Save your Peeps!

Should the Easter Bunny have gifted you any marshmallow Peeps, you might wish to hang onto them! You can use them in a few weeks for a Peep Diorama project in connection with our Social Psych unit (note: dates on this document are not updated for 2016...but will be soon)

These Peeps are demonstrating Ingroup Bias, a concept we will learn about in late-April.

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No Peeps in your household? Hit up Walgreens, Wal-Mart, or any major retail store sometime in the next couple of days. You can probably get an entire box for a quarter. And, when it comes to Social Psych Peep Dioramas, more Peeps are better. :)

What Makes Something a Psychological Disorder?

Today in class we'll begin our unit on Psychological Disorders and Treatment. The first thing we have to do, of course, is to figure out what a "psychological disorder" really is (and what it is not).

So, after you finish your brain model, I'd like you to read through this article, "Is Internet Addiction a Real Thing?" Be prepared to offer your views on the issue. In other words, decide if you think Internet Addiction should be classified as a psychological disorder.

Holy Graphs!

Today in class we'll be reviewing results from your Holy Graphs! Activity that you completed yesterday. Because it may be helpful to get a closer look at some of those charts and graphs, I'm posting them for you here.

Happy Brain Awareness Week!

Happy Brain Awareness Week!

This week we will be celebrating all things neuroscience in honor of Brain Awareness Week. Thanks to Psych Club for creating all the cool brain fact signs that are posted around the building. Special thanks to members Chloe Kofman and Brittney Webb who volunteered to post the 100+ pink "brains" last week Friday!

If you are currently in AP Psych, you'll be enjoying brain-themed review exercises this week in class.

However, everyone is welcome to join us on Friday (March 18) during Lunch B for a Brain Trivia Competition. You will need your Chromebook to participate, as you'll be answering questions in Quizizz, a review game platform. Everyone will be a winner (as there will be food... of some sort. Maybe cookies...) AND our top-scorer will take home the fabulous grand prize: The Amazing Squishy Brain!

(Look, even if you have no interest whatsoever in winning The Amazing Squishy Brain...though I can't imagine not wanting one of these...if you are currently an AP Psych student this will simply be a great way to brush up on your neuroscience in preparation for the AP Exam. So, what not give it a shot?)

Study Resources for Your Testing and Intelligence Unit Test

Below you'll find notes and vocabulary from our Intelligence and Testing unit.

Don't forget that our study session will be Tuesday, March 15th at 5:00 PM!

Some other links to help you out:

• Review this unit's learning objectives. Can you do all of these things? You will be asked to demonstrate mastery of each item on the unit test!
• Don't forget that you have a practice MC study guide (that you picked up after the quiz). Some of the folks that struggled on last unit's test had trouble specifically because they did not use this, so don't let it happen to you!
• More practice MC questions on this topic. (Note: this and other practice items you might encounter for Intelligence and Testing may not have up-to-date diagnostic language, since the DSM-5 was published in 2013, and 2015 was the first year the AP Psych exam reflected the new language. So, for example, some practice items might use the old term, "mental retardation," in place of "intellectual disability." This is not a reflection of the author's insensitivity, but merely use of an old diagnostic term that used to be part of the DSM-IV-TR. Materials I have created myself will use the new terminology, but not everyone has updated yet.)
• Crash Course Videos (embedded below)
• Video Review: Standard Deviation, Normal Curve, Percentiles, Z-scores (helpful if you're uncertain about these concepts)
• Practice FRQs (from Study Session)
• Slide Show from Study Session (will update as I add slides)

Crash Course Video: Controversy of Intelligence (Theories)



Crash Course Video: Brain v. Bias

Battle of the Brains

For the benefit of those who were out of class today, I'm posting the video we began viewing. In most of my classes, we are about halfway finished with this.

Examples & Tips for Your Personality Unit Project

Hi all!

With the deadline for your Personality Unit project approaching on Thursday, I know a lot of you will be turning your attention to that task over the next couple of days. I'm expected to field a lot of questions about this project, and that's fine. But, I thought I'd post some examples of how previous students have handled these projects so you have some ideas about how to begin your own.

Note: NEITHER of these examples is perfect, but they should give you an idea about how you might proceed with your own project.

Example: Option 1 (Note: This is a former student's project, shared with permission. I've added some comments so you can see how the person's work is using elements of strong argumentative writing while meeting the requirements of the project.)

Example: Option 2 (Also the work of a former student, edited to fit this year's requirements).

Project Resources
If you need them one more time, here are the project directions and scoring criteria:

• Project Option 1: Personality Self-Assessment
• Project Option 2: Character/Historical Figure
• Scoring Rubric (same for both options)