Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt Sigmund Freud B.F. Skinner and unidentified friend Mary Cover Jones Ivan Pavlov

Note: never give out your full name or your email address on any Internet sites.

9-07: Introduction to Psychology class. Take online personality test: LINK. "Enduring issues" in psychology.

9-11: Build a brain! Parts of the brain.

9-13: Brain hemisphere dominance test: LINK.

9-15: Parts of the eye; rods versus cones; visual acuity; color blindness. In-class/homework assignment links: Perception Deception & Other Optical Illusions; Colorblind test Homework assignment: UFOs over Sydney, Australia.

9-19: Vision, continued: seeing the veins in our eyes, binocular vision, receptor cell fatigue. Hearing: inner ear. Balance: vestibular organ.

9-21: Experiments with the senses of taste and smell; the importance of touch. Homework assignment: textbook: the importance of touch and infants

9-23: Sense and perception. Characteristics of sensation. Sensory thresholds.

9-27: Theories and theorists: Wundt; James; Freud; Skinner.

9-29: Gestalt Psychology. Questions 1-7: Here, Questions 8-10: Here, Questions 11-14: Here. For fun: Here.

10-03: Human genetics: nature vs. nurture. Heredity and genes. In-class assignment: genetics and behavior.

10-05: Gender differences and psychology: gender, gender stereotypes, and gender roles.

10-07: No class: Teacher in-service day.

10-11: Introduction to applying the scientific method to psychology. Discuss scenarios.

10-14: Research methods: naturalistic observations, case studies, survey research, experimental research. Practice experiments in the gym.

10-18: Practice experiments to gather data. Students begin their own experiment. Assignment: formal experiment presentation, include question, hypothesis, methodology, expected outcome with explanations, and identify the independent variable.

10-20: Introduction to classical conditioning.

10-24: Introduction to operant conditioning. In-class assignment: Links: 1st Link Alien shoot-'em-up game; 2nd link: Train the chicken game 3rd link: Freaky little bird.

10-26: Test game for mid-term

10-28: Operant learning, part 2. Begin building rat mazes.

11-01: Mid-term

11-03: Finish experiments

11-08: Work on mazes.

11-14: Finish mazes. Get ready for the rats!

11-16: Types of punishers (operant conditioners). Familiarize yourselves with the rats, and vice versa. Skinner Box assignment.

11-18: School closed: snow

11-22: School closed: snow (sigh)

11-30: Complete rat maze project. Last day with the rats!

12-02: Understanding superstitious behavior. In-class assignment: "Learned helplessness."

12-06: Introduction to Memory: sensory register, "cocktail-party phenomenon," attention, short-term memory; rehearsal; "clunking."

12-08: Long-term memory; forgetting; Interactive Internet Exercises here: Part 1, Part 2, 'Memory Game.'

12-12: Long-term memory continued. Causes of memory loss.

12-14: Brain Rules. Discuss findings in class.

12-16: Introduction to consciousness. Begin movie: The Brain, Our Universe Within

01-04: Continue study of consciousness: types of consciousness. Finish movie: BBC Horizons: The Secret You. Assignment: "Understanding Consciousness."

01-06: The Circadian Cycle; the five stages of sleep; sleep disorders explored; dreams.

01-10: Altered-state of consciousness, continued: sensory deprivation; meditation; hypnosis; drug-altered. Examine addiction and the signs of addiction. The Dog addicted to sucking toads: LINK. Begin research assignment: drugs and addiction. .

01-12: Research assignment: Study on an illegal drug -- effects, motives for using, and how it interacts with the body. Handwritten!

01-17: Test game for final exam!

01-19: Introduction to the psychology of language. Terms: phonetic, phoneme, morpheme. Project: create a written language that is not based on English, does not use an alphabet, and has a coherent syntax.

01-23: Final exam. Afterwards continue on your language construction (due 1-30)

01-25: Structure of language: surface vs. deep. Language acquisition in children with worksheet.

