AP Psychology Summer Assignment Name:

Rationale: The aim of this AP course is to provide students with a learning experience equivalent to that

obtained in most college introductory psychology courses, thus this course is rigorous and fast paced.

Independent readings and coursework are required components to this class. Advanced Placement students

are expected to be serious and committed to the demands of such a course. The summer assignment will allow

students to work with the course textbook, get a jump start on synthesizing content, and will provide us with the

opportunity to start learning on day 1.

Directions: Please use the reading from the Meyers text and included articles to thoroughly complete the

following tasks. Because research has shown that handwriting over typing promotes better comprehension and

long term retention, all work must be neatly written in your own hand. Collaborative discussion is not

discouraged, however all written work must be unique to you. Assignments are due on the FIRST day of class

and are a great indication of your seriousness in our pursuit of Advanced Placement Psychology. We will

collect this assignment however you will need it for your notes. PLEASE MAKE A PHOTOCOPY FOR

YOURSELF BEFORE YOU SUBMIT THIS WORK. This is a 40 point summative assessment.

Read through Module 1 of the text (pages 2-7). Complete the questions.

Philosophy of Socrates & Plato Philosophy of Aristotle

Which philosopher do you agree with? Why?

Which person did Descartes agree with? How so?

Describe John Locke’s tabula rasa.

Define EMPIRICISM.

The founder of the psychological school of Behaviorism, John Watson, once said “Give me a dozen

healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take

any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist,

merchant, and yes, even beggarman and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities,

vocations, and race of his ancestors.” Do you think that Locke would agree with Watson’s

assessment? Why or why not?

Psychological Science is Born.

Explain why Wilhelm Wundt is considered the father of psychology.

Define STRUCTURALISM.

Define INTROSPECTION.

Structuralists sought to identify what the mind and consciousness were.

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” – William James

Define FUNCTIONALISM.

Define EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS.

Functionalists sought to identify how the mind and consciousness worked.

Thinking question: Why could it be said that psychology has a long past, but its real history is relatively short?

Complete the chart below.

Based on your own life experiences, identity two specific examples of times your parents (or bosses, teachers or coaches) reinforced your positive behavior by REWARDING you. Identify what the reward was and what you did to earn it. 1.) 2.)

Based on your own life experiences, identify two specific examples of times your parents (or bosses, teachers, coaches, or other people) tried to stop a behavior they perceived as negative by either PUNISHING you or taking away something you liked. You don’t have to spill the beans about what you did, but you do have to include the punishment. 1.) 2.)

Read page 6. Identify the major beliefs of the School of Behaviorism. Who were the two major founders of

Behaviorism?

Explain the meme to the right. Identify the

person, her relationship to functionalism,

and her achievements.

William James – founder of

functionalism, author of Principles

of Psychology, developed the

James-Lange theory of emotion.

Complete the chart below.

Think about your childhood (roughly age 2 – 12). Identify 3 significant events that took place in your life during this time period and reflect on HOW those events impacted you. Really think about this. (Be introspective!) Your responses should not be superficial. (Ask your parents for help if necessary.) 1.) 2.) 3.)

Identify the major beliefs of Freudian psychology (aka – the Psychodynamic approach) on page 6.

Complete the chart below.

Have you ever engaged in a random act of kindess? If not – go do it. Seriously. Perform an act of kindness by the end of the summer. (If you are struggling thinking about what to do, go online and look up examples.) Report on:

1.) What you did:

2.) The response you received:

3.) How engaging in the act made you feel.

**While it is probably 100% possible for you to lie about this and/or make something up, don’t be that kid. Just do something nice for someone and see how it makes you feel. This does not need to be some epic, grand action. Something small, but meaningful will do. #Kindness #Psychology #Humanism #Happiness Identify the major beliefs of Humanism. Include the major contributors.

Humanists believe people are essentially good. They see the glass as being half full.

“Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried

alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” - Freud

Complete the chart below.

Think about traits you’ve inherited from your parents. Identify:

1.) Two physical traits you inherited from mom or dad:

2.) Two personality traits you think you got from mom or dad:

3.) One psychological or behavioral trait you may have inherited.

List all the neurotransmitters that you know of (off the top of your head – no cheating – I won’t judge you.)

On page 12, explain the BIOLOGICAL perspective. Include a question that this perspective may explore.

Complete the chart below.

Let’s engage in some COGNITION. Think about a topic that you disagree with your parents or friends about. It might be politics, religion, fads, music, school, etc. Identify the topic: What do you believe? Why do you believe what you do? Why do they believe what they do?

