AP Psychology Syllabus Gretna High School Mr. C Williams [email protected] https://mrwilliamsworld.wikispaces.com/

~ The purpose of psychology is to give us a completely different idea of the things we know best ~ Paul Valery

Instructor Information Mr. Chris Williams B.S. Social Sciences – Secondary Education, Liberty University, 2000 M.S. Social Science – Syracuse University M.Ed. Administration – Arkansas State University – in progress

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this course in AP Psychology is to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of humans and animals.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course is not a “filler” elective class. Many students who take this class have a genuine desire to learn about Psychology and plan to major in the subject in college. This being said, this class has as part of the objectives a rigorous study of the human mind and behavior. Students are expected to take the AP Psychology test in May. There will be study sessions during the second semester after school. While these sessions are voluntary, they are essential for successful completion of the AP exam.

TEXT: Psychology Myers

UNITS OF STUDY: The following is a description of the major content areas covered in this course. I. Methods, Approaches, and History – Prologue and Chapter 1 II. Social Psychology – Chapter 18 III. Sensation and Perception – Chapter 5 and 6 IV. Learning – Chapter 8, 9, and 10 V. Developmental – Chapter 4 and 11 VI. Personality – Chapter 15 VII. Motivation and Emotion – Chapter 12, 13, and 14 VIII. Abnormal Psychology – Chapter 16 and 17 IX. States of Consciousness – Chapter 7 X. Biological Bases of Behavior – Chapter 2 and 3 Student Evaluation Your grade will be determined by your performance on tests, quizzes, projects, and outside assignments. In general, students have found the course to be very difficult at first, but have done better as the semester progresses. Setting a high standard has several tangible benefits for students: you will learn a great deal of psychology and you will be better prepared for college.

Tests = 50%; Projects = 20%; and Homework/Classwork/Quizzes = 30%

1. Grading procedure: 6-weeks grades will be determined by averaging quiz, homework, and test scores. 2. Attendance: Attendance is required. See your Student Handbook for policy. 3. Make-up Work: Make-up work is YOUR responsibility. See me about missed work before or after class (NOT DURING CLASS!). Make-up tests will be given on Tuesdays from 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. PRIOR ARRANGEMENTS MUST BE MADE. 4. Homework: You will have written and/or reading assignments. Your homework assignments will be to prepare for quizzes and tests. 5. Quizzes: You should expect and prepare for quizzes. Quiz questions will come from homework assignments and information covered in class discussions. 6. Tests: Tests will be given on assigned reading, homework, and material covered in class. The testing format is primarily multiple choice. There may also be matching, fill in the blank, identification, short answer, and essay questions as well. 7. Notebook: You must have a notebook in which you will keep ALL assignments, handouts, returned tests, and quizzes. 8. Appropriate Behavior: Follow the school tardy policy. Always bring required materials to class. Make positive and pertinent contributions to class discussions. Listen. Be respectful to everyone in the classroom. Do not write on desks, bulletin boards, walls, etc. Do not talk or leave your seat without permission. Do not bring food or drinks into the classroom. Do not wear hats, sunglasses, or other apparel inconsistent with school policy. As a courtesy to myself and others, there will be no application of lotions, perfumes, lip gloss, or make up in class. This also applies to the styling of hair. Violation of this rule will be an automatic referral to BMC. 9. Videos: Movies and instructional videos will be shown. I select these carefully and I expect you to learn from them. Therefore, if you are inattentive during these showings, you will be given a zero for your class participation grade. 10. Extracurricular activities are not a valid excuse for anything! This includes trying to sleep in class, being unprepared for tests and/or quizzes, and not making up work on time. Trying to sleep in class will bring immediate disciplinary action. Tips for Students

