To what extent can we trust our own memory? Can people be entirely shaped by environmental factors beyond their control? How do psychologists draw the boundary between normal and abnormal behavior, and how valid is this boundary? Are people inherently egotistic or altruistic? How do we know the answers to these questions, and how valid are those answers?
If you ever found yourself wondering about these questions (and hoping to prove the extent of your knowledge on a high-stakes, standardized exam), then this course is made just for you. AP Psychology prepares learners interested in taking advanced Psychology and/or college-level courses and conducting research studies in psychology. In the fall semester, we will explore concepts in motivation, emotion, and personality, clinical and developmental psychology, learning, memory, and more. You will learn to understand, interpret and predict human behavior by applying theories and concepts in psychology. The year-long course culminates in the AP Exam in May and in an independent research project and defense conducted on the learners' topic of interest. Periodic performance assessments, including 2 complex projects, are designed to assess your knowledge and skills in the discipline and draw connections between psychology and everyday life.
In the spring semester, we will dive deeper into lower levels of explanation for human behavior, covering the full range of topics from the history of psychology, biological bases of behaviors and sensation and perception. What are the explanations for visual illusions? Why do we dream? What are the origins and nature of consciousness? Can your subjective experience be constructed solely from the interactions amongst your 80 million neurons? More importantly, you will learn about how scientists discover truths about human functioning through experiments and research. You will also be guided through designing, implementing, analyzing and interpreting your own study and data on a topic of your choice.