Read through pages 7 and 12-13 to explain the COGNITIVE APPROACH.

Fill in the chart below.

What is the focus of the EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH? What is a question it might examine? What is the focus of the SOCIO-CULTURAL APPROACH? What is a question it might examine?

The Case Against Humanistic Psychology – Read the article below, reflect on it, and answer the provided

questions.

Stand firm: Resisting the self-improvement craze -ABC News Health and Wellbeing By: Mira Adler-Gillies; May 22, 2017

Sigmund Freud once told us that the best any of us could hope for is ordinary unhappiness.

These days, positive thinking, personal growth and the relentless pursuit of happiness are pretty much moral

imperatives. And there's no shortage of "experts" producing blogs, podcasts and books that promise to help you on

your journey.

But a counter-culture is emerging.

Svend Brinkmann, a Danish psychology professor and leader of the anti-self-help movement, says it's time to reject the

self-improvement ideology, refuse the cult of positive thinking and stand firm. "We are only allowed to be positive, we

are only allowed to be happy and anything that threatens these states of mind is considered wrong."

All that is painful, all that feels overwhelming and unbearable — whether domestically, socially, even politically and

culturally — must therefore be repressed, he argues. In a culture of mandated positivity, if we are unhappy we only

have ourselves to blame.

"People's problems are explained with reference to the fact that they weren't positive enough," Professor Brinkmann

said. "It is the individual who is to blame for what happens even when the cause of the problem is social or structural

or organizational."

Not allowed to stand still

But there's a paradox. While positive psychology has become more broadly accepted, rates of depression continue to

rise.

Professor Brinkmann makes sense of this contradiction by arguing that we need to reflect on societal development and

the frenetic pace of change that defines contemporary life.

"We change our jobs, our partners, where we live, much more frequently than we used to. So we are not allowed to put

down roots. We are not allowed to stand still at any time."

"We should always be on the move and we should be responsible, individually, for our personal development, the

development of our competencies and the realization of our inner potential."

According to Professor Brinkmann, this relentless pursuit is weighing us down. "People become exhausted and we

know this kind of mental exhaustion is a key factor in many cases of depression."

And yet, despite the seeming impossibility of permanent happiness and fulfillment, self-help and self-development

remain hugely popular. There is very clearly a need — something is being sought. Whether the answer is to be found in

a juice cleanse or in Stoic philosophy, the ongoing success of the self-help industry reveals the anxiety and instability

that characterizes modern life.

"Many people are simply looking for a quick fix solution and these self-help books really promise a quick fast easy

solution to problems, which I think is illusory."

"But the other problem, which is actually deeper, is about a fundamental lack of meaning in life. The self-help books

promise to orient the individual toward something that is meaningful."

"The problem is that what is meaningful, according to the self-help industry, is always what is within the individual; so

the person to must look within themselves, listen to their inner voice, find meaning within.

This whole inward turn, Professor Brinkmann argues, is only making us more unhappy:

"So many studies have shown that meaning is found in our relationships, with others, with the world, with society, with

nature — with something beyond ourselves."

Self-development, however, was not always such a profoundly oppressive pursuit. In the 1960s self-actualization was

about liberation, it emerged as a reaction to rigid social structures. Severed from its revolutionary origins, Professor

Brinkmann argues, self-development has been co-opted by a happiness industry that tells us our ordinary misery is

unacceptable and promises us fulfilment through self-growth.

"It is exactly what society wants you to do. It is exactly what consumer society wants you to do: to be constantly on the

move, constantly adaptable, flexible and changing all the time, to put it simply, so they can sell you new products; you

should never be content, you should never be satisfied, you should always look for more."

"This is the new guise of the self-realization ideology and it is no longer helping us."

"Perhaps we even need to go back to some of the virtues that were lost in the much needed counter-culture that

emerged in the 1960s."

To counter a self-help industry that makes constant demands on consumers — through affirmations such as, "I choose

to be present in all I do", "I am the architect of my life; I build its foundation and choose its contents", "I choose my

choice" — Professor Brinkmann offers a handy seven-step manual.

A dose of negativity

Professor Brinkmann's anti-self-help guide promises liberation through a dose of refreshing negativity based on Roman

Stoic thought.

He argues for a return to civic virtues, duties and ethical obligations.

"Roman Stoics were the self-help authors of their day ... it's more important to be a decent human being than to be

yourself all the time, to fulfil your obligations," he said. "We need a language with which to talk about those aspects of

life and I don't think the whole self-improvement/self-optimization/self-development language is adequate."

