AP PSYCHOLOGY (INTRODUCTIONS)

Besides LECTURES, you are held accountable for any READ, REVIEW, REINFORCE or VIEW taskings which can show on QUIZZES, TESTS, or other EVALUATIONS. Any OPTIONAL resource is just that - optional and students will not be evaluated on that resource
DISCLAIMER.  Any tasking assigned and/or posted is expected to be read and/or viewed by the student by the posted date.   Information gained from the reading and/or viewing may be evaluated on a test, quiz, essay or graded assignment.    It is now your responsibility to keep up with the readings or viewings by being motivated for taking the course, self-organized and self-disciplined.  Optional assignments that DO NOT have a due date is just as it appears; an optional source which you may or may not want to further your knowledge.

AP PSYCHOLOGY EXAM

AP PSYCHOLOGY NORMATIVE CONTENT BREAKOUT

The purpose of the AP course in Psychology is to introduce the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Included is a consideration of the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major sub-fields within psychology. Students also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice.
This course covers the following topics and includes a percentage range of each topic’s weight in the course and on the exam:
  1. History and Approaches (2%–4%)
    1. History of Psychology
    2. Approaches
    3. Subfields in Psychology
  2. Research Methods (8%–10%)
    1. Experimental, Correlational, and Clinical Research:
    2. Statistics
    3. Ethics in Research
  3. Biological Bases of Behavior (8%–10%)
    1. Physiological Techniques (e.g., imaging, surgical)
    2. Neuroanatomy
    3. Functional Organization of Nervous System
    4. Neural Transmission
    5. Neuroplasticity
    6. Endocrine System
    7. Genetics
    8. Evolutionary Psychology
  4. Sensation and Perception (6%–8%)
    1. Thresholds and Signal Detection Theory
    2. Sensory Mechanisms
    3. Attention
    4. Perceptual Processes
  5. States of Consciousness (2%–4%)
    1. Sleep and Dreaming
    2. Hypnosis
    3. Psychoactive Drug Effects
  6. Learning (7%–9%)
    1. Classical Conditioning
    2. Operant Conditioning
    3. Cognitive Processes
    4. Biological Factors
    5. Social Learning
  7. Cognition (8%–10%)
    1. Memory
    2. Language
    3. Thinking
    4. Problem Solving and Creativity
  8. Motivation and Emotion (6%–8%)
    1. Biological Bases
    2. Theories of Motivation
    3. Hunger, Thirst, Sex, and Pain
    4. Social Motives
    5. Theories of Emotion
    6. Stress
  9. Developmental Psychology (7%–9%)
    1. Life-Span Approach
    2. Research Methods (e.g., longitudinal, cross-sectional)
    3. Heredity-Environment Issues
    4. Developmental Theories
    5. Dimensions of Development
    6. Sex and Gender Development
  10. Personality (5%–7%)
    1. Personality Theories and Approaches
    2. Assessment Techniques
    3. Growth and Adjustment
  11. Testing and Individual Differences (5%–7%)
    1. Standardization and Norms
    2. Reliability and Validity
    3. Types of Tests
    4. Ethics and Standards in Testing
    5. Intelligence
  12. Abnormal Psychology (7%–9%)
    1. Definitions of Abnormality
    2. Theories of Psychopathology
    3. Diagnosis of Psychopathology
    4. Types of Disorders
  13. Treatment of Psychological Disorders (5%–7%)
    1. Treatment Approaches
    2. Modes of Therapy (e.g., individual, group)
    3. Community and Preventive Approaches
  14. Social Psychology (8%–10%)
    1. Group Dynamics
    2. Attribution Processes
    3. Interpersonal Perception
    4. Conformity, Compliance, Obedience
    5. Attitudes and Attitude Change
    6. Organizational Behavior
    7. Aggression/Antisocial Behavior
    8. Cultural Influences


The EXAM is 2 hours long and has two sections — multiple choice and free-response.
​
Section I: Multiple Choice | 100 Questions | 1 hour and 10 minutes | 66.6% of Exam Score
You’ll be asked to:
  • Define and explain content from a range of course topics
  • Apply skills of comparison and interpretation to course concepts, theories, and scientific methods
Section II: Free-Response | 2 Questions | 50 minutes | 33.3% of Exam Score
Typical questions may include (but are not limited to) the following:
  • Analyze a unique scenario using concepts from different theoretical frameworks or subdomains in the field
  • Design, analyze, or critique a research study
The following task verbs are commonly used in the AP Psychology free-response questions:
  • Identify requires that you name or point out psychological concepts as they pertain to the question.
  • Show or describe requires you to detail the essential characteristics and/or examples of a particular concept, theory, or phenomenon.
  • Explain, discuss, and relate require that you make logical and coherent connections among the prompt (or premise), question, and psychological concepts.
This week, I will be starting my 13th year teaching Advanced Placement (AP) PSYCHOLOGY; and,  I have seen during that time the importance of a more rigorous high school experience in preparing students to succeed in college.

