History and Approaches
Standards and Goals
Psychology has evolved markedly since its inception as a discipline in 1879. There have been significant changes in the theories that psychologists use to explain behavior and mental processes. In addition, the methodology of psychological research has expanded to include a diversity of approaches to data gathering.
AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:
• Recognize how philosophical perspectives shaped the development of psychological thought.
• Describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior:
— structuralism, functionalism, and behaviorism in the early years;
— Gestalt, psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, and humanism emerging later;
— evolutionary, biological, and cognitive and biopsychosocial as more contemporary approaches.
• Recognize the strengths and limitations of applying theories to explain behavior.
• Distinguish the different domains of psychology:
— biological, clinical, cognitive, counseling, developmental, educational, experimental, human factors, industrial–organizational, personality, psychometric, and social.
• Identify the major historical figures in psychology (e.g., Mary Whiton Calkins, Charles Darwin, Dorothea Dix, Sigmund Freud, G. Stanley Hall, William James, Ivan Pavlov, Jean Piaget, Carl Rogers, B. F. Skinner, Margaret Floy Washburn, John B. Watson, Wilhelm Wundt).
AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:
• Recognize how philosophical perspectives shaped the development of psychological thought.
• Describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior:
— structuralism, functionalism, and behaviorism in the early years;
— Gestalt, psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, and humanism emerging later;
— evolutionary, biological, and cognitive and biopsychosocial as more contemporary approaches.
• Recognize the strengths and limitations of applying theories to explain behavior.
• Distinguish the different domains of psychology:
— biological, clinical, cognitive, counseling, developmental, educational, experimental, human factors, industrial–organizational, personality, psychometric, and social.
• Identify the major historical figures in psychology (e.g., Mary Whiton Calkins, Charles Darwin, Dorothea Dix, Sigmund Freud, G. Stanley Hall, William James, Ivan Pavlov, Jean Piaget, Carl Rogers, B. F. Skinner, Margaret Floy Washburn, John B. Watson, Wilhelm Wundt).
Resources:
Introduction to Online Text
Online Text for History and Approaches PowerPoint for History and Approaches History and Approaches to print (PDF file) Online Glossary for Psychology How to Study and Take Notes Practice Multiple Choice Questions Study Stack Vocab Cards (if needed) Unit plan- contains assignments and material that will be covered. Assignments:Your list of assignments for this unit include the following items. Chose the ones you wish to complete and show me/turn in before the end of the unit.
For more information on these assignments, please refer to the unit plan you received in class. Complete flashcards Make examples on flashcards Score 8 or better on vocab quiz turn in notes for the unit complete module and unit reviews find and present article relevant to the unit Daily Activities:
The daily breakdown of what we do in class can be found below
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Welcome to AP Psychology!
Today in class you will receive all necessary paperwork, agenda, book etc. and get started
Why are you here?
I want each of you to stop and think for a minute about why you are taking this course. Write a paragraph explaining what your expectations and motivations are for this course. Please include anything I need to know about you (hobbies, sports, home situation, etc.) Reading this will help me better understand you as a student and better understand what I can do to help you be more successful.
Why are you here?
I want each of you to stop and think for a minute about why you are taking this course. Write a paragraph explaining what your expectations and motivations are for this course. Please include anything I need to know about you (hobbies, sports, home situation, etc.) Reading this will help me better understand you as a student and better understand what I can do to help you be more successful.
How does the process of memory work?
If you ever stop to think about is, it is amazing that we are able to remember all the things we do. The amount of information that flows into our mind on a daily basis is astounding, and the fact that we can remember anything is a miracle. In class today, we will discuss the "Information Processing Model" of memory. While we will cover this again when we get to the unit on cognition, I feel it is important for you to understand how it works, and hopefully will apply this knowledge to your study habits to make your like easier.
Distraction: The Mortal Enemy of Memory
As we go through life, things constantly distract us. Sometimes these distractions offer us a glimpse of something new, and are welcome. Most of the time however, distractions prevent us from encoding the information we are attempting to encode. How many times does your phone distract you when you are trying to study? every time your phone draws your attention away (even if its just to notice you got a message) you just lost some of the material you were working so hard on learning just a moment before. If you will remove distractions (yes, that means turn your phone off) you can actually cut your study time down drastically and still learn the material much better than you could in more time with teh constant distractions.
Work smarter, not harder.
Work smarter, not harder.
Where have you been?
Where have you traveled to recently? What is the coolest place you have ever been? If you could plan a trip anywhere, where would you go?
What do your answers say about you. Consider these things as we watch the video below.
What do your answers say about you. Consider these things as we watch the video below.
How do you learn?
What is learning? Why do we learn things? How do we learn them? Where do we learn? Why do we learn? These are but a few questions we will address in our introduction to the course so that you will have the tools you need to be available. As a part of this discussion we will view the following video clip of a TEDx talk by John Green. If the imbedded video does not work properly, it can be found here.
Things to consider from this talk
I want you all to think about this clip and what it means to you. After the clip, take 10-15 minutes to discuss with your neighbors and jot down your thoughts. We will discuss this when I get back to class next week.
What determines your "map of the world"?
How can you change that map?
What are learning communities?
How can you use them to your advantage?
