AP Psychology Syllabus



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AP Psychology Semesters: 2018-2019

Peachtree Ridge High School/ Social Studies Dept. Textbook: David G. Myers, Psychology Shannon Costello AP Edition Shannon_Costello@gwinnett.k12.ga.us 8th ed., Worth Publishing $90.00

Materials: a 1½ inch binder specifically for AP Psychology, pens, pencils, paper.

Psychology is the study of human and animal thought processes and behavior. This is an exciting and interesting subject in which we will look into many aspects of human behavior from the biology of the brain and body to maladaptive behavior. This course emphasizes real life applications of behavioral knowledge to give you a better understanding of the world. This is a positive and active class where class participation and involvement is expected of every student and team building is developed to encourage necessary study skills needed in college and in the workplace. This is a college level course and you will be expected to do the work of a college level student in preparation for taking the Advanced Placement exam. This test is 100 multiple choice and 2 free response questions done in 2 hours. The test is graded on a scale of 1-5. Three is passing and accepted by many colleges as AP credit. Some colleges ask for a score of 4 or 5 on the exam to give college credit. Ten points will be added to the final PRHS grade for taking the AP class. Because the AP Psychology Exam is to be given in the beginning of May, students will be expected to attend a course review after school in the weeks preceding the AP Exam. The class goal is full participation and passing of the AP Exam. This class covers the skills and knowledge covered in your AKS hand book under AP Psychology.

Grade Basis & Percentages:

25% --Summative Assessments

* 25% Multiple Choice Tests & Projects

20% -- Classroom Assessments – (includes homework, class work, notes & quizzes)

* 20% Homework & quizzes

15% -- Free Responses

15% -- Midterm

5% - --Midterm Free Response

15% -- Final exam

• 10% Objective (multiple choice)

• 5% Performance (free response)

5%---- SPG Post Test

A 90-100

B 80-89

C 74-79

D 70-73

F 0-69

*AP Psychology adds 10 points to the students’ final grade at the end of the semester.

Supplemental Materials Used For the Course

1. Text: David Myers, Psychology (New York: Worth, 2006), with accompanying instructor’s resource manual, study guide, and test bank (on CD-ROM). 2. Membership in APA and especially in TOPSS. The quality of support provided for high school teachers is outstanding. 3. The AP Released Exams in Psychology and support materials provided by the College Board.

Course Outline Percentage Used on Exam

Prologue/Ch. 1. History and Approaches and Research Methods 8-12%

Scope, History, and Methodology

Historical Schools, Modern Approaches:, Nature of Scientific Inquiry, Research Methods, Statistics, Ethics in Research

Ch. 2 & 3. Biological Basis of Behavior 8-10%

Neuron, Brain: Research methodology, neuroanatomy, brain development and aging, hemispheric specialization Nervous System: Structural and functional organization, Endocrine System: Anatomy and immune system Genetics and Heritability

Ch. 5& 6 Sensation and Perception 7-9%

Psychophysics: Thresholds, signal detection theory

Sensory Organs and Transduction: Visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, kinesthetic and vestibular Perception: Attention, processing, illusions, and camouflage

Ch. 7. States of Consciousness 2-4%

Waking, sleep and dreaming Hypnosis, altered states

Ch. 8. Learning 7-9%

Historical Background and Philosophy of Radical Behaviorism Classical Conditioning: Pavlov, Watson, applications, biological critique, Operant Conditioning: Thorndike, Skinner, Bandura, behavior modification, biological critique

Ch.9&10. Memory and Cognition 8-10%

Memory: Information processing, storage, retrieval, Accuracy of Memory: Loftus and Schacter Cognitivist challenge, Cognition: Problem solving and heuristics Language: Skinner and Chomsky

Ch. 11. Intelligence and Psychological Testing 5-7%

Psychological Testing: Methodology, norms, reliability, validity Intelligence: Defining intelligence, history of intelligence and aptitude testing, nature-nurture issues

Ch. 12&13 Motivation Emotion 6-8%

Motivational Concepts: Instincts, drives, optimal arousal, Maslow’s hierarchy Hunger and Eating Disorders, Sexuality and Sexual Orientation Achievement Motivation, Physiology of Emotion: Fear, anger, happiness Expression of Emotion: Darwin and Ekman, Theories of Emotion

Ch. 4. Developmental Psychology 7-9%

Methodology: Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies Nature vs. Nurture (maturation versus learning) Influential Theories: Piaget and cognitive development, Freud and psychosocial development, Kohlberg and moral development, Gilligan and gender differentiation, Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood

Ch. 15. Personality 6-8%

Psychodynamic Perspective: Freud, Jung, Adler Trait Perspective: Allport, factor analysis and the five-factor model, assessment (Myers-Briggs, MMPI) Humanistic Perspective: Maslow and Rogers Social-Cognitive Perspective: Bandura and Seligman

Ch. 16 Abnormal Psychology 7-9%

Approaches to Abnormality: The Rosenhan study, historical approaches (deviance), the medical model, the biopsychosocial model Classifying Disorders: Evolution of the DSM-IV-TR Major Categories of Disorders: Anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders DSM IV Presentations

Ch. 17 Treatments 5-7%

Major Approaches to Psychotherapy: Psychoanalysis, behavioristic, humanistic, cognitive, group, pharmacological Does Therapy Work? Eysenck, outcome studies, and the Consumer Reports study

Ch. 18. Social Psychology 7-9%

Attitudes and Behavior: Fundamental attribution error, roles, Festinger and cognitive dissonance Group Influence: Asch and conformity, Milgram and obedience, facilitation and loafing, Janis and groupthink Prejudice and Scapegoating Altruism: Darley and Latané

In addition to the regular coursework the following projects have been done previously:

1. DSM 5 Presentations. This is a group project that involves understanding and explaining a chosen/assigned disorder according to the DSM-V.

2. Psychological Perspectives Presentations. This is a group/individual project that the students will explain the outrageous behavior of a celebrity by applying the different psychological perspectives.

3. Memory Presentations. This is a group project that the students will complete in class and explain the application of memory using illustrations and definitions of the mechanisms of memory.

Make-up/Late Work:

Any missed work must be made up within 5 school days from the student’s return to school either before or after classes. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange for the work to be made up. If a student is absent 1 or more days before an assignment is due and knew before the absences when the assignment was due, the student will be responsible for turning in the assignment on the original due date or the first day returning to school. If a student is having a problem getting an assignment done on time due to unforeseen circumstances, they are to discuss it with me before an assignment is due and I may give them extra time to turn it in. Being late on an assignment without a valid excuse of an emergency or illness means a “0” for the grade. If a student has trouble remembering dates or knows they will be out when an assignment is due, then they should turn the assignment in early for full points.

If a student misses a test they will be responsible for making it up on the day they return to school. NO EXCEPTIONS!

As with all classes, incidents of cheating and plagiarism are met with a referral to the administration and an opportunity to show mastery of content in a different assessment of the teacher’s choice. Plagiarism is putting the work of any other author in their paper without giving them annotated credit. They cannot copy information from any source and present it as their work.

The teacher reserves the right to update the syllabus if necessary for instructional benefit.

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