All your hard work paid off!

Congrats on your AP results - they were excellent and definitely made me smile! :)

(For those of you who are actually still checking this, I'm sure you noticed the snazzy new design and other additions. I'm taking a class on blogging, so I decided to jazz up this blog instead of making a new one - it's not that I'm so bored this summer that I have nothing else to do!)

books and extra credit

*I know that it'll be tough to part with your beloved David Myers textbooks, but please do so by the end of next week. If you hand it in by Friday May 28th, I'll give you five extra term points because it saves me some time and hassle. Otherwise, I need it by the day of our scheduled final (Tuesday June 1st) or I'll have to send a hold slip to the house office.


Psychology Olympics extra credit opportunity:

For 10 extra credit points on term 4, please design a competition that we can use in the Psychology Olympics. It can be something more knowledge-based or a physical trial of some sort (but remember: people aren’t going to be wearing gym clothes, so don’t plan anything too active). Your activity should be purposeful but also fun and engaging, so be creative!
Please hand in a brief, typed write-up that explains:

--How the event will run: will it be an individual or team competition? What are the step-by-step procedures? How long will it take? How is the winner determined?

--What materials are needed

-- The goal of the activity and how it relates to psychology (thoughtfully choose and apply 3 key terms in this part)

Due by next Tuesday May 25

final project

Here's the description of the final project. E-mail me or talk to me tomorrow if you have questions.

suggestions for the rest of the year

Please write down some ideas for what to do with the rest of the year and give them to me tomorrow. Specific ideas are great but I'd also like to know what kind of content you're most intersted in (social psych? abnormal? etc.) and how you'd like to spend class time (working on projects, watching movies, doing activities, etc.). This counts for a homework grade (10 points) - due Thursday 5/13 so I can get the ball rolling!

Review sessions after school this week

I will be running review sessions after school this week on Tuesday and Thursday starting at 2:35. (I would offer Wednesday as well, but unfortunately I have a faculty meeting). Come by and stay for all OR part of it if, and bring any questions you want answered or particular sections you'd like to go over. I'll also make a couple of games (and maybe even have prizes to extrinsically motivate you!).

practice questions for ch 2 and 9

Please remember your short answer question for Monday (see the post before last).

**Model answers for each of the short answer questions below are here.

Here are more practice questions based on today's review sessions:

Chapter 2/neuropsychology: Bonnie wants to lose 10 pounds before she goes on a cruise with her husband in a few months. How might the following terms apply to Bonnie’s plan to step up her exercise and watch what she eats?
· Somatic nervous system
· Endorphins
· Hypothalmus
· Cerebellum
· Frontal lobe
· Hormones

Chapter 2/neuropsychology: Jerry is hiking when, in a very unfortunate turn of events, there’s a landslide and he’s crushed underneath a falling boulder. How might the following terms apply to Jerry’s experience and eventual recovery?
· Sensory neurons
· Autonomic nervous system
· Adrenal glands
· Amygdala
· Association areas
· Broca’s area
· Plasticity

Ch. 9/Memory: How might the following terms apply to your preparation for and lovely experience of taking the AP exam?
· Chunking
· Hippocampus
· Semantic encoding
· Spacing effect
· Implicit memory
· Explicit memory
· Recognition
Proactive interference

Practice questions

On a side note, my freshmen's conclusion that I would win on Cash Cab is based on an illusory correlation: they only take into account the questions I told them I know the answer to (confirming evidence) and ignore the fact that I've told them I definitely don't get all the questions right (disconfirming evidence). If they hypothesized that I know all the answers and then looked only for instances in which I answered correctly, then they would be guilty of confirmation bias, as we noted yesterday. Since, in silly freshman fashion, they continue to believe that I'm some kind of quiz show genius when I've told them repeatedly that I'm not, they are experiencing belief perseverance (chapter 10).

Short Answer questions for chapters 1 & 3:

Chapter 1: If our class was to conduct an experiment to analyze the impact of school start times on student performance, how might the following terms apply?
· Operational definition
· Independent variable
· Dependent variable
· Control condition
· Median
· Statistical significance
· Hindsight bias


Chapter 3: In an attempt to study the impact of nature and nurture on human behavior, two identical twin girls, Mindy and Mandy, are raised apart: one in London, and the other in Beijing. How might the following terms apply in this case?
· Heritability
· Norms
· Evolutionary psychology
· Environment
· Interaction
· Gender role
· Gender schema theory

Chapter 1 also (though the last term is from ch. 2): In a drug study to evaluate the effectiveness of a new Parkinson’s drug, how might the following terms apply?
· Operational definition
· Placebo effect
· Double-blind procedure
· Control group
· Dopamine
· Cerebellum

review assignments and due dates

Get psyched for the AP exam!