What learning communities are you a part of?
Where are they?
How wisely do you use your time in these learning communities?
What determines your "map of the world"?
How can you change that map?
What are learning communities?
How can you use them to your advantage?
What learning communities are you a part of?
Where are they?
How wisely do you use your time in these learning communities?
What Motivates You?
Why do you do what you do? Why are you taking this class? Why are you in school? What do you want to do?
Understanding what motivates us in life can help us realize what is important to us, as well as help us reach our potential. We will discuss various motivators in peoples lives and hopefully will walk away with a better understanding of why you do the things you do.
Understanding what motivates us in life can help us realize what is important to us, as well as help us reach our potential. We will discuss various motivators in peoples lives and hopefully will walk away with a better understanding of why you do the things you do.
5 August-
Introduction to History and Approaches
Our first unit of the course will examine the History and Approaches of Psychology. This unit one in your text.
As you read, you should consider the learning objectives listed at the beginning of the modules. These objectives will drive our class discussions and can help you keep focused on what is important. You will also need to start working on your flashcards for the unit. The vocabulary List for the unit can be found at the end of the history and approaches chapter of your textbook. (page 26) You will need to make flashcards for each term.
Directions for flashcards:
For every unit in the class you will need to make a set of flashcards for the vocabulary words in the unit. The terms are listed at the end of each unit. Please follow the template below when making your flashcards. You will need to keep your cards bundled by unit for the time being, and will mix them together later during the year to help prepare for the midterm/final/AP exam.
For regular terms:
Card Design:
For People:
You will need to keep up with your flashcards through the year. We will will have cumulative tests and finals that will require you to go back to them. I have found a gallon zip top bag to be the best way to keep up with them. Keep the current stack in your bag to look at at school when you have a fer minutes, and keep teh rest at home so you have them when you need them.
As you read, you should consider the learning objectives listed at the beginning of the modules. These objectives will drive our class discussions and can help you keep focused on what is important. You will also need to start working on your flashcards for the unit. The vocabulary List for the unit can be found at the end of the history and approaches chapter of your textbook. (page 26) You will need to make flashcards for each term.
Directions for flashcards:
For every unit in the class you will need to make a set of flashcards for the vocabulary words in the unit. The terms are listed at the end of each unit. Please follow the template below when making your flashcards. You will need to keep your cards bundled by unit for the time being, and will mix them together later during the year to help prepare for the midterm/final/AP exam.
For regular terms:
Card Design:
- On the front of your flashcards write the word in the middle of the card and the unit name on the top corner
- On the back, writer the textbook definition of the word on the top half of the card
- On the bottom half of the card you will make a personal connection. You can write the definition in your own words, give an example, draw a picture of the word, etc. You will need to make the word relevant to you in some way.
For People:
- On the front of the card write the person in the top corner of the card
- Write their name in the center of the front of the card
- On the back write a sentence about the person and their main research/contribution to psychology on the top of the card
- On the bottom half of the back, write which perspective of psychology that person has.
You will need to keep up with your flashcards through the year. We will will have cumulative tests and finals that will require you to go back to them. I have found a gallon zip top bag to be the best way to keep up with them. Keep the current stack in your bag to look at at school when you have a fer minutes, and keep teh rest at home so you have them when you need them.
Powerpoint for History and Approaches
To make taking notes easier, you may chose to print the powerpoint and take notes on the pages. I recommend printing the slides 3 to a page with lines for additional notes, as can be seen to the right. However, feel free to print them however you wish.
To get the powerpoint for this unit click here. What should you be doing with the PowerPoints in help make you successful? I would take notes at home and underline/highlight material from the powerpoint I felt was important. In class when we discuss it, anything that we stress, or that you are told will be on the AP exam, circle, underline, etc. again to stress its importance. |
8 August-
Psychology's History
To begin your thoughts on the course in general, please view the following video introducing psychology and the crash course series on psychology.
Today in class we will discuss module one from the textbook. You need to have read and taken notes on this section and be ready to discuss it in class.
Philosophy or Science?
The foundations of Psychology are based in Philosophy. We will discuss how these early philosophers slowly changed the way the world looked at thought and in the late 19th century it began to develop into a science. Who were the key people involved in this transition of psychology into a science? What did they do?
Psychology's big issues and Perspectives
Once again, consider the learning objectives as you read.
Can more than one perspective be correct? Why do we need all the different perspectives?
Can more than one perspective be correct? Why do we need all the different perspectives?
9 August-
What are the different jobs available in Psychology?
Psychology is divided into sub-fields. We all have the vision of a psychologist seeing patients but it is really so much more. What types of jobs can you get in psychology?
Wrap up
A good way to ensure you have a good understanding of each unit in the book is to answer the questions at the end of each module and at the end of the unit. These questions ensure you understand the material. Discussing the questions with your classmates helps you ensure you are all on the same page and will enable you to discuss the material.
If you are getting ahead, feel free to start reading module 4 (the beginning of Unit 2 in the book)
In addition to taking notes on this unit, you should begin working on your flashcards for the unit (found on page 71)
If you are getting ahead, feel free to start reading module 4 (the beginning of Unit 2 in the book)
In addition to taking notes on this unit, you should begin working on your flashcards for the unit (found on page 71)