As the College Board noted in its 2017 AP Instructional Report, we did extremely well last May in taking the AP PSYCHOLOGY National Exam.   Honestly, each year every incoming class to AP PSYCHOLOGY has their own culture as a group, and come to AP PSYCHOLOGY with their own skill sets which I try to size up as a group their commonalities, weaknesses and strengths.  Usually, I am able to achieve this in the first 3-4 weeks in order to establish a plan of action for the year.   And most importantly, I like to get to know my students' The beginning of each school year starts with INTRODUCTIONS, so we can maximize the entire year and succeed in passing the national exam.  I do believe the investment we make in the first few weeks will pay-off at the end-of-the-school-year.

Myers' Psychology
[9th Edition]

If we DO  NOT have access to our new textbook, I will ask you to READ Myers' Psychology [9th Ed] on the HISTORY [the 9th Edition calls that the PROLOGUE] located on pp. 1-13

Myers' Psychology [2nd Edition] for AP

When you receive your TEXTBOOK, I ask you to REVIEW the textbook, skim the chapters, cover-to-cover, and get familiar with the layout and contents within it.  

Please note how Myers uses terminology, illustrations and applications within the chapters. 

Please READ your assignnments. It is essential to know your textbook, and don't forget ... if you got questions ... feel free to ask me.

425 AP PSYCHOLOGY TERMS [MORE LIKE 373 ]

When taking the AP Psychology test, you need to make sure you know what’s going to be on it. One of the biggest things on your test will be AP Psychology terms and concepts. These concepts are going to test what you know about behavior and how you are able to interpret different scenarios which occur in someone’s life. For example, you may be asked to consider how a specific individual is motivated based on a particular set of facts or why an individual behaves in a specific way based on their history. Understanding the accurate terms and concepts for this will allow you to write more clearly and concisely.

BARRON'S & 5 STEPS TO A 5 are another TOOL to use throughout the year in using ELABORATE REHEARSAL tom learn psychology terms and concepts.
 Welcome Back Letter

Please read (and your parents) the Welcome Back Letter, and return it signed by the deadline for some simple, but easy points.
What is Your Learning Style?


Upon reaching the What is Your Learning Style, please fill it out and click DETERMINE STYLE.  PRINT out the sheet, place your name and period and turn in for an easy HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT.
Parent Film & TV Permission Form

Please skim over the (and your parents) the movie list which I would like to use (clips, scenes or in entirety) throughout the year.   It is easier to get parental approval at the beginning than trying to get 100% of parents in just a couple of days if we were to show something.  With that in mind, if you have any suggestions - I'd welcome input as well.   We rarely watch entire movies until after the national exam, but this helps me just in case.  Please return it signed by the deadline for some simple, but easy points. 
WALTER MISCHEL'S MARSHMALLOW EXPERIMENT

Video will help you with the ARTICLE REVIEW WORKSHEET [below...by Ingfei Cheng]
The Stanford marshmallow experiment was a series of studies on delayed gratification in the late 1960s and early 1970s led by psychologist Walter Mischel, then a professor at Stanford University. In these studies, a child was offered a choice between one small reward provided immediately or two small rewards (i.e., a larger later reward) if they waited for a short period, approximately 15 minutes, during which the tester left the room and then returned. (The reward was sometimes a marshmallow, but often a cookie or a pretzel.) In follow-up studies, the researchers found that children who were able to wait longer for the preferred rewards tended to have better life outcomes, as measured by SAT scores,educational attainment, and other life measures.

If you CANNOT access the video on this page ... hyperlink to the URL of YouTube to watch it.

Measuring Students’ Self-Control: A ‘Marshmallow Test’ for the Digital Age.  By Ingfei Chen (SEP 15, 2014)


HYPERLINK on the BUTTON (below) to read the article on Measuring Self-Control (a Marshmallow Test) in the Digital Age.  Once read, complete the ARTICLE REVIEW WORKSHEET by HYPERLINKING on the appropriate BUTTON.  Complete and turn in for 45-points.
HANDOUT 1-3.   Our DEMO  will introduce students to the issues of stability versus change, human rationality versus irrationality, and nature versus nurture.