AP Psychology@SMHS Commons

The module provides links to practice test opportunities.

AP Test Prep Options & Opportunities   High School Test Prep: AP Psychology Choose the unit and concepts you need to study or study them all by taking the practice tests designed for AP students. (Free) College Board  KNOW before you GO! Use College Board to read and review the actual test structure, time allowances, and weight per question. (REMINDER: AP Psychology College Board Progress Checks raise grades for the particular unit because they replace 2 zeroes and add points to the unit test.)    

This first module introduces learners to the early influencers of psychological study. Who are the men and women whose questioning and investigations proved essential to the study of contemporary psychology?

What are your questions and/or your insights regarding the introductory information? Who were the significant figures in early psychology? What are the different approaches to the study and practice of psychology? How do these perspectives and approaches lead students and researchers to understand psychology?

The video and questions take you through the way psychologist learn about psychology. We begin to understand how research processes work to provide valid and reliable foundations for understanding human psychology.

How are correlational and experimental research similar? How are they different? Why do psychology researchers find themselves conducting qualitative (correlational, case study...) research rather than experimental? What are descriptive statistics? What is the correlation coefficient? Explain these terms to understand the processes taken in a scientifically valid and reliable experiment... Hypothesis Population Random Sample Representative Sample Placebo Control Group Variable Dependent Variable Independent Variable Extraneous Variable Double Blind  Bias Statistical Significance Statistical Analysis Inferential Statistics Central Tendency Range Mean Median Mode Outlier Skew Negative Skew Positive Skew Scatter Plot Standard Deviation  

This module takes you through the brain from the standpoint of structures and functions. Each video and the questions that follow provides you with the essential foundation for all other units in the study of AP Psychology. Know all about the Brain!

Psychology and physiology begin here! The brain is the key to who we are and to how we are. Because there is so much critical information in these sections of studying and understanding the structures and functions of the brain, there are multiple videos and questions. What are the four lobes of the brain and their primary functions? Explain what you understand about the three structures of the brain starting with the primitive, reptilian brain. Discuss structure, location and function of each: Cerebellum,  Pons Reticular Formation Medulla Oblongata Spinal Cord Limbic System Thalamus Hypothalamus Amygdala Hippocampus Auditory Cortex Visual Cortex Ventricles Action Potential: How are humans electric? Threshold Absolute Threshold Dendrite Soma Axon Hillock Axon Nodes of Ranvier Glial Cells Myelin Sheath Terminal Branch Terminal Buds Synapse Gateway Receptor Magnesium Sodium Potassium Neurotransmitter Central Nervous System Describe the structures and functions of the CNS. Peripheral Nervous System Describe the structures and functions of the PNS. Autonomic Nervous System Describe the structures and functions of the ANS. Sympathetic Nervous System Describe the structures and functions of the SNS. Parasympathetic Nervous System Describe the structures and functions of the PSNS.

How do we sense the world around us? How do we perceive the messages sent by our senses? Trace the process of vision from initial sensation to final perception. Trace the process of audition from initial sensation to final perception. Trace the process of touch from initial sensation to final perception. Trace the process of taste (gustation) from initial sensation to final perception. Trace the process of small (olfaction) from initial sensation to final perception.   Why do we need to understand homunculus man? Explain the processes involved in perception. What are problems with perception? What are the benefits of perception?