Module 1:

• The scientific attitude revolves around curiosity, skepticism, and humility.

  • Curiosity: Does it work? When tested, can it be confirmed?

  • Skepticism: What do you mean? How do you know?

  • Humility: Being able to follow new ideas and be surprised.

• Science is revealing and accepting truth.

• Critical thinking is thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions but examines assumptions, appraises the sources, discerns biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

  • In other words, critical thinkers dive deeper into a multitude of thoughts and expose themselves to different perspectives. Also, it can debunk popular assumptions.

• Many of psychology’s approaches stem from historical philosophical and physiological beliefs, such as questions asking how the mind works, or how much of what we know is built in.

  • For example, philosopher Rene Descartes believed that the mind and body are separate and knowledge is innate, and wondered how the mind and body communicate. Contrary, John Locke stated that the mind is a blank slate when born, inferring his support for empiricism.

• Empiricism is the idea that what we know comes from experiences and is not innate, and that observation enables scientific knowledge.

• The first psychology laboratory was created by Wilhelm Wundt, who started it by studying how long it took someone to press a telegraph key when a ball hit the ground.

• Psychology’s first two major schools of thought were structuralism and functionalism.

  • Structuralism is the school of thought that uses introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind, as advocated for by Wundt and Titchener. Structuralism is declared as unreliable because of varying results and personal recollections are often error-bound.

  • Functionalism is the school of thought advocated for by Darwin and James, which explored how behavioral and mental processes function and enable an organism to adapt and survive. For example, the consciousness exists for one to recollect on their past and make future decisions based upon it.

• Mary Whiton Calkins was one of psychology’s first female researchers. She went to Harvard but never got her Ph.D. after finishing the courses because she was a woman. Also, she became the first president of the APA (American Psychological Association).

• Margaret Floy Washburn was the first woman to get a Ph.D. in psychology and second to be president of the APA. 

• Behaviorism is the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes. 

  • Psychologists today agree with it being an objective science, but not studying behavior without reference.

• Psychoanalytic psychology was developed by Sigmund Freud, emphasizing the ways our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our behavior.

• Humanistic psychology is a very significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential, which was developed by Rogers and Maslow.

Module 1 MCQ and FRQ:

• MCQ 1: 

  • C

• MCQ 2: 

  • B

• MCQ 3: 

  • E

• MCQ 4:

  • C

• MCQ 5:

  • C

• FRQ 1: Explain why each of the following people was significant in the history of psychology.

  • William James:

    • He was known for his ideas about functionalism and wrote the first-ever psychology textbook. Also, he mentored Calkins at Harvard even though women were not allowed to get degrees at that time period.

  • Mary Whiton Calkins:

    • She was the first woman to ever complete the requirements and courses for a Ph.D. program in psychology, but she was denied her degree because Harvard would not give her one as she was a woman. Her research heavily focused on memories and that research allowed her to become the first female president of the APA.

  • Margaret Floy Washburn:

    • She was the first woman to be able to hold a degree, as she got her Ph.D. in psychology. Also, she is known for writing The Animal Mind, which gave her enough credibility to become the second female president of the APA.

• FRQ 2: Analyze how curiosity, skepticism, and humility enable you to distinguish between gut intuition (feeling like you know something) and the scientific attitude (seeking to verify what you know with evidence).

  • Curiosity, skepticism, and humility—the pillars of critical thinking—give you the ability to pursue the facts and truth of a situation, unlike your intuition, which is what you feel may be right even though it may not be. Curiosity allows for you to raise questions about something and how it may work, giving you a basis for your research. Skepticism allows you to distinguish false claims and sources—for example, your intuition. Finally, humility allows you to have an open mind during your research and gives you the ability to accept new data and discoveries.

Module 2:

• In the 1960s, psychologists heavily focused on cognition, which is how our minds process and retain information. 

• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

  • Psychology is derived from already-established fields, such as philosophy and biology. Many of those who contributed a lot to psychology were biologists, philosophers, or physicians.

• Cognitive psychology is the study of mental processes that occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.

• Cognitive neuroscience is the study that combines cognitive psychology and neuroscience, which allows for us to study the brain activity linked to cognition (thinking, perceiving, language, etc.).