Questions:

1.) What do you consider to be the pros and cons of Humanistic or positive psychology?

Pros/Benefits Cons/Drawbacks

2.) Respond to the article. Do you agree with Svend Brinkmann’s approach to resisting the self-help craze and positive

psychology? Why or why not?

3.) Go to Youtube and watch a TED talk. You have two options (you may watch both if you’d like). Your options are

‘The New Era of Positive Psychology’ given by Martin Seligman (23 minutes) or ‘The Surprising Science of

Happiness’ given by Dan Gilbert (21 minutes). Seligman is exceptionally well known in the field of positive

psychology. Gilbert provides insight about factors of happiness.

Given the TED talk(s), how do you think Seligman or Gilbert would respond to Brinkman? Elaborate.

While watching the TED talk video, complete the chart below. Ted Talk Watched _________________________

Include at least 5 pieces of information or theory

provided by the speaker. How did the information a.) reinforce what you

already knew about happiness b.) change your initial

preconceptions or mindset about happiness.

**Read page 11 in the Myers text about Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis, the Biological,

Psychological, and Socio-cultural ways of explaining behavior. Next, read the article below. Using 3

different colored markers or highlighters, indicate the biological reasons for stress in a teen’s life (blue),

psychological reasons (pink), and socio-cultural reasons (yellow).

6 reasons your teen’s life is more stressful than your own John Nicholls, The Washington Post – May 15, 2017

I am the father of four very patient teenagers, two still living at home. They indulge my stream of dad jokes with a wry,

sympathetic smile. My unfavorable comparison of their music tastes to the golden age of late-’70s classic rock is

generally tolerated, perhaps with the occasional eye roll. But one day, their patience finally snapped after I delivered a

particularly eloquent rant on how easy their lives were compared with my stress-filled adult existence. I wanted to

swap!

My daughter and son staged what can only be described as an intervention. They sat me down at the dining table and

explained just how stressful their lives were. It was an eye-opening experience.

Despite living with these young people and observing the ups and downs of their daily lives, I had still failed to grasp

many of the sometimes subtle pressures — biological, social and psychological — that make being a 21st-century

teenager so complicated. True, they may not have mortgages or dependents of their own, but that’s not to say their

lives are always easy.

Here are just a few of the reasons your teenager’s life just might be more stressful than yours:

Teenage sleep deprivation is real. “Sending kids to school at 7 a.m. is the equivalent of sending an adult to work at

4 in the morning.” — William Dement, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.

According to a study carried out by Brown University School of Medicine, ninth- and tenth-grade students should get

nine hours of sleep each night to maintain optimal alertness. However, after surveying 3,000 high school students,

researchers found that, on average, students managed only about 7.5 hours of sleep on a school night. This sleep

deprivation was even more pronounced in high school boys than in girls.

Part of the problem is that even if students try to achieve nine hours of sleep each night, their own bodies may be

working against them. Studies show that teenage circadian rhythms run around two hours behind those of the average

adult, turning them into night owls who struggle to wake in time for school each morning. For this reason, early school

start times are associated with significant sleep deprivation in adolescents, which can lead to a decline in performance,

memory lapses and mood swings, as well as behavioral problems.

Hormones, anxiety and depression are on the rise. I admit that teenage hormones (and the strong emotions they create)

can be stressful for the adults in their life. However, imagine carrying around that bundle of emotions with you 24/7.

It’s an exhausting prospect. And it’s not just the hormones: rapid growth spurts, periods, acne and unreliable vocal

cords can all add to a feeling of being out of control, which can trigger a cycle of anxiety and depression in teens.

In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers found that the prevalence of major depressive

episodes in adolescent children in America increased from 8.7 percent in 2005 to 11.3 percent in 2014. The study also

notes that the risk of depression sharply rises as children transition into adolescence. Adolescent girls are more likely to

suffer from depression than their male counterparts, with the prevalence rising from 13.1 percent to 17.3 percent over a

10-year period from 2004 to 2014.

So what is causing the increased rates of depression in teens — and why are girls more strongly affected? Researchers

aren’t entirely sure. However, they note that cyberbullying has increased more dramatically among girls than boys.

Also, girls tend to use texting applications more intensively, which has been linked to an increased likelihood of

depressed moods. So, external pressures coupled with surging hormones can lead to a lot of distress for the average

teen.

