AP PSYCHOLOGY

CURRICULUM MAP

PREREQUISITES

AHS has established set prerequisite criteria for each AP course which must be met prior to the
start of the course. Prerequisite criteria were developed for each course in order to assess the
strengths of the students in particular subject areas, thus allowing them to advance in their
subjects of strength. In order to qualify to take AP Psychology, students must have a cumulative
GPA of at least 3.3 in previous Humanities course(s) and 3.0 or higher GPA in Biology. Students
who do not meet the prerequisite criteria for AP Psychology may submit an AP WAIVER
(ACAD001).

COURSE DESCRIPTION

AP Psychology is a challenging course that is equivalent to a college course and can possibly
earn students a college credit by scoring well on the AP Exam in May. It is a course designed “to
introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of behavior and mental processes of
human beings and other animals. Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and
phenomena associated with each of the major sub fields within psychology. They also learn
about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice.” (Advanced
Placement Course Description in Psychology) Solid reading and writing skills, along with a
willingness to devote considerable time to homework and study, are necessary to succeed.

SCORING COMPONENTS

According to the College Board’s syllabus development guide, 17 different scoring components
will be covered throughout the duration of the course:
SC1 The course provides instruction in history and approaches.
SC2 The course provides instruction in research methods used in psychological science, practice
and ethics.
SC3 The course provides instruction in biological bases of behavior.
SC4 The course provides instruction in sensation.
SC5 The course provides instruction in perception.
SC6 The course provides instruction in states of consciousness.
SC7 The course provides instruction in learning.
SC8 The course provides instruction in cognition.
SC9 The course provides instruction in motivation.
SC10 The course provides instruction in emotion.
SC11 The course provides instruction in developmental psychology.
SC12 The course provides instruction in personality.
SC13 The course provides instruction in testing and individual differences.
SC14 The course provides instruction in abnormal psychology.
SC15 The course provides instruction in treatment of psychological disorders and ethics used in
psychological practice.
SC16 The course provides instruction in social psychology.

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SC17 As relevant to each content area, the course provides instruction in empirically supported
psychological facts, research findings, terminology, and associated phenomena, perspectives, and
major figures.

PRE/POST ASSESSMENT

Students will be given an AP Psychology practice test prior to the start of class to determine the
knowledge base of individual students as well as the class as a whole. The following curriculum
schedule will be adjusted to reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the students based on the test
scores. Prior to official AP exam the students will take another practice exam to determine
overall improvement during the course.

WEEK TOPICS
Week 1 Unit 1: History and Approaches
A. Logic, Philosophy, and History of Science
B. Approaches: 1.Biological 2.Behavioral 3.Cognitive 4.Humanistic
5.Psychodynamic 6.Socio-cultural 7.Evolutionary
Essential Questions:
How do the different perspectives in psychology compare and contrast?
Who were the main figures in the evolution of psychology as a science?
Week 2 Unit 2: Research Methods
A. Experimental, Correlational, and Clinical Research
B. Statistics 1.Descriptive 2.Inferential
C. Ethics in Research
Essential Questions:
How do psychologists use the scientific method to study behavior and mental
processes?
Which methods of research are appropriate for the study of different behaviors?
How do psychologists draw appropriate conclusions about behavior from research?
How do psychologists make ethical decisions about researching behavior with human
and animal subjects?
Week 3 - 6 Unit 3 Biological Bases of Behavior
A. Physiological Techniques (e.g., imaging, surgical)
B. Neuroanatomy
C. Functional Organization of Nervous System
D. Neural Transmission
E. Endocrine System
F. Genetics
G. Evolutionary Psychology
Essential Questions:
How do biological processes relate to behavior?
How do the biological processes work to create and sustain behavior?
How does damage to a biological process or part affect behavior?

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Week 7 - 8 Unit 4: Sensation and Perception
A. Thresholds and Signal Detection Theory
B. Sensory Mechanisms
C. Attention
D. Perceptual Processes
Essential Questions:
How do the five senses receive and translate signals to the brain for processing?
How do sensation and perception differ?
How does the brain process sensory signals accurately? Inaccurately?

Week 9 - 11 Unit 5: Developmental Psychology

A. Life-Span Approach
B. Research Methods (e.g., longitudinal, cross-sectional)
C. Heredity – Environment Issues
D. Developmental Theories
E. Dimensions of Development 1.Physical 2.Cognitive 3.Social 4.Moral
F. Sex Roles and Gender Roles
Essential Question:
How do people grow and develop physically, cognitively, socially and morally
throughout the lifespan?