Review project requirements:
-Handout overview of key components of the chapter: please limit to 3 typed pages and include key vocab, concepts, images/charts, etc.
-Review activity for the chapter: something we’ve already done or something different, but must be interactive and engaging.
-Short answer question that presents a scenario and includes 7 terms from the chapter(s), and an answer key/model answer for the question (to be e-mailed to me for posting on the blog)

Please be clear, well-prepared, creative and enthusiastic!
Worth 100 points for term 4

Other upcoming assignments:
Create a short answer question that includes 7 key terms from a mix of all different chapters. Please type and make it look like a short answer question I would give you. Also, create a model answer for the question that correctly applies all terms to the situation you described.

Due Monday 5/3 and worth 20 points. You’ll swap with someone in class, and your answer to his/her question is due Friday 5/7.

over break

To begin reviewing for the AP exam, please analyze a film, novel, short story, poem, play, song or piece of art by describing/summarizing it and clearly and correctly applying 10 psych terms (all from different chapters). If it’s something shorter (like a poem or song), please include it, and include a picture if it’s art (and try to explain it to me, because art literacy is not one of my better intelligences).

You can use something you’ve read or seen before, but not something you've already used in this class or that we’ve looked at together (unless we just used an excerpt, like with A Beautiful Mind). I would prefer to see some original choices, since those give me ideas for the future. Please type, organize clearly and bold/underline the terms you use.

Worth 20 points for term 4 and due first class after break (Tuesday 4/26). For 5 extra term points, you may include 5 additional terms.

Ch. 18 due dates and project

We're almost done (yay!!). Please have the following pages read by the dates below:
p. 695-713 for Wednesday 4/7
p. 714-728 for Friday 4/9
p. 729-741 for Monday 4/12
Test (last one!) Thursday 4/15
Project (see below) due Friday 4/16

Social Psych Project: Portfolio of Social Psych Mini-Experiments and Observations

Each of the following pieces should be 1-2 paragraphs in length (for a total of about 2-3 double spaced typed pages). Please write in narrative form, but otherwise you may organize the pieces any way you wish.

--Part 1: Violating a social norm
Self-explanatory: do something that is not technically “wrong” or illegal, but somehow breaks the rules of expected behavior. Record the specifics (who/what/when/where/how/why) of what you did, why you chose that particular act, how people reacted (as you expected?) and any variations you performed and their results. Also consider whether the norm you violated is one that’s worth upholding, and how that may have factored into your choice to act against it.

--Part 2: Committing an act of altruism
Practice a random act of kindness that gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. As Phoebe on Friends wonders, is there such a thing as a purely altruistic act? Your job is to find one and do it! Steer clear of anything that can be explained by social exchange theory. Again, explain the specifics of what you did and the reaction(s) to it.

--Part 3: Choosing cooperation over competition, and vice-versa
Identify as many situations as you can over the course of the next week in which you had the choice to cooperate (how would you operationally define this?) versus compete with others. Keep a running tally over the next 4-7 days. In your final write-up, describe two of the situations you encountered, what you chose to do and why, and whether you would approach similar situations the same way in the future.

--Part 4: Analysis
Your conclusion: what did you learn from this project – not only about psychology, but about your own behavior? What do you think I (and David Myers!) wanted you to learn from a project like this? What’s the take-away message? How does the purpose of the project and its results reinforce psychology’s purpose and value as a science?

To make this scientific, include at least one piece of evidence/ documentation to support the pieces above. This may include data such as your cooperation vs. competition tally, a picture of you violating a social norm, etc. Also correctly apply and bold-face 5 terms from the chapter in your write-up, which may take any form.

Please include any additional analysis, thoughts or conclusions you feel are appropriate and add to the project, even if I haven’t included a specific prompt that asks for it.

This is an individual project (to discourage social loafing!!) due Friday 4/16 and worth 75 points for term 4.

baby book

Here is the baby book assignment. The due date is extended until Monday April 5th.