01-30: How sign language words. Plains Indian sign language assignment: LINK.TPlain's Indian Sign Language; Feral Children. In-class assignment on feral children and language development.

2-03: Mental Rotation Exercise: Link. [First try the 'easy' setting and then the 'med' setting. Record your scores] How are mind manages images. Homework: handout.

2-07: Gendered words: how does this effect people psychologically? Discussion.

2-09: Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Vocabulary and Perception. Comparing colors by color sets.

2-13: Defining intelligence. Two theories about intelligence: Triarchic Theory; Howard Gardner.

2-15: Link for IQ test. How to measure intelligence. Use and criticism of intelligence tests. Take an intelligence test.

2-17: Criticism/correlations of intelligence tests. Factors of intelligence. Gender differences in intelligence.

2-22: Learning Styles. Take test: link. In-class assignment: Personal Learning Styles.

2-24: Kinesthetic learning-style lesson project.

2-28: Present projects

3-01: Cognitive impairment, part 1 -- The reality and perception of cognitive impairment. In-class assignment: AAMR worksheet

3-05: Cognitive impairment, part 2 -- Causes and levels of cognitive impairment. Analyzing characteristics and determining levels of care per case studies.

3-07: Introduction to Autism. Autism test: Link In-class assignment: Fever and Autism.

3-09: Autistic Savant. Movie: Autism is a World. Homework: Autistic Savants.

3-13: Down Syndrome. Divide and conquer: works in pairs and make presentations to the class.

3-15: Introduction to Motivation. Play the "Who dun it" game. Motive; Emotion; Instinct: Drive; Incentive.

3-19: Social motives vs. Primary motives. Culture and Aggression. Homework: Primary drives.

3-21: Test Game

3-23: Emotions, continued: Plutchik's Model: Make in class.

3-27: Mid-term

3-29: Introduction to personality. Erik Erikson, Eight Stages of Personality Development.

4-10: Trait Theory: Eysenck's Model of Personality & the Big Five Traits. Link: Big 5

4-12: Freud's Psychoanalytic theory: link; link; link. And if you finish your assignment: link; link.

4-14: Erik Erikson's Eight Stages of Development.

4-16: Freud versus Erikson, a review and comparison .

4-18: Karen Horney and Neo-Fruedian theory.

4-20: Abraham Maslow and the Hierarchy of Need.

4-24: Personality assessments: interview, direct observation, objective tests, projective tests. Rorschach tests and thematic apperception tests.

4-26: Begin psychological disorder presentation project. Link.

4-30: Types of psychological disorders: Mood disorders; Anxiety disorders. Work on project.

5-02: Work on project entire period.

5-04: Types of psychological disorders: somatoform disorders.

5-08: Placebos. Work on project. Homework assignment: Why do patients have positive outcomes with placebo use?

5-10: Types of psychological disorders: dissociative disorders. Continue working on project.

5-14: Types of psychological disorders: personality disorders. Begin presentations.

5-16: Gender differences in mental disorders. Continue presentations. Homework: Perth Girls Get Life For Murder

5-18: Introduction to Social Psychology: Schema; Stereotypes. Link 1; Link 2.

5-22: Debate topics: Pick a side!

5-24: Attribution Theory and self-fulfilling prophecies.

5-29: Interpersonal Attraction: proximity, similarity, physical attractiveness, exchange, intimacy. Assignment: Interpersonal attraction and the internet.

5-31: Test game

6-04: The psychology of Advertising: LINK Begin advertising project

6-06: Final

6-08: The psychology of grocery stores and shopping. Continue and finish advertising project.

6-12: Present advertising projects.

5-20:

5-24:

5-26: Continue on project

5-28: Continue on project

6-02: Test Game

6-04: Continue on project

6-08: Final

6-10: Projects due.

personality assessment.

MAY

The Stanford Prison Experiment here.

JUNE