AP Psychology

1st six weeks journal

Lessons of the Day 8/24; 8/25

• Journal Prompt – (Values Clarifications)

• Values Walks• Textbooks• Perspectives in Psychology

Ivan Pavlov, Nobel Prize WinnerSource: Wikimedia Commons

Journal 8/24; 8/25Content Standards: • Students are able to

– 1.1 Define psychology as a discipline and identify its goals as a science

– 1.2 Describe the emergence of psychology as a scientific discipline

• Journal EntryRespond to the “Values Clarification” Questions after the Values Walk.

One of Pavlov’s dogs Source: Wikimedia Commons

Values Walk Questions

• Using animals for psychological research is inhumane and should be severely limited.

• Spanking and other forms of physical punishment help develop “good” children.

• I would rather inherit a fortune than receive the Nobel Prize.

• Insanity as a legal defense should be abolished. • If I had my life to live over, I would come back as

the other sex.

VALUES CLARIFICATIONI learned that:

I was surprised that:

I was disappointed that:

I was pleased that:

Journal Prompt 8/26; 8/27:

Learning Objectives1.3 Describe perspectives employed to understand behavior and mental processes.

Journal Prompt: When you signed up for this course, what did you think psychology would be all about?

Psychology’s Current Perspectives (p. 9)

Perspective Focus Sample Questions

Neuroscience How the body and brain enables emotions?

How are messages transmitted in the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

Evolutionary How the natural selection of traits the promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes?

How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?

Behavior genetics

How much our genes and our environments influence our individual differences?

To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression attributable to our genes? To our environment?

Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample Questions

Psychodynamic

How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts?

How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?

Behavioral How we learn observable responses?

How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, say to lose weight or quit smoking?

Today’s Lesson

• Journal Warm Up: Psychology’s levels of analysis

• Discovering Psychology Past Present and Promise

• Quiz on Prologue

Journal Warm-Up August 31

p. 8-9 Views of AngerHow would each of psychology’s levels of analysis explain what is going in the picture on page 9?

1.3 Describe perspectives employed to understand behavior and mental processes.

AP Psychology 9/1 (B); 9/2 (A)

• Journal entry: naturalistic observation• Video: Observation and Experimentation– Take notes #1-5

• Scientific attitude• Handout: Psych Sim– Correlations- in class– Descriptive stats- at home– What’s wrong with this study-at home

AP Psychology 9/1 (B); 9/2 (A)

Learning Objectives1.2 Describe and compare a variety of quantitative (e.g., surveys, correlations, experiments) and qualitative (e.g., interviews, narratives, focus groups) research methods1.3 Define systematic procedures used to improve the validity of research findings.

• P. 24-25 Prompt: What are the advantages of the naturalistic observation method for studying children?

Image source: www-hss.tp.edu.sg

How We Study Children: Observation and Experimentation

• 1) Researcher’s goals• 2) Methods of observation of children: • 3) Findings of observations of children: • 4) Methods of experimentation: – What was the hypothesis in the experiment (Hint: interaction

with students with different ideas leads to greater…)– How did the researchers measure the results of the

experiments?• 5). How did the researchers avoid experimenter bias?

Scientific AttitudeCuriosity, Skepticism, and Humility

AP Psychology Journal 9/3 (B) 9/4 (B)

• Journal Prompt: Scientific Method• Re: Psych Sim Homework:

What's Wrong with this Study? • Notes: Scientific Method in Psychology– Empirical approach– Critical thinking– Methods

• Descriptive• Correlational• Experimental

• Class Activity: Creating a research design

EXAM ONE MON. 9/14TUE. 9/15

Journal Prompt 9/5• 1.2 Describe and compare a

variety of quantitative (e.g., surveys, correlations, experiments) and qualitative (e.g., interviews, narratives, focus groups) research methods.

• Prompt: Why, when testing a new drug to control blood pressure, would we learn more about its effectiveness from giving it to half of the participants in a group of 1000 than to all 1000 participants?

AP PsychologyCreating a research design

Students apply the scientific method by testing proverbs. In small groups: 1. Identify the theory underlying the proverb. 2. Generate a testable hypothesis. 3. Suggest a possible design (descriptive,

correlational, or experimental). 4. Specify operational definitions. 5. If experimental, identify independent and

dependent variables.

• “A letter takes three times as long to write as it does to say.”• “The more languages you know, the easier it is for you to

learn a new one.”• “Wearing dark clothes on the bottom and light clothes on

the top is usually more visually appealing than the reverse.”• “It takes four hours to come down from your last cup of

coffee.”• “As family income rises, the ratio of women’s shoes to

men’s shoes increases accordingly.”• “The self-employed are more likely to live to a ripe old age

than those who work for others.”• “The shorter a word, the more meanings it has.”• “Don’t change your first guess on a multiple choice test

when checking over your answers.”

Today’s Lesson 9/8; 9/9

• Journal prompt: Descriptive statistics• Open book/ quiz

• EXAM ONE A day 9/14 B day 9/15

Journal Prompt 9/8; 9/9

• 3.1 Define descriptive statistics and explain how they are used by psychological scientists.

p. 33-38Prompt: 1) Which measure of central tendency would be best to evaluate the housing market? 2) Which measure of central tendency would a fashion shop use for ordering dresses? 3) Which measure of central tendency would be used in basketball to compare players’ points per game?

Measures of Central Tendency

A Skewed Distribution

22

Normal Curve

Standardized tests establish a normal distribution of scores on a tested

population in a bell-shaped pattern called the normal curve.

AP Psychology lesson 9/10; 9/11

• Journal prompt ethics p. 42 • Chart notes• Group work

Journal prompt 9/10; 9/11p. 42 Is it ethical to experiment on humans?Prompt: You have been asked to be a subject in a vision experiment such as the one described at right. . • What would be your

expectations of ethics by the researcher?

• 2.1 Students are able to identify ethical standards psychologists must address regarding research with human participants.

p. 39 Researchers develop experiments to test theoretical principles that may explain many behaviors. An experiment in artificial setting in an artificial setting such as looking at red lights in the dark may explain more complex behaviors such as night flying.

Today’s Lesson 9/15; 9/16

• Journal Prompt: Ethics in Animal Experimentation in Psychology

• True/ False discussion• EXAM

AP Psychology Journal Prompt 9/15; 9/16

• Identify ethical guidelines psychologists must address regarding research with non-human animals.

P. 411) Do you think medical testing on animals is “morally acceptable?”2) Give three examples of how animal rights are protected in psychology research. Or, give three specific examples of rights you believe should be protected.

Essay Question 16 points. Write on the lined paper. Be sure to write in complete sentences.

Design an experiment to test whether alcohol consumption influences people's tendency to become socially aggressive. In your experimental design, identify the following experimental elements and procedures: • hypothesis• random assignment• experimental group• control group• independent variable• dependent variable• ethics in research.• Operational definitions