Course+Outline

= Welcome to The Skyline Psychology Page = = Skyline Psychology: Advance Placement and International Baccalaureate =

=**To contact Mrs. Roberts:**= =J. Roberts - Contact information jjroberts@graniteschools.org - You may send an email and I will respond.= =J. Roberts Voicemail - (801) 6312206 = = You may leave a message and I will respond. = . = DUE DATE AS LISTED ON THE CALENDAR BELOW; THESE ARE NOT ARBITRARY. THEY ARE DEFINITE!! REMINDERS WILL BE POSTED IN THE ROOM, ON THE DOOR, AND IN HANDOUTS. =

=VIDEOS & HANDOUTS=

* Handouts missed in class will be on the PSYCHOLOGY CLIPBOARD by the door.
= AP-AP-AP-AP = = The Advance Placement Website is accessible at: = = [|7002|advanced%20placement%20college%20board||S||5201651444] =

= **IB-IB-IB-IB** =

An IB CD will be given to students that has all the material you need for your class PROJECT/EXPERIMENT.
=PROJECTED, NON-NEGOTIABLE TIMELINE FOR PROJECT=

Mid DEBEMBER your FINAL DRAFT IS DUE
The AP/IB Psychology Syllabus: is available at the end of this page. Every attempt will be made to adhere to this schedule during the year.


 * __Click link to pay $10 class fee.__**


 * AP Psychology - Syllabus**

This course is a broad introduction to the field of psychology. We will cover: gathering data on the causes and correlates of behavior, key figures in psychology and their theories, examples of research findings from the major sub areas of the field, and using psychological knowledge to improve the quality of our lives. This survey of psychology will acquaint you with the major concepts and terminology of the discipline and give you a better understanding of self and others. We'll use a combination of lectures (oh boy!), video clips, demonstrations and games (volunteers needed!), and miscellaneous experiences (be on guard!). I hope it will make you want to learn more about psychology and have you asking "What's the evidence?" each time you encounter statements about behavior. Last of all, it should be fun and interesting!
 * Overview:**

Sternberg, R. J. (2004). **//Psychology 4E//****.** Belmont, CA, Wadsworth/Thompson. Hock, R. R. (1995). **//Forty Studies That Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of//** Axline, V. M. (1964). **//Dibs in Search of Self.//** New York, New York, Ballantine Books.
 * Texts:**
 * //Psychological Research (4th Edition).//** Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall.


 * Other Supplements:**
 * //Discovering Psychology The Brain Series//** – The Annenberg/CPB Collection by Phjillip Zimbardo (Stanford University) on video
 * //The Mind Series Teaching Module –//** by Richard Restak**,** published by Worth Publishing
 * //CNN Today//****:** Introductory Psychology (Sternberg supplemental clips) – Wadsworth/Thompson Learning
 * Instructor Power Points** – Thompson /Wadsworth – Book Companion Site
 * Internet video and download feed.**
 * Guest Lecturers when appropriate and available.**


 * Tests/Quizzes:** Each chapter will be followed by a test of 50 multiple choice questions as a minimum and at least 2 essay questions. Essay questions will be graded with a rubric so students have a chance to understand the grading of the AP test. Eight to ten questions quizzes will be given randomly to ensure that students pre-read assigned material.


 * Weeks 1 to 2: Introduction - Early Psychological approaches to Psychology**:
 * Structuralism** - Inventory of the mind.
 * Functionalism** – Why we do what we do.
 * Psychology in the Twentieth Century:**
 * Associationism** - Early ideas about learning.
 * Behaviorism** – Pavlov, Watson, Skinner.
 * Gestalt psychology** – The whole is different than its parts.
 * Cognitivism** - How we think.
 * Biological Psychology** – Mind and Body reconciled.
 * Evolutionary Psychology** – Adaptive value of certain behaviors.
 * Psychodynamic** – Conscious behavior.
 * Humanistic Psychology** – Free will and the importance of Human potential.
 * Goal:** Students will be able to describe how a psychologist from each of the disciplines would treat a clinical subject.


 * Weeks 3 to 4: Psychological Studies** –
 * Characteristics of Scientific Findings**: Verifiable, Public, and Cumulative.
 * How scientists solve problems:** Five __#|Step__ Scientific Method.
 * Goals of Scientific Research:** Description.
 * Classroom Experiment:** During this chapter students will have the opportunity to design and conduct a simple experiment in the classroom, identifying all the components of the experiment; independent variables, dependent variables, analysis of the data, and discussion of the conclusions.


 * Weeks 5 & 6: Biological Basis of Behavior –**
 * Organization of the Nervous System:** Central Nervous System, Peripheral Nervous System.
 * Nervous system Cells and Functions:** Neurons, Glial Cells, The Action Potential, Neural Transmission.
 * Structures and Functions of the Brain:** Hindbrain, Midbrain, Forebrain, Hemispheres of the brain, Four Lobes of the Brain, The association Areas.
 * Studying the Living Brain:** The Electro Encephalogram, X-rays, Angiograms, and Brain Scans.
 * Genetics and Heritability:** Evolutionary Theory, Mendel’s Peas, Genetics, genotypes and phenotypes, the human genome project. Heritability, Chromosomes and selective breeding.
 * Nature vs. Nurture:** The great discussions.
 * Project:** Students will create a brain and illustrate each major brain functionwith small pictures (association triggers) that will help them remember that part of the brain and its major function.


