Blair-Broeker Psychology Classes

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Click on the book cover to go to the companion book site for your textbook. The first time you go here, you will have to register. It is an easy process.
 
At the companion book site, you will find chapter reviews, quizzes, flashcards, web links, and a variety of activities for each chapter. You will find these materials very helpful.

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Please Note:
 
In any course, exact planning is difficult. Especially near the beginning of the semester, there may be times we move more slowly or more rapidly than the schedule below indicates. I will try to provide at least a day's warning if the schedule is going to be changed.

Check it out on the Net!
Interested in a career in psychology? Click here for the American Psychological Association's divisions. Each of the over 50 divisions represents a potential career.
Click here to go to David Myers homepage.
Want to read a classic? Click here for the Classics in the History of Psychology website where you can find works by many famous psychologists, including James, Freud, and Watson.
Interested in what it's like to score Advanced Placement test essays? Here is a short piece about the essay reading that I wrote for the American Psychological Society's Observer.
Click here for the Barron's AP Psychology test review book.

                                      Chapter 9: Memory

Th 12/11 Kube due

Fr 12/12 Have read pp 343-349

Mo 12/15 Have read pp 349-354

Tu 12/16 Have read pp 354-361

We 12/17 Have read pp 361-365

Th 12/18
- Have read pp 365-371
-Quiz 9-1

Fr 12/19 Have read pp 372-382

Tu 1/6 Mnemonic Devices Assignment due. Create two original mnemonic devices to help you learn AP Psych material that you struggle with (the two devices must apply to content from two different chapters). Explain each device in a paragraph with enough detail that I can see what the "trick" is.

We 1/7 Quiz 9-2 Delayed until Thursday

Th 1/8 Chapter 9 test Delayed until Friday

Chapter 8 Learning


Fr 11/21 Have read pp 309-312

Mo 11/24 Have read pp 312-317

Tu 11/25 Have read pp 317-322

Mo 12/1 Not a bad idea to spend a little time over the Thanksgiving break reviewing previous chapters. Semester finals are a little over a month away.

Tu 12/2 Have read pp 322-329

We 12/3 Quiz 8-1

Th 12/4 Have read pp 329-334

Fr 12/5
-Have read pp 336-340

-Operant conditioning assignment due. Explain a school-related example of positive reinforcement, punishment, negative reinforcement, and omission. In each case, identify the behavior, explain the consequence (is the stimulus appetitive or aversive? does the stimulus start or stop after the behavior?), and indicate whether the behavior will occur more often or less often in the future.

Mo 12/8 Quiz 8-2 (delayed until Tuesday)

Tu 12/9 Test (delayed until Wednesday)


We 12/10. Regular assignment details provided in class. Alternative assignment: Research two drugs mentioned in chapter 7 from a minimum of two sources each. For each drug, provide a one paragraph summary about the drug and its effects (about one half page) and a one page opinion about any aspect of the drug's use or effects (about one half page). List your references for each drug. (delayed until Thursday)

Chapter 7: States of Consciousness

Mo 11/10 Have read pp 265-275

Tu 11/11 Have read pp 275-280

We 11/12 Have read pp 281-285

Th 11/13 Quiz 7-1

Fr 11/14 Have read pp 285-293

Mo 11/17 Have read pp 294-301

Tu 11/18 Have read pp 301-306

We 11/19 Quiz 7-2 CANCELLED

Th 11/20 Chapter 7 test

Chapters 5 & 6: Sensation and Perception
We 10/15 Adolescent interview due 
Th 10/16 Have read pp 193-198
Fr 10/17 Have read pp 199-203
Mo 10/20 Have read pp 203-211
Tu 10/21 Have read pp 212-218
We 10/22 Quiz 5-1
Th 10/23 Have read pp 219-228
Mo 10/27 Have read pp 231-236 
Tu 10/28
  • Quiz 5-2
  • Have read 236-243

We 10/29 Have read pp 243-247

Th 10/30 Have read pp 248-254

Fr 10/31

  • Have read pp 254-262
  • Assignment due Monocular Depth Cues

    Print or attach two pictures on 8.5x11 inch paper (standard size). Identify (drawing arrows is the easiest way) two different monocular depth cues on each picture (altogether, a minimum of four different cues must be identified). Each cue must be named and described in a sentence or two that make it clear you understand how the cue works (e.g., "Interposition--I can tell the car is closer than the tree because it partially blocks my view of the tree."). No word processing necessary on this assignment.

Print or attach two pictures on 8.5x11 inch paper (standard size). Identify (drawing arrows is the easiest way) two different monocular depth cues on each picture (altogether, a minimum of four different cues must be identified). Each cue must be named and described in a sentence or two that make it clear you understand how the cue works (e.g., "Interposition--I can tell the car is closer than the tree because it partially blocks my view of the tree."). No word processing necessary on this assignment.