Please note that I made a few changes to make things a bit easier, so read carefully before you start. If you have the paper copy, numbers 17, 34, 35 and 36 are no longer required but may be turned in for extra credit if you finished them already. The numbering is a bit different in the electronic version, but the questions are essentially the same.

Also, you may have assumed this, but please write in narrative form, not in a numbered list of answers.

aging simulation

Here's the aging simulation assignment again (note that I'd like you to include 3 terms from the chapter as well):

What’s it like to get older? Aging simulation and reflection

For this assignment, you will simulate the physical process of again and reflect on the experience. Here are some ways you might mimic this (add others if they’re effective and appropriate):
-Wear an earplug in one ear (or both) to simulate hearing loss
-Don’t wear corrective lenses if you do usually, or wear an older prescription
-Put yourself on a placebo regimen of different types of candies that need to be taken on various days/at specific times of day
-Wrap your joints in ace bandages or other constraining devices

Your simulation should last from anywhere from a couple of hours to an entire day. Use good judgment as to where and how you choose to do this.

On Friday 3/26, hand in a one page typed (double spaced) description of what you did to simulate aging, where you were, how people reacted to you and how you felt and viewed the experience overall. Please include 3 key terms. Worth 20 points for term 3.

extra credit

extra credit: to earn back points on the short answers from the last test, type up responses to each short answer question that correctly apply the terms in the question to the specific scenario described (how the terms apply to the diagnosis and treatment of "Adrian" and "John"). Due by the beginning of next week (no class Monday, so by Tuesday 3/30).

Development due dates

Reading/notes:
p. 135-150 - Friday 3/19
p. 150-159 - Monday 3/22
p. 159-171 - Tuesday 3/23
p. 171-191 - Thursday 3/25

-Aging simulation reflection - Friday 3/26

-Preschool visit write-up - Tuesday 3/30 (also worth 20 points) - please type and include a brief description of what you did with the kiddies and how the activity and their behavior during it reflected their stage of development (they're 4-5 years old); please include 3 or more key terms.

-Development test - Wednesday 3/31

-Baby book due Thursday 4/1 - please include and correctly apply 5 terms from the chapter in the last piece (letter to your future self) and steer away from the obvious ones (like the name of the chapter, for example) - this piece will add 5 points to project (the rubric is out of 70)

on to chapter 4

start reading chapter 4/development

this week and next:

Reminder of due dates for the next week:

Wednesday 3/10: be ready to present your "fractured fairytale"
Friday 3/11: have chapter 17 (therapy) read by then and be ready to act out symptoms of your assigned disorder
Tuesday 3/16: test on abnormal psych and therapy

Fractured fairytale & extra credit

Please note that your group needs one visual and one prop for the fractured fairytale project, which should be all the work you'll need to do outside of class. Meet Monday in lab 322 to work on this, which will be an easy 30 points if you meet all the requirements.

(As a reminder of what I mentioned earlier: your group only needs 5 terms, not the 12 it says on the original assignment sheet, but you can certainly use more than that if they fit. Also, I can make you overhead transparencies if you need them as long as you bring me your originals sometime before class on Wednesday).

Extra credit: Diagnose a fictional character from film, tv or literature and suggest a course of treatment. (I can give you suggestions if you ask from the list we generated). Explain your diagnosis and treatment in 1-2 paragraphs and include 3 terms from the chapter (not "abnormal" or "therapy" - please be thoughtful in your choices). Due by Monday March 15th and worth 5 extra term points (or a page of the baby animals calendar).

Assignments for this week and next

Please read chapter 16 (abnormal psych) this week and chapter 17 (therapy) next. Your test on these chapters is Tuesday 3/16.

review sheet answers/extra credit

Review answers:

Crossword:
Across: 2) atherlsclerosis; 7) leptin; 12) type A; 13) GAS; 15) aerobic; 17) alarm; 18) Seyle; 19) exhaustion; 20) macrophage
Down: 1) type B; 3) healthy psychology; 4) set point; 5) stress; 6) fight or flight; 9) behavioral medicine; 10) epinephrine; 11) metabolism; 14) b lymphocytes; 16) heart disease

How healthy is your diet?
The more trues you circled, the healthier your choices are!