Take complete class notes and date them. Put them in your own words. Don’t write down something you don’t understand without asking about it. Leave some blank space on each page to make additions and clarifications. It is very important to review your notes each day while they are still fresh in your mind. Expand them, clarify them and add examples so that they will make sense when you go back to study from them later. Learn to read more effectively. You can read more effectively by doing the following: 1. Read actively; don’t just look at the words. If you spend a half-hour “reading” but are unable to recall anything when you are done, you have wasted your time. 2. Preview a chapter quickly before you begin and review the material frequently. Pause at the end of each paragraph and summarize mentally, in your own words, what you just read. 3. Do not try to read an entire chapter at once. Each chapter of your text is divided into several major sections. These sections are presented in bold print in the summary outline on the chapter’s first page. Limit your reading to one of these sections at a sitting. 4. Do not ignore pictures, diagrams, tables, and sidebars in your textbook. These features make the text more interesting and may include important information. 5. Take notes as you read. If you can condense a 30-page chapter to a few pages of good notes, it’s going to be much easier to review. Perhaps most important: keep a list of questions about the reading. Half of the battle is vocabulary. I strongly suggest you do one of the following: Make a set of vocabulary flashcards on 3-by-5inch index cards for the “Terms and Concepts to Remember” section at the end of each chapter. Or…you can make a tri-fold list to help you study. Either way, studying the vocabulary is a must. As you do these things, you are already beginning to learn the vocabulary. These study tips help provide an excellent means of review.

Form a study group

DON’T MISS CLASS!!! Absenteeism will destroy your grade. You cannot learn if you are not present. Methods, Approaches, and History Vocabulary

1. Psychology 44. longitudinal study 2. Structuralism 45. cross-sectional study 3. Gestalt 46. experiment 4. Functionalism 47. hypothesis 5. Psychoanalytic perspective 48. operational definition 6. Behaviorist perspective 49. independent variable 7. Humanistic perspective 50. dependent variable 8. Psychological perspective 51. experimental group 9. Cognitive perspective 52. control group 10. Biological perspective 53. random assignment 11. Socio-cultural perspective 54. confounding variable 12. Behavior genetics 55. double-blind procedure 13. Positive psychology 56. placebo 14. Basic research 57. replication 15. Applied research 58. behavior genetics 16. Wilhelm Wundt 59. genes 17. E B Titchener 60. environment 18. William James 61. chromosones 19. Sigmund Freud 62. DNA 20. Ivan Pavlov 63. genome 21. John B Watson 64. mutation 22. B F Skinner 65. evolutionary psychology 23. Abraham Maslow 66. natural selection 24. Carl Rogers 67. identical twins 25. Jean Piaget 68. fraternal twins 26. G Stanley Hall 69. heritability 27. Mary Whiton Calkins 70. culture 28. Margaret Floy Washburn 71. norms 29. Francis Cecil Sumner 72. individualism 30. Inez Beverly Prosser 73. collectivism 31. Behavioral school 74. frequency distribution 32. Humanistic school 75. mode 33. Psychodynamic school 76. mean 34. scientific method 77. median 35. researcher bias 78. skewed 36. critical thinking 79. range 37. participant bias 80. standard deviation 38. naturalistic observation 81. normal distribution 39. case study 82. percentage 40. correlational study 83. percentile rank 41. survey method 84. correlation coefficient 42. population 85. inferential statistics 43. random sample 86. statistical significance

