Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Agenda: Week of Mon-Fri January 21-25, 2013


Advanced Placement Psychology
Unit 1 - History & Evolution of Psychology -and- Research Methods
Week at a Glance:
MON- MLK DAY
TUE- Research Methods
WED/THU- Test Unit 1; Article "Nature vs. Nurture"
FRI- Socratic Discussion - Nature vs. Nurture Article

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Monday January 21, 2013 - No School MLK Day
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction ... The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." Martin Luther King, Jr. from Strength To Love, 1963.





What is Psychology? Psychology in the Past? Approaches to Psych today.
Research: The Scientific Method, Design, Processing, and Ethical Issues.
If You Learn Only 10 Things for the AP Test....
1. Wilhelm Wundt is credited with being the founder of modern experimental psychology when he founded a lab at the University of Leipzig Germany in 1879.
2. Tichener, Watson, James, and Skinner are all important early psychologists.
3. Understanding the differences between the various approaches or perspectives - behavioral, biological, cognitive, humanistic, psychoanalytic, & sociocultural - is the key to understanding psychology.
4. The modern definition of psychology combines the scientific study of behavior and mental processes in humans and other animals.
5. Observation is the most important aspect of psychological research.
6. Operationalism means to define our variables in the manner in which we are going to measure them.
7. Correlation measures degree of relationship between variables and ranges from -1 to +1. Correlation does NOT imply causation.
8. Experimental, correlational, & descriptive methods all have strengths & weaknesses in describing human behavior.
9. Descriptive statistics describe the data gathered in research, while inferential statistics allow us to draw conclusions about how this data can be generalized to a larger population.
10. Following ethical principles is vitally important in any kind of psychological research.
1. What is psychology? 
2. How does psychology impact my every day life?
3. How did psychology evolve as a science?
4. Compare and contrast the various types of approaches of psychology?
5. Explain the nature of psychology as an empirical science. How do psychologists determine results?
6. Imagine the implications of a poor psychological experiment that fails to follow ethical principles. What are the ramifications?

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Quote of the Day: "I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self." - Martin Luther

Agenda:
1. Do Now QuestionImagine the implications of a poor psychological experiment that fails to follow ethical principles. What are the ramifications?
2. Notes, Video, Discussion & PskTrek 3 QuizUnit 1 - Research Methods
3. Review: Example of psychological experimentation and how the science relates to every day life - The Science of Attraction. Can you name the parts of these experiments (variables, control groups, etc.)? Where did the science behind the videos work well and where did it go wrong?
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Wednesday & Thursday January 23 & 24, 2013
Quote of the Day: "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei

Agenda:
1. Test - Unit 1 - History & Evolution of Psychology; Research Methods.
2. Pick up article "Nature vs. Nurture" after the test. Read and annotate the article. It is due on Friday and we'll participate in a Socratic discussion regarding the article.
True dat.
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Friday, January 25th, 2013
Quote of the Day: “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Agenda:
1. Article "Nature vs. Nurture" is due having read and annotate the article. We'll participate in a Socratic discussion regarding the article for the remainder of the period.
2. If any time remains we will discuss Unit 2 - "Biological Bases of Behavior."