1. AP Psychology
1st six weeks journal

2. Lessons of the Day 8/27 Journal Prompt Values Walks Textbooks
(Values Clarifications)
Values Walks
Textbooks
Mini-Bio project
Ivan Pavlov, Nobel Prize Winner
Source: Wikimedia Commons

3. Journal 8/27 Journal Entry
Content 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 Entry
Respond to the “Values Clarification” Questions after the Values Walk.
One of Pavlov’s dogs
Source: Wikimedia Commons

4. 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.

5. VALUES CLARIFICATION
I learned that:
I was surprised that:
I was disappointed that:
I was pleased that:

6. Journal Prompt 8/29:
Learning Objectives 1.3 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?

7. Psychology’s Current Perspectives (p. 9)
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?

8. Psychology’s Current Perspectives
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?

9. AP Psychology 9/3 Journal entry: naturalistic observation
Video: Observation and Experimentation
Notes Scientific Method
Turn in posters on Friday

10. AP Psychology 9/3
Learning Objectives 1.2 Describe and compare a variety of quantitative (e.g., surveys, correlations, experiments) and qualitative (e.g., interviews, narratives, focus groups) research methods 1.3 Define systematic procedures used to improve the validity of research findings.
P Prompt:
What are the advantages of the naturalistic observation method for studying children?
Image source: www-hss.tp.edu.sg

11. 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?

12. Scientific Attitude Curiosity, Skepticism, and Humility

13. AP Psychology Journal 9/5
Journal Prompt: Scientific Method
Turn in posters.
Check 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
WED. 9/17

14. Journal Prompt 9/5 Prompt:
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?

15. AP Psychology Creating a research design
Students apply the scientific method by testing proverbs. In small groups:
Identify the theory underlying the proverb.
Generate a testable hypothesis.
Suggest a possible design (descriptive, correlational, or experimental).
Specify operational definitions.
If experimental, identify independent and dependent variables.

16. “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.”

17. AP Psychology lesson 9/8/14
Journal prompt ethics p. 42
Chart notes
Group work

18. Journal prompt 9/8 p. 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.

19. Today’s Lesson 9/10 Journal prompt: Descriptive statistics
Group research presentations
Psych Sim: Correlations
EXAM ONE WEDNESDAY 9/17

20. Journal Prompt 9/10
3.1 Define descriptive statistics and explain how they are used by psychological scientists.
p Prompt: 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?

21. Measures of Central Tendency
A Skewed Distribution

22. Today’s Lesson 9/15
Journal Prompt: Ethics in Animal Experimentation in Psychology
True/ False discussion
Review of content
AP style question

23. AP Psychology Journal Prompt
Identify ethical guidelines psychologists must address regarding research with non-human animals.
P. 41 1) 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.

24. Essay Question 10 points. Write on the lined paper
Essay Question 10 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.