Biological Bases of Behavior Vocabulary 1. neuron 31. pituitary gland 2. dendrite 32. thyroid gland 3. soma 33. adrenal gland 4. axon 34. brainstem 5. axon terminal 35. medulla 6. action potential 36. reticular formation 7. refractory period 37. thalamus 8. resting potential 38. cerebellum 9. all-or-none principle 39. CAT scan 10. synapse 40. MRI 11. neurotransmitter 41. fMRI 12. excitatory effect 42. EEG 13. inhibitory effect 43. PET 14. receptor cells 44. limbic system 15. sensory nerves 45. hypothalamus 16. interneurons 46. hippocanthus 17. motor nerves 47. amygdale 18. acetycholine 48. cerebral cortex 19. antagonist 49. longitudinal fissure 20. agonist 50. corpus callosum 21. dopamine 51. frontal lobes 22. serotonin 52. parietal lobes 23. central nervous system 53. occipital lobes 24. peripheral nervous system 54. temporal lobes 25. somatic nervous system 55. motor cortex 26. autonomic nervous system 56. somatosensory cortex 27. sympathetic division 57. Broca’s area 28. parasympathetic division 58. Wernicke’s area 29. endocrine system 59. plasticity 30. hormone States of Consciousness Vocabulary 1. consciousness 34. caffeine 2. pseudoscientific claim 35. nicotine 3. biological rhythms 36. cocaine 4. circadian rhythms 37. amphetamines 5. ultradian rhythms 38. hallucinogens 6. infradian rhythms 39. LSD 7. melatonin 40. ecstasy 8. spindles 41. marijuana 9. delta sleep 42. sensation 10. N-REM sleep 43. perception 11. REM sleep 44. absolute threshold 12. insomnia 45. difference threshold 13. sleep apnea 46. receptors 14. narcolepsy 47. sensory adaptation 15. somnambulism 48. habituation 16. night terrors 49. rods 17. hypnosis 50. cones 18. social influence theory 51. hue 19. divided consciousness theory 52. brightness 20. hypnotic induction 53. saturation 21. posthypnotic suggestion 54. auditory 22. posthypnotic amnesia 55. taste 23. psychoactive drugs 56. pheromones 24. dependence 57. kinesthesis 25. withdrawal 58. vestibular sense 26. tolerance 59. selective attention 27. depressants 60. divided attention 28. barbiturates 61. figure-ground perception 29. benzodiazepines 62. constancy 30. opiates 63. feature analysis theory 31. morphine 64. prototype matching 32. endorphins 65. bottom-up processing 33. stimulants 66. top-down processing Personality Vocabulary

1. Sigmund Freud 14. superego 2. unconscious 15. Eros 3. repression 16. Thanatos 4. manifest 17. developmental stages 5. latency 18. Carl Jung 6. psychoanalysis 19. Archetypes 7. neurosis 20. personal unconscious 8. free association 21. collective unconscious 9. Anna Freud 22. introvert 10. phobias 23. extrovert 11. addiction 24. Erik Erikson 12. id 25. crises 13. ego Developmental and Learning Vocabulary

1. temperament 32. Carl Rogers 2. maturation 33. client-centered therapy 3. cognition 34. B F Skinner 4. assimilation 35. operant conditioning 5. accommodation 36. reinforcement 6. Sensorimotor stage 37. punishment 7. object permanence 38. positive reinforcement 8. preoperational stage 39. negative reinforcement 9. conservation 40. primary reinforcement 10. egocentrism 41. secondary reinforcement 11. concrete operational stage 42. extinction 12. formal operational stage 43. continuous reinforcement 13. stranger anxiety 44. latent learning 14. imprinting 45. cognitive map 15. authoritarian parenting 46. Ivan Pavlov 16. permissive parenting 47. John Watson 17. authoritative parenting 48. learning 18. Jean Piaget 49. classic conditioning 19. inferiority complex 50. stimulus 20. humanistic psychology 51. response 21. self-actualization 52. unconditioned stimulus 22. unconditional positive regard 53. conditioned stimulus 23. self-concept 54. conditioned response 24. Alfred Adler 55. acquisition 25. Abraham Maslow 56. unconditioned response 26. Standardization 57. Aptitude 27. Reliability 58. Achievement 28. Validity 59. Alfred Binet 29. General intelligence 60. Mental age 30. Creativity 61. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 31. Howard Gardner Abnormal Psychology Vocabulary

1. abnormal behavior 14. phobia 2. psychodynamic 15. panic attack 3. humanistic 16. OCD 4. cognitive 17. Post-traumatic Stress 5. behavioral 18. somatoform 6. psycho physiological 19. hysteria 7. DSM-IV 20. hypochodriasis 8. Axis I 21. factitious 9. Axis II 22. depression 10. Axis III 23. bipolar 11. Axis IV 24. dissociative disorder 12. Axis V 25. amnesia 13. anxiety 26. schizophrenia