Unit 2: Cognitive Psychology (personality, archetypes; THINKING, MEMORY; cONTINUED bIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR.

WEEK FOUR

9/2-9/6 Days 16-20: Students revisit key neurobiology and localized functions when they create their own Celebrity Brain. Project requires 15 key structures/regions of the brain with drawn attributes that match their selected icon and the function of the brain structure or region. In-class time provided for this small group project. 

WEEK THREE

8/30 Day 15: Are we a product of our environment? Or, is our behavior a product of our personality? Is it possible that we conform to social norms and roles? We discuss this and look at: Dispositional versus situational influences on behavior.

Vocabulary: Social identity, dispositional versus situational

Classwork: Walking Two Worlds Documentary with question set.

8/28,8/29; Days 13-14: Reviewing the Big 5 Personality Traits, proclivities/behaviors attributable to the Big 5. Student Activity examining the personality of an animated film character.  Video to watch for a quick 5-min overview

Definition: Proclivity means a “tendency towards” or a “natural inclination”    

ex: Enthusiasm (spontaneous joy and engagement) and Assertiveness (social dominance, often verbal in nature) for Extraversion.

ex: Withdrawal (the tendency to avoid in the face of uncertainty) and Volatility (the tendency to become irritable and upset when things go wrong) for Neuroticism.

8/27; Day 12: Unit 2 Introduction to Personality. The archetypes in Pinocchio. Student Activity taking the Big 5 Personality Test and analyzing the results. You are who you are, and you are who you could be!  Discussing fake personas vs authentic identities. 

It is crucially important to understand yourself and other people so that you can better cope with the diversity of opinion and viewpoint that makes up the personal, familial and social world.

8/26; Day 11: Unit 1 Quiz. Canvas has all necessary documents including the study guide (which is linked above)

Why so much writing? No one ever tells students why they should write something.  "Well, you have to do this assignment…get this grade..." No!  You need to learn to think. Thinking allows you to act effectively in this world. Writing allows you to think and it allows us to mimic the exams you'll take part in.