Why Psychology?
Human thought and behavior remains a great mystery to many people. We are constantly surprised by what other people do, yet never really think about why they, or we, do things the way they do. When we truly find ourselves stumped by the behavior of ourselves or others, many people turn to psychology for the answers. Others look to psychology to answer bigger questions in society such as: Do mothers and
infants bond in the first hours after birth?
Should we trust childhood sexual
abuse memories that get “recovered” in adulthood? Are first-born
children more driven to achieve?
Does handwriting offer clues to
personality? Do my dreams really mean anything?
These questions are great for psychology because it is the science that seeks to examine how we think, fell, and act. This course will give you the tools you will need to start on your journey to exploration of the mind and maybe answer a few questions about yourself along the way.
These questions are great for psychology because it is the science that seeks to examine how we think, fell, and act. This course will give you the tools you will need to start on your journey to exploration of the mind and maybe answer a few questions about yourself along the way.
Why take AP Psychology?
See which one works for you.....
The exams are scored on a scale 1 through 5.
- I have a desperate curiosity to learn the inner workings of human behavior.
- I want to take as many AP courses as I can so my transcript makes me look really smart.
- I want to learn to pick up chicks.
- I want to learn to pick up guys.
- I want to learn how to manipulate people.
- I want to skip a course in college and save myself (really my parents) some money.
The exams are scored on a scale 1 through 5.
- A five means you say to yourself "I am psychology god and should be worshipped daily with sacrifices of small animals".
- A four means you say to yourself "I know my stuff and can manipulate people and bend them to my will.
- A three means you say to yourself " I know just enough to get a solid C in college", (the last of the non-embarrassing scores).
- If you get a 2 you will say "I could have passed if I didn't spend the night before the exam watching O.C. reruns".
- If you get a 1 you will probably say "What is sicologi?".
What is psychology?
When asked, most people will define psychology as being about exploring the mind, thought, the brain, etc. What most of them miss is the behavioral part of psychology. The modern definition of psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes. Behavior is defined as anything an organism does. all of our actions reflect the working of our minds and behaviors are often the only way we can observe what is going on in there.
Alright, so what all are we going to do in here?
There is a lot of material we will cover this year in Psychology. It is kind of like going to an all-you-can eat buffet. There are a ton of options available. This is a good thing because you are bound to find something you like. At them same time, you may find certain foods undesirable. Remember when you were a kid and your parents took you out to a buffet and when you were going through, they wanted to be sure they got their monies worth. You wanted to fill up on rolls and pasta, but they made you get everything on the line. You didn't like the brussel sprouts; TOO BAD EAT IT! those things cost 4$ a pound while the fries you really wanted are a fraction of the cost. Your sister wants to eat pizza but your parents make her get smoked salmon because it costs more. they figure pizza is cheap and by getting the salmon they are somehow beating the system. They make you get some of everything in order to be sure they got their monies worth. So, what does this have to do with Psychology? Psychology is kind of the same way in that you will spend the next eight and a half months covering the entire buffet of topics included in the course. You are going to like some of these topics more than others (like how you liked the ice cream part of the buffet better than the vegetable part) but like your parents, it is my job to be sure you get your "monies worth" out of the class. If you want to go back to the buffet so to speak and learn more on a topic feel free. We are just covering enough to introduce many of them. Just like you can go to a restaurant that specializes on a specific cuisine where as the buffet has a little of everything, there are psychology classes in college specifically geared to the different areas in psychology.
The Buffet of Psychology
Just like you and your siblings and parents disagree on what the best part of the buffet is, you and your classmates may disagree on the best part of the class. You will all have to get some from every part, but will have the opportunity to go back and get seconds from the areas you like most. Your buffet will contain the following areas for your enjoyment; History and Approaches, Research Methods, Biological Bases of Behavior, Sensation and Perception, States of Consciousness, Learning, Cognition, Motivation and Emotion, Developmental Psychology, Personality, Testing and Individual Differences, Abnormal Behavior, Treatment of Abnormal Behavior, and Social Psychology.
Get ready for a fun filled year in Psychology and remember is you start to find yourself getting bored or hating a certain part of the course, just like your least favorite part of the buffet (mine was always the stupid brussel sprouts) you can always look forward to the pizza or ice cream of the course in the next unit. Enjoy and try to remember that things discussed in this course will make an impact on everyday of your life. NOw step up to the buffet and enjoy!
Get ready for a fun filled year in Psychology and remember is you start to find yourself getting bored or hating a certain part of the course, just like your least favorite part of the buffet (mine was always the stupid brussel sprouts) you can always look forward to the pizza or ice cream of the course in the next unit. Enjoy and try to remember that things discussed in this course will make an impact on everyday of your life. NOw step up to the buffet and enjoy!