AP Psychology Summer Work
Our summer work will attempt to complete the third unit listed in the AP curriculum - "Biological Bases of Behavior." Below is a description of what students will need to know upon completion of this unit according to the AP Central website. I have created a series of learning modules to be completed over the summer to meet most of these requirements. As this is a one semester course it is essential that this unit be completed by students prior to class beginning as we will be very pressed for time. The completed work must be turned in by Tuesday September 9, 2014 for students taking the course in the fall semester and the first week of class for students taking the course in the spring.
Two Introductory Videos:
Learning Objectives
From: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-psychology-course-description.pdf
An effective introduction to the relationship between physiological processes and behavior — including the influence of neural function, the nervous system and the brain, and genetic contributions to behavior — is an important element in the AP course .
AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:
• Identify basic processes and systems in the biological bases of behavior, including parts of the neuron and the process of transmission of a signal between neurons .
• Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e .g ., reuptake mechanisms, agonists, antagonists) .
• Discuss the effect of the endocrine system on behavior
• Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions:
— central and peripheral nervous systems;
— major brain regions, lobes, and cortical areas;
— brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization .
• Discuss the role of neuroplasticity in traumatic brain injury .
• Recount historic and contemporary research strategies and technologies that support research (e .g ., case studies, split-brain research, imaging techniques) .
• Discuss psychology’s abiding interest in how heredity, environment, and evolution work together to shape behavior .
• Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value .
• Identify key contributors (e .g ., Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael Gazzaniga, Roger Sperry, Carl Wernicke)
An effective introduction to the relationship between physiological processes and behavior — including the influence of neural function, the nervous system and the brain, and genetic contributions to behavior — is an important element in the AP course .
AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:
• Identify basic processes and systems in the biological bases of behavior, including parts of the neuron and the process of transmission of a signal between neurons .
• Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e .g ., reuptake mechanisms, agonists, antagonists) .
• Discuss the effect of the endocrine system on behavior
• Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions:
— central and peripheral nervous systems;
— major brain regions, lobes, and cortical areas;
— brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization .
• Discuss the role of neuroplasticity in traumatic brain injury .
• Recount historic and contemporary research strategies and technologies that support research (e .g ., case studies, split-brain research, imaging techniques) .
• Discuss psychology’s abiding interest in how heredity, environment, and evolution work together to shape behavior .
• Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value .
• Identify key contributors (e .g ., Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael Gazzaniga, Roger Sperry, Carl Wernicke)