Teens’ lives are not their own. In traditional schooling, many aspects of a student’s life are decided for them – from

what subjects they study to what they wear at school and what schedules they follow. This lack of control can lead to

stress. Adults have the autonomy to do as they please, but if teenagers try, it is called rebellion.

In a report published by the Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, researchers found that students tend to try

harder and enjoy school more when they work toward their own ideals of perfectionism. In other words, when students

set their own expectations for themselves and try to achieve them — effectively directing their own destiny — they are

usually happier and more motivated.

You have one boss, your teenager has six. Imagine having six bosses, all with large amounts of power over your daily

life and future. Each boss has different expectations, ways of working, levels of competency and degrees of emotional

intelligence. And if you don’t satisfy each one, your career is on the line. A teenager will typically have to deal with six

different teachers who are effectively their “bosses” – not to mention parents or guardians. If an adult has a poor boss,

they have the means and ability to move to another job. A typical teenager doesn’t have such options.

To complicate the issue further, researchers found last year that stress levels among teachers could contribute to

student stress. After measuring cortisol levels in elementary school students, researchers learned that children showed

higher levels of this so-called stress hormone when they were being taught by teachers experiencing burnout. Another

survey by Gallup in 2016 found that 46 percent of teachers in America reported high daily stress levels, which means

this problem could be more common than thought. What’s more, when teachers are stressed, students show lower

levels of social adjustment and academic performance.

This, of course, isn’t to say that all teachers are terrible, stress-inducing people in our children’s lives. It is simply a

reminder that a stressed-out teacher — or any adult in their lives — could be a source of much angst for your already

hormonal teenager.

The dilemma of standing out while fitting in. The struggle for identity is hard. Teenagers like to be different, but at the

same time they want to fit in. Because of this, they often face pressure from peers, parents and society to behave a

certain way to feel accepted and valued by those around them. The Department of Psychology at the University of

Illinois discovered in a study of nearly 500 adolescents that peer-related stress contributes to depression in youths.

Teachers have also observed that peer stress negatively affected students’ academic performance and overall emotional

well-being. What’s more, when adolescents were unable to adapt to these external stressors, they ended up ruminating

over the issue, which exacerbates the problem and increases their susceptibility to depression.

Examples of stressful events listed by the researchers included everything from a friend dying to physical fights to not

being invited to a party — anything that could undermine their social security and identity. Girls tend to be more

affected by these kinds of social setbacks than boys, as they put a greater emphasis on interpersonal connectedness and

therefore are more sensitive to peer stress and negative self-evaluation.

The uncertain future of job security. For those of us who still remember a time before the Internet, being a teenager

was a carefree time. Many of us weren’t as bogged down by worries about joblessness and a lack of financial security.

It was expected that whatever we did, a fully-fledged career would be available for us when we grew up. I’m afraid

that this is no longer the case. The global economic downturn, job automation, globalization and an increasingly

competitive job market are causing great anxiety among young people. With the use of artificial intelligence imminent,

teenagers find themselves caught in a transitional phase that is expected to uproot economies and labor markets around

the world.

In fact, it is getting increasingly hard to predict which way their careers may go. In her book Now You See It: How

the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work and Learn, Cathy Davidson states that 65

percent of students currently entering grade school will end up in jobs that have not yet been invented. While there is

perhaps something exciting about that prospect, it does make it hard to plan for the future — and that can be terrifying.

These are just a few of the typical teenage stressors that my daughter and son outlined that day. Overall, I am amazed

at how resilient, “gritty” and good-humored they are, considering the pressures and uncertainties they juggle on a daily

basis. If I were to revisit my offer to swap places, I’m now inclined to say, “No, thanks. My adult stresses are just

fine.”

John Nicholls is the Assistant Director of Leadership Development at Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong. John’s writing on Resilient Leadership has been published in Brian Tracy’s book Uncommon and The Happy Workplace Blueprint.

Reflection: Is Nicholls missing anything? Did he overlook anything? If so, what?

What points of the article do you most agree with?

** Subfields of Psychology** **Read pages 13-15 to complete the following questions.**

Describe the difference between Basic and Applied research. Provide examples for

each.

**Read Module 3 beginning on page 20 to complete the following table.**

Profession

What do they do? Where they

might work?

Cognitive Psychologist

Developmental Psychologist

Educational Psychologist

Explain the differences between Counseling Psychologists and Psychiatrists.

Psychometric and Quantitative Psychologist

Social Psychologist

Forensic Psychologist

Industrial-Organizational

Psychologist

Neuropsychologist

Sports Psychologist

Clinical Psychologist