• Contemporary psychology is influenced by our understanding of biology, experience, culture, gender, and human flourishing.

• The nature-nurture debate is a controversy that has been around since ancient times over the contributions genes and experiences make to one’s behavior and traits.

  • Today, scientists state that traits and behaviors arise from the interactions of nature and nurture.

• Natural selection is Darwin’s principle that inherited traits that are more desirable allow for an organism to survive and reproduce better than organisms with less desirable traits, thereby allowing them to continue to pass the inherited, superior traits down to future generations.

• Evolutionary psychology is the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.

• Behavior genetics is the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

• Culture is the enduring behaviors, attitudes, ideas, values, and traditions shared by a group of people, spread from one generation to the next.

  • I.e., culture defines how we live and what we believe.

• Researching peoples’ genders and sexes helps to understand differences in the behaviors of males and females and prevent future conflicts and misunderstandings.

  • The underlying processes between genders are very much the same.

• Positive psychology is the study of human flourishing and the goal of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive.

• A biopsychosocial approach is an integrated approach to psychology that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints.

• Psychology has focused on theoretical propositions—behavioral, biological, cognitive, evolutionary, humanistic, psychodynamic, and social-cultural.

  • Behavioral: how we learn observable responses.

  • Biological: how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how our genes and our environment influence our individual differences.

  • Cognitive: how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.

  • Evolutionary: how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival genes.

  • Humanistic: how we achieve personal growth and self-fulfillment.

  • Psychodynamic: how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts.

  • Social-Cultural: how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures.

• Psychology and knowledge have transformed and progressed society, such as by showing that mental illnesses are not “moral failings.”

• The testing effect is enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.

  • Students can use this to better memorize notes for class.

  • To remember information, you must actively process it.

• The SQ3R is a study method incorporating 5 steps: survey, question, read, retrieve, review.

  • Survey: take a bird’s-eye view; notice objectives and topics.

  • Question: answer objectives before reading information.

  • Read: actively search for the answer to a question; absorb as much information as you can.

  • Retrieve: review by testing yourself repeatedly.

  • Review: read over notes and all the information.

• Spaced practice is studying over several study periods, as opposed to the massed practice (studying all at once).

Module 2 MCQ and FRQ:

• MCQ 1:

  • C

• MCQ 2: 

  • D

• MCQ 3: 

  • A

• MCQ 4:

  • B

• FRQ 1: At the end of this course, you will probably be taking the AP® Psychology exam. Explain how you could use the following concepts to help you succeed on that test.

  • Testing effect:

    • To achieve this, I can study by testing myself repeatedly and retrieve information in different lessons throughout the year.

  • Spaced practice:

    • I can use this concept by studying over the materials in a timely manner, not right before the AP exam.

  • SQ3R:

    • I can use this concept by looking at one unit at a time and applying the principles of SQ3R to each and every unit, as this will maximize memorization.

• FRQ 2: Six months ago, Carlos emigrated from Mexico to the United States. Although fluent in English and an honor student in Mexico, Carlos has had difficulty completing his assignments since moving to the United States. His parents don’t understand why he is not succeeding like he did in his last school. Carlos has quit participating in family traditions. . . . Explain how each of the following psychological perspectives might explain Carlos’ behavior:

  • Psychodynamic:

    • Psychodynamics is able to explain his lack of success in his new school, as this is a sense of homesickness. Carlos is unable to be able to adapt and get comfortable in a place that does not feel like his own, which is uprooted by his subconscious conflict to “leave behind” his home.

  • Cognitive:

    • Cognition is also able to explain Carlos’s inability to complete his assignments because he is in a completely different environment, which he cannot yet process. Carlos is learning how to process similar information in a new setting.

  • Social-Cultural: 

    • A social-cultural viewpoint is able to explain Carlos’s behavior when he quits participating in family traditions. This is because he might be feeling out of place in the United States and the only way to fit in is to strip himself of his Mexican heritage and conform to America’s.

Module 3:

• Psychometrics is the study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

  • They use math and number-scored tests to measure their results.

• Basic research is pure science that increases the scientific knowledge base.

• Developmental psychologists study a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout a lifespan.

  • I.e. changes from womb to tomb.

• Educational psychology is the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance learning and teaching.

• Personality psychology aims to study the individual’s characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. 

