Psychology Information

Welcome to Psychology!

I'm so happy you've landed in Psychology! I love Psychology and I am excited to be teaching it in a non-AP setting. I have a background in Sport Psychology and we will work to make our study of psychology as fun, realistic, and applicable as possible for all students.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the study of the behavioral and mental processes of human beings. Students will be exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields and perspectives within psychology. This includes, but is not limited to: the brain and how it works and communicates with the body, memory, learning, emotion, motivation, clinical psychology and performance psychology. This course will ask students to practice critical thinking skills, as well skills related to reading, writing, and evaluating. This course is designed to give students exposure to the diverse content and experiences related to the field of psychology.

This course is designed for students wishing to learn more about the field of psychology without taking an AP exam or the extended rigor of an AP course. This course is NOT designed to prepare students for the AP exam and students taking Psychology will not be allowed to register for the AP Psychology exam.

Course Expectations

Units of Study: These units are all based around the American Psychological Association's standards for high school psychology courses.

Origins of Psychology

Our first unit focuses on the origins of the field of Psychology and early practitioners. We will also examine the importance of valid research and various methods used in the field.

The Brain and the Body

Unit 2 focuses on the structures of the brain, their function, and their impact on the body. We will examine how the brain works, how our senses work, and what happens when parts of the brain are injured.

Thinking, Learning, and Memory

This unit includes an investigation as to how we learn and think. We will examine Pavlov's famous experiment and my favorite study, the Bobo Doll observational learning experiment. We will study the concept of intelligence and also look at how our brain processes language and learn why it is easier to learn a language as a child.

Developmental Psychology

Developmental Psychology looks at how our cognitive and social development changes over the lifespan, from womb to tomb. We will study the importance of the APGAR score, what parallel play is, and the influence of different parenting styles. We will also examine the concept "successful aging" and the impact of aging on the brain.

Personality

Unit 5 involves a study of the various theories about how personality develops, including Freud's various theories. We will also examine the validity of personality assessments.

Clinical Psychology

Unit 6 explores the concepts of psychological disorders and treatements for those disorders. We examine how various disorders are classified and what goes into a diagnosis. We will also examine the controversial history of treatment within psychology and the current methods that are available to help people.

Social Psychology

The study of social psychology brings us some of psychologies most famous(infamous!?) studies. Asch, Milgram, and the Stanford Prison experiment examine the perception of power and the concept of conformity. We will also explore the dynamics of groups, teams, and the bystander effect.

Motivation, Emotion, and Health

Our final unit explores the roots of motivation and how our emotions can impact our body's functions. We will study the impact of stress on the mind and body and examine ways to address stress in our lives. We will explore the concept of sport and performance psychology and how they relate to emotion and motivation management.

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