology with psychology through the investigation of
brain structure and function, methods used to analyze the brain,
and the processing of sensory information
• Investigate human behaviour and its relationship to motivation,
emotion, and social and cultural phenomena
• Introduce students to the processes of learning, memory, thought,
and language acquisition
• Provide an overview of normal, abnormal, and disordered
psychological behaviour and the underlying causes and types of
treatments for abnormal and disordered behaviour
Units
•
Unit 1: Introduction to Psychology: Historical Background, Research Methods, Research Ethics,
Careers in Psychology, Major Psychological Perspectives
•
Unit 2: Biological Processes: Brain Structure and Function, Senses, Nervous Systems, Brain
Analyzing Techniques, Inter-relatedness of Body Systems, Stress
•
Unit 3: Sensation, Perception, Consciousness: Thought processes, Interpretations of Sensory
Information, Perceptions of Reality, Expectations, States of Consciousness, Sleep
•
Unit 4: Learning, Memory, Intelligence: Creating and storing memories, Learned Behaviour,
Classical and Operant Conditioning, Motivation and Rewards, Language Acquisition, Types of
Intelligence, Measurements of Intelligence
•
Unit 5: Social Psychology and Personality: Persuasion and Influence, Judgment and Attitudes, Selfconcept, Group dynamics and Relationships, Types of Personality, Personality Disorders, Emotions,
Personality Assessments
•
Unit 6: Abnormal Psychology (Research Presentation): Normal, abnormal, and disordered behavior,
Characteristics and treatments of disorders
Expectations
1. Come to class on-time and prepared.
2. Submit assigned work on due date. If circumstances do
not allow for this, see the teacher well before the
deadline.
3. Keep an organized binder.
4. Respect S.O.L.E. (Self; Others; Learning; Environment)
5. Take pride in your work. This course is designed to
prepare you for future study in Psychology.
6. You earn the grade you are assigned. If you deserve a
90%, you will get a 90%. If you deserve a 30%, you will get
a 30%.
7. Marks are earned not given. Do not thank me for a good
mark, thank yourself.
Assessment Scheme
1. Tests/Quizzes- 20%
6 Unit Tests
Periodic Small Quizzes
2. Classroom Observations/Conversation- 20%
Presentations, Discussions, Debates, Oral Questionning
3. Research Assignments- 30%
6 Journal Responses
6 Part Research Design Experiment
4. Final Exam (Mandatory)- 30%
Journal Article Assignments
Expectations:
1. Journal articles are to be found online at Mr. Goreham’s website
(http://sharepoint.tcrsb.ca/ycmhs/webpage/bgoreham/default.aspx) or by searching on the web address on the back of this
page. I will not be providing print copies to all students. Should internet access be an issue, please see me well in advance
of the assigned due date
2. You are to submit your article review to me via e-mail at brennan.goreham@tcrsb.ca by no later than midnight on the
assigned due date. I will return assessed work to you within one week of submission.
3. Articles are to be typed in size 12 font and properly formatted (Indentation of new paragraphs, citation of quotes if any,
double-spaced)
4. You are to include a bibliography (in most cases, referencing just the article assigned). This will give you practice in
recording sources for your work.
5. There will be six article assignments assigned, submitted, and evaluated this semester. There will be an option to
complete a seventh response to counteract any previously incomplete/unsatisfactory results.
7. Each article review is to be between 400-600 words and is to be double-spaced.
8. You are to respond to the content of the article. You may choose to:
– Relate the content to your experiences both in and out of school.
– Either agree or disagree with the statements and arguments of the author.
– Find other research that contradicts that of the article author.
– Relate the article content to in-class work and discussions that have taken place.
– Discuss main points of the article and any new information that you find interesting
– Please do not simply provide a summary of the article. The purpose of this writing is to investigate your thoughts
and learning as opposed to write about the main points of the article.
Journal Article Schedule
Assignment
Number
Assigned
Due
Topic
Article Title
Author
1
February 4th
February 25th
Psychology as a
Science
Is Psychology a
Science?
Robert E. Silverman
2
February 25th
March 18th
The Brain
The Brain
Carl Zimmer
3
March 18th
April 9th
Perception
False Eyewitness
Douglas Starr
4
April 8th
April 29th
Dreams
Dream a Little
Dream…
Richard Fisher
5
April 29th
May 21st
Stress
This is Your Brain in
Meltdown
Amy Arnsten et al.
6
May 21st
June 10th
Memory
Master Your Memory
New Scientist
7th (Optional)
Make-Up
Assignment
Influence
The Art of Influence
Carlin Flora
All articles can be found on-line by searching for the article title at
http://web.ebscohost.com/scirc/search/basic?sid=2cc4fc98-e8ad-4f55-9ceb-0887ff1833bb%40sessionmgr4&vid=9&hid=7
Research Methods Assignment
Psychology research is a fundamental component of the discipline of
Psychology. Psychologists of all backgrounds and specialties conduct research
on a regular basis to gain a better understanding of their work. This
Semester, we will undergo the process of designing, conducting, and writing
about psychological experiments. This will be an on-going component of the
course and will be completed in stages. In order to successfully move onto
one stage, you must have completed all previous stages (You cannot possible
record results of your experiment if you haven’t developed the methods of
conducting the experiment). Each stage will be introduced in class with
necessary information provided. Regular check-ins will occur to ensure your
experiments are on schedule and are proceeding properly. As the first five
stages are merely draft stages, you will receive full value if you submit the
requirement piece of work completed and fully attempted. For the Final
Draft, your grade will be based upon inclusion of feedback from the previous
submissions. This project is designed to provide you with experience in
completing a research report, a valuable skill for your future.
Stages of Research Methods
Assignment
Stage
1.
Research Proposal
2% of Final Course Grade
Description
2.
Experimental Design
2% of Final Course Grade
On or before March
25th
3.
Results
2% of Final Course Grade
A detailed overview of the methods you intend to employ for your
research. Include details and examples of surveys, questionnaires,
interviews, technology, etc. that you will be using in your study.
Report the results of your research. Use tables, graphs, charts, statistics,
paragraphs, etc. to summarize your findings.
4.
Conclusions/Sources
2% of Final Course Grade
On or before May
13th
5.
First Draft
3% of Final Course Grade
6.
Final Draft
7% of Final Course
Grade
Summarize your results in relation to your conclusion. Did you find that
your hypothesis held? What could you have done differently? What might
you do next, should you continue this work? Compare your work to other
research in the field.
Incorporate all four previous submissions into once piece, making the noted
revisions.
Incorporate revisions to your first draft into a new version.
A 150-200 word description of your intended research project. Provide a
brief overview of the methods you intend to use, and the overall scope of
your research. What are you intending to show? This is where you still
state your research hypothesis. Consider what other research has occurred
in this field. Reference at least two other studies.
Due Date
On or before March
4th
On or before April
22nd
On or before June 3rd
On or before June
17th
Psychology
Write a one-page (double-spaced) piece on the
following three prompts:
1. What is Psychology?
2. Why are you in this course?
3. What do you hope to learn in this course?