2015 Abnormal Psychology Project
Part I:
For AP Psychology, you are to complete a large summative project with three parts.
The first involves reading a novel (The Bell Jar, First Person Plural, Girl Interrupted or
Sybil), and participating in an online discussion at least twice per week. You are to log
on to following site for your book:
todaysmeet.com/thebelljar
todaysmeet.com/firstpersonplural
todaysmeet.com/girlinterrupted
todaysmeet.com/sybil
Try to read about 1/4 of the book each week, and log on to make two contributions to
the discussion. The online contributions to the discussion should be more in depth than
"I agree" or "Yes". Examples of contributions include, but are not limited to:
 Connections between other novels or stories
 Discussion of symbolism
 Identification of irony or other literary techniques used
 Analysis of the disorder or treatment
 Posing questions for the group.
If anyone is not able to access the Internet to participate in the online discussion, you
may complete a double-entry hand-written notebook over the reading. On the left side,
write down anything that interests you and seems worthy of comment: a quote, an idea,
a fact, etc. or a question that you want answered. On the right side of the notebook,
write down your response to what you are reading. Comment on passages that spark
your interest and curiosity. There should be 8-10 thoughtful, well-developed responses
in your reading journal. Each should be a minimum of a paragraph. Your responses
can include critiques, disagreements, ideas you like and why, analogies to other
readings, or connections to your personal experiences, etc.
The online discussion should be completed by 6 p.m. each Friday in January, even if we
have snow days and are not in school. The novel should be completed by Friday,
January 30, regardless of snow days.
Scoring Guide for the Online Discussion
2 online entries in the discussion by January 9
2 online entries in the discussion between January 10-16
2 online entries in the discussion between January 17-23
2 online entries in the discussion between January 24-30
TOTAL
10 points
10 points
10 points
10 points
(40 points)
Part II:
The second party of the project is completing an critical review of the book as a whole.
How well does the novel portray the mental illness? The review should be in the form of
an essay of about 1 1/2-2 pages in length, typed, and focus around a thesis. If you
want to do some Internet research about the Psychological disorder involved in the
book, the information could be added into your review.
Scoring Guide for Novel Critical Review
Well-developed essay revolving around a thesis
Integrates a summary of the novel through discussion of the thesis
Citation of sources
Grammar/spelling (one point per mistake)
TOTAL
25 points
10 points
5 points
10 points
(50 points)
Part III:
The last part involves watching a movie about mental illness, and completing a second
critical essay. You are to watch a movie of your choice that has a major character with
a psychological disorder, and analyze the portrayal of that disorder in the movie. You
should complete research using your textbook and at least one other source that shows
you symptoms and behaviors for the disorder. You may only research one of the
following disorders: panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, or dissociative identity disorder. A 1 ½-2 page paper should
be written that analyzes the movie character’s disorder and compares it to the research
completed. Also, from Chapter 17, read about therapy and in at least one paragraph of
your paper, discuss what therapy techniques could be used to help this character. Be
sure to cite your sources.
Scoring Guide for Movie Analysis
Analysis of character (not just a description)
Thorough research of the disorder
Therapy options discussed, not listed
Citation of sources
Grammar/spelling (one point per mistake)
TOTAL
20 points
10 points
15 points
5 points
10 points
(60 points)
NOTE: You must CITE EVERY SOURCE that you take information from. You must not
take another person’s work on the Internet as your own, even if it is a sentence.
Summarize everything; don’t just change a word. A plagiarized paper will receive a
zero and an office referral.
Project Total __________/150 points
(Summative Grade)