AP Psychology
Welcome to AP Psychology! http://sites.google.com/site/MrsNemec Questions? Email Mrs. Nemec at
[email protected]
Congratulations on selecting AP Psychology as one of your courses of study for next year!
This will be a challenging yet rewarding year, so preparing early will be helpful. Listed on the following pages is your required summer assignment. The assignment will be collected on the first Friday of school and additional assignments and discussions, on the required selections, will follow in the first weeks of school.
Total points for 3 part summer assignment: 100 points DO NOT leave this assignment to the last day of summer. Plan ahead so you will be sure to have the assignment completed. We look forward to seeing you in August. Until then, have a great summer and happy reading!
Directions for this project can also be found on Mrs. Nemec Website listed above. Reading selections from the textbook can be found on Mrs. Nemec’s website as well, under AP Psychology Summer Assignment. You may choose to purchase a new or used book for your assignment and to use throughout the school year, but it is not necessary. The following is the text we will use for the summer assignment and school year if you choose to find a used copy for your personal use. (Every student will receive a textbook for use during the school year.) 1. Myers, David G. Myer’s Psychology for AP. 2nd Ed. 2014
AP Psychology Part 1: Read Unit 7A—Cognition: Memory from your textbook and create an outline. (50 points) For best results, read the selection in the following fashion:
Step 1: Read all headings, pictures and captions. st Step 2: Read all headings and the 1 paragraph under each. Step 3: Read the entire selection (no notes). Step 4: Skim selection and create outline.
Creating your outline (finished product should be an outline with highlighted headings – follow directions below): If you are right handed, set up your paper like this:
Outline here
If you are left handed, set up your paper like this:
This blank space will be notes we take in class.
Outline in following format: I. Title of Selection (Cognition: Memory) a. Selection summary (COMPLETE LAST – should be a summary of all your summary sentences) II. First bold heading (Phenomenon of Memory) a. Summary sentence (complete after reading to next heading) b. Key Facts (Vocabulary, People, Theories, bulleted) III. Second bold heading (Information Processing) a. Summary sentence (complete after reading to next purple heading)
This blank space will be notes we take in class.
Outline here
b. Key Facts Third Heading (Encoding: Getting Information In) a. Summary (if there is no information before the next heading, move to next title) b. Key Facts V. Fourth Heading (How We Encode) a. Summary b. Key Facts VI. Fifth Heading (Automatic Processing) a. Summary b. Key Facts …. Keep going until you are done! IV.
AP Psychology Step 2: Free Response Question (25 points) On the AP test you will be required to answer three FRQs. Please answer the following questions using the rubric as a guide. Please handwrite your response on a sheet of notebook paper. The length should be no more than 1 college ruled notebook paper, front and back. We will practice this type of writing all year long! FREE RESPONSE QUESTION A good friend, unhappy over his low grades in Spanish class, has asked you for advice about how to improve his memory. Explain how human memories are processed. Include specific recommendations for improving memory.
Rubric for Free Response This is 10 point question. (You will receive 15 simply for attempting, plus the score based on this rubric.) 1 point – Description of encoding as the stage where information gets into the brain 3 points – Identifying the three stages of memory storage: sensory storage, short-term/working memory, and long-term memory 1 point – Discussing retrieval as the process of getting information back out of memory Up to 4 points – Explanations of encoding strategies discussed in the text (ex. effective use of rehearsal, chunking, the spacing effect, the serial positioning effect, levels of encoding: visual, acoustic, mnemonics) 1 point – Explanations of retrieval strategies discussed in the text (ex. Effective use of priming, retrieval cues, or mood congruence) (You will need to explain how the theories and strategies apply to your “friend”. Simply listing what all of these things are in full sentences will not suffice.)
AP Psychology Step 3: You Pick Reading! (25 points) Select at least one reading to enhance your prior knowledge of psychology or to enjoy a psychologically based novel! Look up reviews of these texts and select one that is of most interest to you. You may visit your local library which will offer many of these selections, or purchase used online for your own personal copy. After reading, write a review of the novel. The review should be one page in length (hand written) and include: a brief summary of the novel (2-3 sentences),and a discussion of the application of this novel in daily life (how might this help or hinder a reader to see the world differently, to understand differences, to cope with their own struggles in daily life, etc. – use examples from the text to support your opinion to receive full credit)
1. Hock, Roger R. Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research. 5th. Ed. 2005. (Research- All topics) 2. Sack, Oliver. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. April 2, 1998. (Neuroscience, Schizophrenia) 3. Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon. 2004. (Learning, Intelligence) 4. Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. 2004. (Autism) 5. Navarro, Joe. What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People. 2008. (Social) 6. Sternberg, Robert J. Career Paths in Psychology: Where Your Degree Can Take You. 2006. (Careers in Psych) 7. Johnson, Spencer. Who Moved My Cheese?: An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life. 1998. (Motivation, Coping Skills) 8. Keyes, Daniel. The Minds of Billy Milligan. (Multiple Personalities) 9. Akeret, Robert U. Tales from a Traveling Couch. (Abnormal, Psychotherapy) 10. Vizzini, Ned. It’s Kind of a Funny Story. (Depression, Teen Pressures) 11. Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. (Abnormal, Psychological health) 12. Kramer, Peter D. Listening to Prozac. (Neuroscience) 13. Sizemore, Chris & Pittillo, Elen. I’m Eve. (Dissociative Identity Disorder, Abnormal) 14. Green, Hannah. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. (Teen depression, Psychiatric hospital) 15. Gauch, Patricia. Friday’s. (Adolescence, Social Pressures) 16. Heller, Joseph. Catch 22. (WWII, Fiction, Social Psych) 17. Duke, Patty. Brilliant Madness. (Bipolar, Abnormal) 18. Greenfield, Josh. A Child Called Noah: A Family Journey. (Neuroscience) 19. Nasar, Sylvia. A Beautiful Mind. (Schizophrenia) 20. Kaysen, Susan. Girl Interrupted. (Depression, Abnormal)
FINISHED PRODUCT DUE 1st FRIDAY OF SCHOOL YEAR!
