Psychology

Social Studies Practices

Research Methods, Measurement, and Statistics: Students will describe research methods and measurements used to study behavior and mental processes. Students will identify ethical issues in research with human and animal subjects. Students will also explain basic concepts of data analysis.

Biopsychology Domain Biological Bases of Behavior: Students will explore the structure and function of the nervous system in humans, the interaction between biological factors and experience, and methods and issues related to biological advances.

Sensation & Perception: Students will explain the processes of sensation and perception and describe the interaction between people and the environment to determine perception.

Consciousness: Students will examine both consciousness and unconsciousness, focusing on sleeping patterns, functions and disorders, and the impact of drugs and relaxation techniques on consciousness.

Lifespan Development: Students will examine and describe methods, issues, and theories in lifespan development, including prenatal development, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and aging.

Social Interactions: Students will explore social cognition, social influence, and social relations.

Sociocultural Diversity: Students will examine social and cultural diversity and diversity among individuals.

Learning, Memory, and Intelligence: Students will explore the process of learning as well as the process, types, disorders, and retrieval of memory. Students will also describe and discuss cognitive processes and intelligence along with their roles within human development.

Psychological Disorders: Students will explore perspectives on abnormal behavior and categories of psychological disorders.

Collect data and information from a variety of primary and secondary sources, including:

Critically examine a primary or secondary source in order to:

Synthesize data from a variety of sources in order to:

Construct and communicate arguments by citing supporting evidence to:

Develop historical awareness by:

Develop geographic awareness by:

Describe the scientific method and its role in psychology.

Describe and compare a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including:

Explain systematic procedures used to improve the validity of research findings, including external validity.

Describe how and why psychologists use animal subjects in research, and identify ethical guidelines to follow in performing this type of research.

Identify ethical standards psychologists must follow regarding research with human participants.

Explain descriptive statistics and qualitative data and how they are used by psychological scientists.

Define correlation coefficients, and explain their appropriate interpretation.

Interpret graphical representations of data, as used in both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Explain statistical concepts, such as statistical significance, confidence intervals, limitations, and effect size.

Explain how validity and reliability of observation and measurements relate to data analysis and interpretation.

Identify and describe the major structures of the brain.

Identify and describe the methodology, including the tools, used to study the brain.

Identify and discuss the functions of the central nervous system.

Discuss issues related to scientific advances in neuroscience and genetics.

Identify and describe the structure and function of the endocrine system and its impact on human behavior, including hormonal effects on the immune system.

Describe the interactive effects of heredity and environment.

Describe and discuss the role of genetics in human behavior.

Describe and discuss the interaction between the processes of sensation and perception.

Describe the auditory sensory and visual sensory systems.

Describe other sensory systems (including olfaction and gustation), and identify skin senses, kinesthesis, and vestibular sense.

Explain Gestalt’s principles of perception.

Explain how experiences and expectations influence perception.

Distinguish between conscious and unconscious processes, and describe their relationship.

Identify the contributions of significant researchers in the study of consciousness (e.g., Sigmund Freud).

Describe the circadian rhythm, its relation to sleep, and how it changes throughout the human life.

Explain the functions of sleep and dreams.

Identify types of sleep disorders and methods of treatment.

Explain how culture and expectations influence the use of drugs, including psychoactive drugs and their effects.

Describe the use of hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation techniques, including the effects of each.

Explain the interaction between environmental and biological factors in lifespan development, including the role of the brain in all aspects of development.

Distinguish methods used to study lifespan development.

Identify cognitive, moral, and social development theories.

Describe physical development from conception through birth, and identify influences on prenatal development.

Describe the physical, motor, and perceptual development of infants.

Describe the physical, motor, and cognitive development of children.

Describe the physical, motor, cognitive, and moral changes that occur during adolescence.

Describe the major physical, cognitive, and social changes that accompany adulthood and aging.

Explain how nature and nurture influence human growth and development.

Examine issues related to the end of life.

Describe the relationship between attitudes (i.e., implicit and explicit) and behavior, including attributes associated with different types of behavior.

Describe the situational effects and group dynamics associated with individual behavior, including how an individual can influence group norms.

Examine the nature and effects of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination.

Identify influences on aggression and conflict.

Examine factors that influence attraction and relationships.

Define culture and diversity.

Examine cultural change, including variations within and across nations, and consider the following factors using psychological research: gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and societal norms.

Interpret psychological research to examine differences in individual cognitive and physical abilities.

Explain the process of learning, including principles of operant and classical conditioning as well as methods of observation.

Describe the differences between learning, reflexes, and fixed-action patterns.

Describe the processes of memory, including encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Identify the types of memory, and describe memory disorders, including amnesias and dementias.

Describe the factors that influence how memories are retrieved and strategies for improving the retrieval of memories.

Describe the cognitive processes involved in understanding information.

Define processes involved in problem solving and decision making.

Discuss intelligence as a general factor in examining human growth and development.

Identify current methods of assessing human abilities, including the role of reliability and validity in determining appropriate assessments.

Describe and discuss psychologically abnormal behavior, and examine how stigma can effect relationships and individual choices.

Describe major models of abnormality (i.e., biological, socio-cultural, psychodynamic, cognitive, and behavioral).

Describe historical and cross-cultural views of abnormality.

Analyze the impact of psychological disorders (e.g., addiction) on the individual, family, and society.

Describe the availability of treatment for psychological disorders and the impact of treatment options on society.

Printed materials

Graphic representations

Field observations/Landscape analysis

Artifacts

Media and technology sources

Oral History

Extract, summarize, and paraphrase significant ideas and relevant information

Discern differences between evidence and assertion

Recognize the significance of author’s purpose, point of view, and bias

Draw logical inferences and conclusions

Assess the strengths and limitations of arguments

Establish accuracy and validity by comparing sources to each other

Recognize disparities among multiple accounts

Frame appropriate questions for further investigation

Demonstrate and defend an understanding of ideas

Compare and contrast viewpoints

Illustrate cause and effect

Predict likely outcomes

Devise new outcomes or solutions

Engage in appropriate civic discourse

Recognizing how and why historical accounts change over time

Perceiving and presenting past events and issues as they might have been experienced by the people of the time, with historical empathy vs. present- mindedness

Evaluating how unique circumstances of time and place create context and contribute to action and reaction

Identifying patterns of continuity and change over time, making connections to the present

Analyzing and determining the use of diverse types of maps based on the origin, authority, structure, context, and validity

Using the geographic perspective to analyze relationships, patterns, and diffusion across space at multiple scales

Analyzing locations, conditions, and connections of places and using maps to investigate spatial associations among phenomena

Examining how geographers use regions and how perceptions of regions are fluid across time and space

Analyzing interaction between humans and the physical environment

Correlations

Interviews

Experiments

Narratives

Focus groups

Surveys