  • It attempts to investigate our persistent traits.

• Social psychology is the study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another, focusing on attitudes, aggression, prejudice, etc.

• Applied research is a form of research employed by most psychologists as an attempt to solve real-world problems.

• Industrial-organizational psychology applies psychological concepts to optimizing human behavior in the workplace.

  • They may help employers and companies hire and train employees, along with boosting morale and productivity.

• Human factors psychology deals with how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be safe to use. 

  • This is a subfield of I/O psychology.

• Counseling psychologists study a branch of psychology that is concerned with assisting peoples’ problems in school, work, or in everyday life, with the goal of achieving better personal and social functioning for clients.

• Clinical psychology is a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

  • The disorders could be mental, behavioral, or emotional.

• Psychiatrists are medical doctors who deal with psychological disorders and are legally allowed to prescribe drugs and treat physical causes of psychological disorders. 

  • They sometimes perform psychotherapy.

• Community psychologists are concerned with how people interact in their environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups. 

  • They seek to create healthy environments for all.

    • For example, to curb bullying, community psychologists may attempt to improve the culture of the school and neighborhood.

• Cognitive psychologists study human thinking with an emphasis on perception, language, attention, memory, judgment, decision-making, and more.

• Experimental psychologists study a large variety of basic behavioral processes in humans and animals, focusing on motivation, learning, perception, and language.

  • Experimental psychologists each identify with their own theoretical position of psychology.

• Forensic psychologists apply psychology to legal issues, integrating law and psychology.

  • They help to create public policies to aid mental health care, provide assessment to the legal community, and help law enforcement in criminal investigations.

• Environmental psychologists study the interaction of individuals in their natural and urban environments, with the goal of studying how we influence and are affected by these environments.

• Health psychologists are researchers and practitioners focused on correlating psychology’s contributions to promoting health and the prevention of diseases.

  • They may help people stop smoking, lose weight, and even manage pain.

• Neuropsychologists study neurological processes and behavior, treating illnesses such as Alzheimer’s or strokes. Also, they will evaluate developmental disorders, ADHD, and even psychiatric disorders.

• Rehabilitation psychologists work with people with long-term, impairing effects from a tragic event or illness. 

  • For example, they may help someone cope with immobility after a car accident.

• School psychologists assess children and their behaviors in educational settings, and have the authority to get involved if a child’s behavior threatens the mental health of others.

• Sport psychologists study psychological factors influenced, and are influenced by, sports/physical activities.

  • Some sport psychologists help athletes overcome mental health issues or addiction to restore optimal performance.

Module 3 MCQ and FRQ:

• MCQ 1: 

  • A

• MCQ 2:

  • E

• MCQ 3:

  • A

• MCQ 4:

  • E

• MCQ 5:

  • A

• MCQ 6:

  • D

• MCQ 7:

  • E

• FRQ 1: Alex, a high school junior, has been struggling recently in many areas of his life. He is overweight and spends several hours per day watching Netflix and YouTube. He is having trouble keeping up in class and says he cannot seem to maintain his focus. He also is having trouble making friends and “fitting in” at school. . . . Explain how the following applied psychologists might attempt to help Alex’s current situation.

• Health psychologists:

  • A health psychologist could help Alex by giving him exercise and workout routines to better his physical health. Also, he could be given a diet for a better appetite. By improving physical health, mental health is simultaneously improved.

• School psychologists:

  • A school psychologist could help Alex by addressing the problems he is having in class, which serves to improve his focus and concentration. The school psychologist would be able to reach out to teachers and family to get a gauge of what is going on.

• Counseling psychologists:

  • A counseling psychologist can help Alex deal with not fitting in with everyone. They could give him guidance and real-life applications to try and fit in with others.

• FRQ 2: Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti in 2016, causing a staggering loss of life and infrastructure and billions of dollars in damage. How might each of the following types of psychologists contribute to making life better in Haiti following the hurricane?

  • Clinical psychologists:

    • They can help victims of the hurricane who have developed PTSD, anxiety, or depression because of it. They can give tools and help to treat them through therapy.

  • Social psychologists:

    • They can help to mediate people’s aggressions and attitudes to each other after the hurricane. Social psychologists are able to help people move forward and focus on rebuilding each other.