Chapter One - EXTRA CREDIT Opportunity - In about one page, critique the research methods used in the Greenwich Post article about drug use among Greenwich teens. The article can be picked up from me after class. (ACTUALLY, I misplaced the article - I'll look for some other shoddy research in the meantime)
Chapter Two - EXTRA CREDIT opportunities - go to the Myers 7e website (not 8e - just Google)- on the first page (bottom) you'll see a category called Psychquest - complete the module for Chapter 7 on drugs; or, visit Dr. Daniel Amen's site www.brainplace.com. While there, be sure to see the "atlas" and look at the brochure. Feel free to take any of the tests. Write me a paragraph about what you learned from the site.
Chapter Three - three interesting enrichment activities for you ; on the Myers site, under Psychquest, check out the "How We Choose our Mate" tutorial (goes with Chapter 18). For credit, submit the quiz and a one-paragraph reaction to the site. Or, if interested in the whole prospect of "designer children", check out www.genochoice.com/. (and write a paragraph reaction). And finally, take a test to see if you have a "he brain" or a "she brain" -http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/news/page/0,12983,937443,00.html. Again, write a reaction to for some handy extra credit.
End of First Quarter Opportunities
Chapter Four-
Complete the Identity Chart (do your best coloring, don't forget the paragraph on the back) for yet another EC opportunity.
Chapter Five - If you were interested in our class discussion of backmasking, check out the following site; how does their concept of reverse-speech compare to our backmasking definition? A little written reaction to this site would be an excellent extra credit opportunity well-taken: http://www.reversespeech.com/. If the whole controversy regarding subliminal advertising effectiveness intrigues you, consult www.subliminalworld.org. If you want to pursue the "Paul is Dead" Beatles hoax, consult www.turnmeondeadman.net. In each instance, a paragraph response is needed for extra credit.
Finally, another site of interest - www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdisneyperv.html attempts to answer once and for all why those "dirty" nearly-subliminal messages seem to occur in recent Disney animated features.
Chapter Six - 1) Try your hand at replicating the "devil's tuning fork" or other drawings. You should pick them up from me. 2) Alternatively, check out and react to this site - it is the Exploratorium's on-line exhibits. Follow in Phil's very own footsteps!! - www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!! (A paragraph review of the site would work for EC. 3) Finally, use the concept of perceptual set to explore any example on this site: www.baddesigns.com. Categories include "things that don't work the way you expect", or "different things that are too similar " (I like the tuna fish example best).
End of Second Quarter Opportunities
Chapter Eight - try dissecting the "Advanced Problems" (which are available from me) , or do the "Classical" and/or "Operant" conditioning labs on the Myers website. Download their worksheet to complete.
For easy reference, here is a copy of the original experiment assignment:
AP Psychology: Original Experiments - Formats and Due Dates, 2005 - 6
1) Progress Report – due Tuesday, March 8: 20 points
a) Format - in about 500 words, summarize your progress on your experiment thus far (truthfully). Be sure to discuss what background reading you have done, what logistical steps you have taken in terms of securing your subjects, revisions of any questionnaires, etc. Be sure to also mention what has gone well and what has gone poorly thus far, what obstacles you have encountered, etc. Conclude with an assessment of your work, both in terms of effort and quality, and account for why it has progressed as it has thus far (citing such factors as genetic laziness, intrinsic motivation, etc.)
2) First Draft - due Wednesday, April 13 50 points
a) Format - the format for the first draft and the final draft are the same, and ought to look pretty much like any lab report you have written in the past. Length should be about 4-5 pages, double-spaced, typed or word-processed if possible. A first draft is not a rough draft - it is the best possible paper you can write with all the charts, graphs, whatever that you intend for the final copy. Some suggestions follow:
Problem - a clear statement of the larger problem you are investigating, and perhaps how you became interested in it. It might also be relevant to discuss why it is important to investigate in the first place - what do you hope to learn?
Discussion of the Literature - how has the problem been investigated previously? How does your work fit in with what we already know? How is it an expansion or continuation of the same? If you are citing other work, the APA footnote form is quite simple, and goes right in the text without little raised numbers, etc. For example: (Jones, 1978, p. 12) - just author, year, pages
Hypothesis - based on previous work and good common sense, what do you expect your results to be? Your hypothesis should be a clear and specific measure of your problem.
Procedure - provide:
a) an equipment list
b) a copy of any questionnaires, charts, etc.
c) a step-by-step cookbook style discussion of exactly what you did, written either in the present or past tense. Describe fully your experimental and control conditions, when and where you performed your experiment, how your subjects were selected, etc. The ultimate test: Could someone replicate your experiment by only reading your procedure?
Results - simply, what you got. Think about the best way to present your data (charts, graphs), and what statistical measure, if any, would yield the most valid information. Do not in any way interpret why you got what you did.
Conclusion - here is the longest part of your paper, your chance to "Monday morning quarterback". Why did it come out the way it did? If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently? What questions does your research answer? What questions does it further pose? To what groups would you extend your results? Why? Remember, you are not graded on how perfectly it comes out, but on how much you learned. Contaminating variables are your friends.
Appendix - Some sort of evidence that you have thanked your subjects and informed them of your results, at least generally. For example, it could be a copy of the e-mail you sent them. Please remember to protect the anonymity of your subjects (even from me).
Bibliography - self-explanatory; consult Warriners or other style manual for style questions
3) Final Draft - TBA
a) Format - you must submit your first draft and two copies of your final draft, one to go to me and one to your critic
4) Critique - due Wednesday, TBA
a) Format - in 250-500 words, give constructive criticism to another student's work. The trick is not so much to evaluate what they did, but how clearly they have learned from what they did. Consider the design of the experiment, its execution, and the write-up. You may give grades, if you choose, but the author will read your criticism. Critics will be assigned alphabetically.
Chapter 9 - for extra credit options or just to learn more about memory, consult this site - www.fmsfonline.org/ - it features the work of Elizabeth Loftus, talks a lot about "recovered" memories, etc. For EC, write some reaction to some part of it. Or, you can investigate a VERY dense site by Dr. Gary Wells on the validity of eyewitness accounts - the videos (if you scroll down the right-hand side) are worth it - www.psychology.iastate.edu/FACULTY/gwells/homepage.htm
Chapter 10 - Thinking and Language - On Youtube, search for "Kassi and the Monster"; after viewing, write a paragraph which explains which view of language acquisition (Chomsky or Skinner) Kassi's use of language supports. Or, peruse this rather long list of sniglets and invent your own for EC: http://bertc.com/sniglets.htm
Chapter 11 - (Could be used for either third or fourth quarter EC) for extra credit, take the Mensa qualifying test, available from me; investigate either or both of these websites on EQ and give your reaction in a hefty paragraph - www.utne.com/azEQ.tmpl; http://eiq.org/'; or take a gander at this site's assessment of the SAT and other tests, and write a reaction - http://www.fairtest.org. Or, take a look at the curriculum and special projects etc. of a school in Indiana modeled after Gardner's 7 intelligences (and write a reaction - would you have liked to attend that school?) - www.ips.K12.in.us/msKey
End of Third Quarter Opportunities
Chapter 13 (Emotions) - try the Psychsim (4 or 5) for this chapter; you can download the worksheets. You get to make faces, etc. Kinda fun, not earth-shattering. How fast/well you can do it might be a test of your EQ. OR - get a couple of biodots from your teacher (little thermometers which measure your skin temp and MAYBE stress/emotional levels). Keep 24-hour log, per instruction sheet.