Types of stressors/"between a rock and a hard place" answers:
approach-avoidance, approach-approach, approach-avoidance, avoidance-avoidance, approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance (I think it's really a double approach-avoidance, but this worksheet leaves that off as a possible answer), approach-approach, avoidance-avodiance, approach-avoidance, approach-avoidance

True or false:
4 is the only false answer

Extra credit (+5 points) based on the chapter you got from Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: try out the suggestion and write a 1-2 paragraph reflection of how well it worked for you. As always, include key terms (3 or more) in your write-up.

stress & health assignments

For Thursday (our last class this week), please finish chapter 14/stress & health and complete a biodot journal; here are the requirements:
-Wear your biodot(s!!) somewhere where they actually seem to function
-For the next 3 days, note the biodot's color at any two points during the day, and record what you were doing at that time
-Analyze your results, which may include any emotions, thoughts, physical/physiological circumstances, stessors, etc. involved that may have affected the results, and tie in (and bold face) 3 terms from the chapter in your response (besides "stress" and "stressors," since those are obvious)

This is a quicky unit, so you'll have a ch. 14 test (or perhaps a "quest," since it'll be out of fewer points than usuaul because there isn't a ton of new material or terms in this chapter) next Monday (3/1)

Due after vacation

1. Your personality project is due Monday after break (see earlier post below)

2. Please read through page 351 (or further) of chapter 14/stress and health. I'll be collecting your notes for 10 points. This shouldn't be overwhelming, since you probably know some of the content already, there aren't many terms and you'll start to see some repetition of ideas from previous chapters.

3. If you want to add up to 10 extra points (!) to your last test grade, write a paragraph (or two) that applies 10 terms not already used in class to the Seinfeld episode we saw. Stay away from the names of chapters (i.e. don't use "personality," "language," etc.). The first two of you to hand this in also get this week and next's baby animals calendar postcard (extrinsic motivation!).

answers for chapter 15 practice quiz

Chapter 15 practice quiz answers:
1. B; 2. D; 3. A; 4. C; 5. B; 6. B; 7. A; 8. B; 9. B; 10. D; 11. B; 12. A; 13. C; 14. B; 15. D; 16. C; 17. B; 18. B; 19. B; 20. D
Matching: F, J, B, K, H, D, A, G, C, E, I

upcoming assignments

1. Please read the short story (either Wakefield, Cask of Amontillado or the Bet) and analyze the characters in the story from the Freudian perspective: where do you see the characters' actions driven by the id, ego and superego? How do these cause conflict? Also, indicate where you see concepts from previous chapters in the story and write a brief (1-2 sentence) explanation of how the term applies. Due Friday

2. Chapter 15 test (personality) is next Thursday 2/11

3. Due after break (but get a head start if you can, because you'll also be reading chapter 14 over break):
Trait & Social-Cognitive Theories Personality Project (Chapter 15)
Use your results from the Kinsey temperament sorter, or take the following Jung typology test online: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/Jtypes2.asp (this will give you a qualitative analysis and links to famous personalities of your type and a future career indicator).

For this project, you’ll write a brief (2-3 page) autobiography using the trait and social-cognitive perspectives of personality. Include the following 6 paragraphs:
-Introduction on the trait perspective and your individual results from one of the tests above (include four letter type and analysis)
-One trait you have that came from your dad
-One trait you have that came from your mom
-One trait you have from experience
-One trait that you consider especially defining (positively or negatively) or of particular importance to you
-Analysis and conclusion (do you think this is an accurate summary of your personality? Why/why not?)

Use specific examples as evidence in each paragraph, and incorporate 3 terms from the chapter. The point of doing this is to have you rehearse the terms, so please be thoughtful and choose terms that are not already stated in the assignment (i.e. avoid “trait” or “personality”).

Please type and double space! Also, double check when you’re done to be sure you’re fulfilling all of the requirements above. Grading will be based on clear and purposeful application of the terms and concepts from the chapter, accuracy and sophistication of your analysis, clarity and organization of writing, effort, thoughtfulness and originality.