Mo 11/3 Quiz 6

Tu 11/4 Sensation and Perception test

Chapter 4 Development
We 10/1
  • Have read pp 135-142
  • Brains due
Th 10/2 Have read pp 143-150
Fr 10/3 Have read pp 150-158
Mo 10/6 Have read pp 159-171
Tu 10/7 Quiz 4-1
We 10/8 Have read pp 172-182
Th 10/9 Have read pp 182-190
Fr 10/10 Quiz 4-2
Mo 10/13 Chapter 4 Test
We 10/15 Adolescence Interview due (25 points)
1. Conduct an informal interview (more like a conversation, really) with someone who is at least 65 years old. You may interview a relative, neighbor, or member of your house of worship. You may also call a nursing home to arrange to interview a resident. If you're having trouble finding someone to interview, contact me.

2. Do not tape record the conversation (it makes people nervous), but do jot a few notes as you proceed. Have some topics for questions in mind before you go in, but be flexible and allow the conversation to follow its own course. Aim for a 30 minute interview.

3. The interview should be about adolescence as it was experienced by your interview subject. You may ask about school, friendship and dating activities, family, part-time jobs, historical events (e.g., the impact of World War II or the Depression, etc.). You may also ask about your subject's opinions of today's teenagers.

4. Prepare a two page report about your interview. Rather than trying to summarize the whole conversation, restrict your paper to two or three topics that you found especially interesting. Make sure you include your opinions about each of the topics you highlight and a brief paragraph at the beginning introducing the person you interviewed.

Chapter 2: Neuroscience
We 9/17 Have read pp 57-61
Th 9/18 Have read pp 61-65
Fr 9/19 Have read pp 65-72
Mo 9/22 Quiz 2-1 (delayed until Tuesday)
Tu 9/23 Have read pp 72-76
We 9/24 Have read pp 76-85
Th 9/25 Have read pp 85-92
Fr 9/26 Quiz 2-2 (delayed until Monday)
Mo 9/29 Test (delayed until Tuesday)
We 10/1 Have brain coloring assignment completed. The five (and a half) rules:
    1. Titles in black.
    2. Subtitles (followed by a star) in gray.
    3. Name and structure in the same color.
    4. Related structures (e.g., the frontal lobe, the speech center, and the motor center) in different shades of the same color.
    5. Same color on both diagrams for any structure that appears on both.
    6. Neatness counts!

Chapter 1: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science
We 9/3 Have read pp 19-24
Th 9/4 Have read pp 24-30
Fr 9/5 Have read pp 30-37
Mo 9/8
  • Have read pp 37-41
  • Quiz 1-1
Tu 9/9 Have read pp 42-46

We 9/10

  • Have read pp 46-53
  • Assignment due (note: the assignment may be turned in for full credit on Thursday. However, if you would like it back before Monday's test, it must be turned in on Wednesday.)

    An industrial-organizational psychologist is interested in knowing whether receiving compliments make people work harder on an assembly line.

      1. Making sure you identify both the population and the sample, explain how participants should be chosen for an experiment to answer the psychologist's question.
      2. Create a hypothesis with operationalized variables that might be used.
      3. Identify the IV and DV.
      4. Label and describe the groups involved.
      5. Identify 2 potential confounding variables and explain how they could be adequately controlled.

Th 9/11 Quiz 1-2

Mo 9/15 Test delayed until Tuesday.

Prologue: The Story of Psychology

Th 8/21

  • Have read pp 1-4
  • Read syllabus. Have parent(s) read letter and syllabus and sign slip.
  • Write a 1-page introductory note. Introduce yourself. Tell me something unusual or memorable about you. This assignment should be handwritten, not word processed.

Fr 8/22 Have read pp 4-9

Mon 8/25

  • Have read pp 9-12
  • Personal information sheet due (delayed until Tuesday).

Tu 8/26 Have read pp 12-16

We 8/27 Prologue Quiz

Th 8/28 Prologue assignment due. Spend some time exploring psychology on the net by choosing one of the four options below. Then, write a short paper (minimum length 2/3 of a page; maximum length 1 page). Your paper should have two paragraphs of approximately equal length. The first should be a brief summary of the content of your choice (please include the URL). The second should be a personal opinion about the site.

  1. Listen to an episode of WNYC Radiolab at  http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/?gclid=CIvD59Odx5QCFQkmIgodpyXBkw Choose an episode that sounds interesting from the list on the right side. These episodes run for about an hour, but they are the most professionally produced of the options.
  2. Listen to an episode of Michael Britt's The Psych Files at http://www.thepsychfiles.com/  The best way to find an episode of interest to you is to use the Episode Map in the lower left corner of the main page.
  3. Listen to an episode of Chris Green's This Week in the History of Psychology podcast at: http://www.yorku.ca/christo/podcasts/  These are interviews, and some are better than others. But if you're interested in history, this is the one for you. The entry for October 2-8 is about William James and the publication of The Principles.
  4. Read two entries from Wray Herbert's We're Only Human blog at: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/onlyhuman/  Wray Herbert is a journalist who has written about fascinating psychological research for many years.

Fr 8/29 Prologue Test