Week 12 - Unit 6: States of Consciousness

13 A. Sleep and Dreaming
B. Hypnosis
C. Psychoactive Drug Effects
Essential Questions:
How do psychologists define consciousness?
What happens during the sleep cycle?
How do psychoactive drugs affect behavior?
How do we know whether hypnosis is a real psychological phenomenon?

Week 14 - Unit 7: Learning

15 A. Classical Conditioning
B. Operant Conditioning
C. Cognitive Processes
D. Biological Processes
E. Social Learning
Essential Questions:
How do psychologists define learning?
How do principles of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational
learning work to create learning?

Week 16 - Unit 8 - 9: Cognition

18 A. Memory

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 B. Language
C. Thinking
D. Problem Solving and Creativity
Essential Questions:
What are the processes involved in encoding, storage, and retrieval of sensory input?
What are the various forms of memory (i.e., episodic, semantic)? Describe each.
How are heuristics and algorithms used to solve problems?
Describe the development and structure of language.
What role does language play in the thought process?

Week 19 - Unit 10: Testing and Individual Differences

20 A. Standardization and Norms
B. Reliability and Validity
C. Types of Tests
D. Ethics and Standards in Testing
E. Intelligence
Essential Questions:
How do psychologists define and study intelligence?
How do psychologists know whether a test is reliable and/or valid? Why are these
qualities of tests important?
How do testing scores differ between group and individual administrations of
intelligence tests? Between genders? Races? Socioeconomic groups?

Week 21 - Unit 12-13: Motivation and Emotion

22 A. Biological Bases
B. Theories of Motivation
C. Hunger, Thirst, Sex, and Pain
D. Social Motives
E. Theories of Emotion
F. Stress
Essential Questions:
In what ways are humans motivated to behave?
What methods of motivation are more effective than others?
How does hunger operate?
How do maladaptive eating patterns affect behavior?
What role do emotions play in behavior?
How does physical arousal and cognition affect emotions?
How does stress influence health and behavior?

Week 23 - Unit 13: Personality

24 A. Personality Theories and Approaches
B. Assessment Techniques
C. Growth and Adjustment

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 Essential Questions:
How do psychologists define and study personality?
What advantages and limitations exist for each theory’s description of personality?
How do psychologists reliably measure personality?

Week 25 - Unit 14: Abnormal Psychology

27 A. Definitions of Abnormality
B. Theories of Psychopathology
C. Diagnosis of Psychopathology
D. Types of Disorders 1.Anxiety 2.Somatoform 3.Mood 4.Schizophrenic 5.Organic
6.Personality 7.Dissociative
Essential Questions:
What are the criteria for determining and diagnosing abnormal behavior?
Describe the use of the DSM-IV.
What are the symptoms and origins of mood, personality, and dissociative disorders?
Compare and contrast various approaches (i.e., cognitive, behavioral, biological) on
the origins of depression.
Discuss the characteristics of recent research on the origins of schizophrenia.

Week 28 - Unit 15: Treatment of Psychological Disorders

29 A. Treatment Approaches 1.Psychodynamic 2.Humanistic 3.Behavioral 4.Cognitive
5.Biological
B. Modes of Therapy (i.e., individual, group)
C. Community and Preventative Approaches
Essential Questions:
What are the various approaches to the treatment of disorders?
What are the goals and methods of psychoanalysis?
What is the approach to treatment of humanist psychologists?
Synthesize the assumptions and goals of cognitive psychology.
What are the various biological treatments for psychological disorders?
Differentiate among various modes of therapy such as one-on-one, group counseling,
and family therapy.
Week 30 - Unit 15: Social Psychology
32 A. Group Dynamics
B. Attribution Processes
C. Interpersonal Perception
D. Conformity, Compliance, Obedience
E. Attitudes and Attitude Change
F. Organizational Behavior
G. Aggression/Antisocial Behavior
H. Cultural Influences
Essential Questions:
How do people explain (or attribute) the behavior of others?
How are individuals affected by groups?

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 Under what conditions do people obey, conform, make friendships, find love, and
help others?
How do attitudes and actions influence individual and group behavior?

Week 34 - Review for the AP Exam

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