This is due Monday after February vacation and is worth 75 points.

ch. 15 is next

We're skipping chapter 14 for now, so start reading/notes on chapter 15/personality.

review answers

Crossword answers (12 motivation and work):
Across: 3. ghrelin; 7. lateral; 13. hierarchy; 14. safety; 15. glucose; 17. resolution; 18. social; 19. task; 21. Kinsey; Down: 1. halo; 2. drive-reduction; 4. bulimia nervosa; 5. basal metabolic rate; 6. anorexia nervosa; 8. estrogen; 9. achievement; 10. excitement; 11. physiological; 12. refactory; 16. incentive; 20. PYY

True/false:
Ch 12: 1. F, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T, 5. F, 6. F, 7. F, 8. T, 9. F, 10. T
Ch 13: 1. T , 2. T, 3. F, 4. T, 5. T, 6. T, 7. T, 8. F, 9. T, 10. F

for Tuesday 1/26

In lieu of a major project on motivation and emotion (sorry, but those topics don't quite motivate me to create an amazing project), let's do this instead:

For Tuesday, find an advertisement that you can analyze using the terms in the last 2 chapters we've looked at (12 and 13). Write 1-2 paragraphs explaining how the ad links motivation and emotion (make sure the ad you choose can do this) and apply 5 terms from the chapters (be sure to have both chapters represented) in your explanation. Please type this write-up and bring the ad with you to class Tuesday.

You may choose a tv commercial if you want, in which case you can send me a link to where I can find it online. If you really honestly truly cannot find it online, and it would be just perfect for this assignment, then describe it to me as thoroughly as you can (since I may not have seen it).

A lucky selection of you will be sharing with the class briefly, so please be ready for that possibility. Hopefully, thinking about the terms and hearing how your classmates apply them will be good review.

This is worth 25 points for 3rd quarter and is due Tuesday 1/26.

**If you want to be creative (and since I don't want to crush your intrinsic motivation), you can create your own ad for a real or fictional product. Make sure it's neat and looks realistic, and that you explain the product if it's fictional. If you're really motivated and have so far beaten the senior slump, you can choose to act out a commerical. You also need to apply 5 terms from the chapters.

interesting online quizzes for motivation/emotion

Are you literate in a certain sense?? http://www.therapyinla.com/psych/psych0501.html
Are you an X or and I? http://www.danpink.com/drive.html

motivation and emotion wrap-up

on to chapter 13/emotion - please finish reading by Monday 1/25
ch 12 and 13 test will be next Thursday 1/28

motivation! and other general notes

Can I motivate you to start reading the chapter?

The first five of you who show me that you've read/taken notes on the first section of the chapter ("motivational concepts," p. 455-459) get special prizes!! This isn't required and I won't prompt you to show me if you've done it, so this truly will be an exercise in motivation in many ways (which, of course, we'll use as a segue into the next chapter).

For those of you who are checking this after class Thursday, please begin reading the chapter; we will probably be finished motivation and work by the end of next week and will also get through the following chapter (emotion) before February vacation.

ch 7 crossword answers

Chapter 7 test is tomorrow (Wednesday 1/13)!

Crossword answers:
Across: 1. paradoxical; 7. dopamine; 8. nicotine; 10. lucid dreams: 12. LSD; 13. serial; 14. spindle; 17. depressant; 18. hypnogogic; 19. barbiturates; 21. morning; 22. evening

Down: 2. age regression; 3. amphetamines; 4. opiates; 5. information processing; 9. hidden observer; 11. delta; 15. dissociation; 16. alpha; 17. daydream; 18. heroin; 20. THC

alternate assignments (if you're not doing the icekube simulation)

1. Write an argumentative essay that is for or against the legalization of a certain drug or drugs (cite info from 3 or more reliable sources for support aside from the book) - follow the usual rules of essay writing (thesis, etc.) and apply 5 terms from the chapter.

2. Find a news article or tv program on psychoactive drugs - the first is probably easier to find, but there were a few related programs on tv last week (check listings - Discovery just aired "Drug Nation" last weekend, and the History Channel was showing "Hooked: History of Illegal Drugs" last week). Write a summary and analysis/opinion piece that applies 5 terms from the chapter.

Please type and double space - worth 20 term points for term 2

next week

Due Tuesday 1/12: Ice kube reflection & sleep log with analysis (each worth 20 points)
Your analysis of your sleep log should compare your vacation ("control" week) sleep schedule to your schedule this week, noting any trends you see. Also, make an attempt to interpret one or more of dreams/dream fragments. Like with the ice kube reflection, use 5 terms from the chapter in the analysis, and include the sleep log when you hand it in.

this week

Continue with the sleep log; finish reading/notes on ch 7 for Thursday 1/7