 * Weeks 7 & 8: Sensation and Perception –**
 * Biological Properties Common to All Senses:** Receiving and conveying Sensory information, Sensory Adaptation.
 * The function, perception, adaptation, and thresholds of the various senses**: vision, hearing, taste, smell, skin senses, body senses, i.e., kinesthesia, paying attention, filter and selective attention.
 * Weeks 9 & 10: Consciousness –**
 * Levels of consciousness:** Preconscious, Subconscious, Altered states of consciousness.
 * Sleep:** Circadian rhythms, Sleep deprivation, Stages of sleep, Sleep disorders, dreams.
 * Hypnosis and meditation:** Theories of hypnosis, hypnosis and memory, meditation.
 * Psychoactive drugs:** Narcotics, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens.
 * Project:** Students will keep a sleep record.


 * Weeks 11, 12 & 13: Learning –**
 * Classical Conditioning**: Components and timing, rates, contingency, the phases, and the levels and features.
 * Operant conditioning:** Law of effect, reinforcement, punishment, Premack Principle, primary and secondary enforcers, stimulus generalization and discrimination, effects of delay, shaping a behavior, extinction, ratio intervals, interval schedules, reinforcement schedules.
 * Other Kinds of Learning:** Social learning, systems views of learning.


 * Weeks 14 to 15: Memory –**
 * Memory:** Recall, recognition, implicit and explicit memory.
 * Multiple-Store Model**: encoding, storage, retrieval, short-term, long-term, constructive nature of memory.
 * Alternative Models of Memory:** Levels of processing, parallel-processing, Baddeley’s model.
 * Extremes of Memory:** Deficiencies, amnesia, outstanding memories, mnemonists.
 * Biological Underpinnings of Memory:** Brain structures involved in memory, neurophysiology and neurochemistry

L**anguage Acquisition:** Stages of acquisition prenatal, cooing/babbling, holographic speech telegraphic speech, imitation, conditioning, critical periods, evolutionary processes.
 * Weeks 16, 17, &18: Language and Thought –**
 * The Nature of Language:** Language and the Brain – Hemispheric differences, sex differences.
 * Aspects of Language:** semantics, syntax, pragmatics, relation of language to thought.
 * Animals Use of Language:** Can animals communicate?
 * The Nature of Thought:** Strategies and obstacles in problem solving - heuristics and algorithms, solving ill-structured problems – insight, hindrances to problem-solving.
 * Making Judgments and Decisions:** Decision theory, satisficing, heuristics and biases in decision making.
 * Reasoning:** Deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning.
 * Creativity:** Characteristics of creative thinking


 * Weeks 19& 20: Intelligence –**
 * How to Measure Intelligence:** Francis Galton, Alfred Binet, the IQ Quotient Tests, Wechsler Scale, aptitude and achievement, score distributions – norms, central tendencies and deviations.
 * Assessment issues:** validity, reliability, standardizations.
 * Theories of the nature of Intelligence:** Psychometric models, computational models, biological models, evolutionary theory cultural and contextual models and systems models.
 * Group Differences:** Sex, socially-defined racial and ethnic, and environmental differences.
 * Extremes of Intelligence:** Giftedness, mental retardation.
 * Heritability of intelligence:** Twin studies and adoption studies.


 * Weeks 21 & 22: Motivation and Emotion –**
 * Early theories of Motivation:** Instinct and drive.
 * Contemporary views of Motivation:** Psychological, clinical, and cognitive approaches.
 * Biological Basis of Motivation:** Hunger and sex.
 * Characteristics of emotion:** Evolutionary value of emotion.
 * Measuring Emotion:** Facial feed-back, appearances, false fronts.
 * Understanding Emotions**: Early and Modern Psychophysiological approaches, central nervous system, endocrine system, cognitive and cultural approaches.


 * Weeks 23 & 24: Personality – The main Approaches:**
 * Psychodynamic:** Freud and neo-Freudians- Adler, Jung, Horney.
 * Humanistic:** Maslow, Rogers.
 * Cognitive:** Rotter, Bandura.
 * Trait Based:** Big Five Personality Traits.
 * Biological:** Temperament and heritability.
 * Interactionist Perspectives and measuring Personality:** projective, objective and self-help tests.


 * Weeks 25 & 26(half of): Physical and Cognitive Development –**
 * Physical and Neural development:** Prenatal, newborn, adolescence and adulthood.
 * Cognitive development:** Piaget, Neo-Piagetian Theory, Vygotsky.
 * Emotional development:** Stages and Theories.
 * Personality development:** Erickson, Marcia, Psychosexual development, interpersonal, moral, and death and dying theories.
 * Project: Eight Stages Timeline - S**tages of life (Erickson) supportive theories of related psychologists pertinent to that stage. Purpose: students should understand how theorists overlap, and interlock.


 * Weeks 26(other half of) & 27: Social Development – Nature of Social Psychology:**
 * Attitudes:** Self-perception and cognitive consistence.
 * Attributions**: Heuristics and biases**.**
 * Impressions**: Forming and social comparison.
 * Attraction:** Theories of liking, loving and relationships.


 * Weeks 28, 29, and 30: Psychological Disorders and Therapy –**
 * Five Axes of the DSM-IV,**
 * Modern theoretical perspectives of the six basic approaches,**
 * 1. Anxiety, 2. Mood, 3. Schizophrenic, 4. Dissociative, 5. Personality, 6. Childhood disorders.**
 * Project: “Pick a Specialty” –** Students will pick a __#|disorder__ and become a specialist. They will then present the disorder to the class along with the best treatments recommended for that disorder.


 * Week 31 & 32: Stress and Coping – The mind-body connection &the Psychology of Health Care.**


 * Weeks 33, 34, & 35: Review for the AP test, take practice tests, work on essay style, discuss format and grading of essay questions**


 * AP Test Day**


 * Last few weeks – Read __Dibs in Search of Self__ – a very heart warming case study**