Courses of Study : Social Studies

Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
1 ) Trace the development of psychology as a scientific discipline evolving from other fields of study.

•  Describing early psychological and biological inquiries that led to contemporary approaches and methods of experimentation, including ideologies of Aristotle, John Locke, Wilhelm Wundt, Charles Darwin, William James, Frantz Fanon, and G. Stanley Hall
•  Differentiating among various modern schools of thought and perspectives in psychology that have evolved since 1879, including each school's view on concepts of aggression or appetite
•  Illustrating how modern psychologists utilize multiple perspectives to understand behavior and mental processes
•  Identifying major subfields and career opportunities related to psychology
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Trace the evolution of psychology as a scientific discipline from the early Greek thinkers to today.
  • Analyze how the ideas of a particular philosopher/scholar/scientist influenced the development of psychology as a scientific discipline.
  • When given a scenario, explain how different schools of thought in psychology would identify causes and/or treatments for the scenario.
  • Identify what type of psychologist would be interested in studying certain phenomena or experiences.
  • Using a case study of a patient with mental illness, identify the different, but evidence-based, treatments that could be used for that patient.
  • Appreciate that psychological science can be applied in multiple venues, not just for treatment of mental illness.
Teacher Vocabulary:
    philosophy
  • psychology
  • empiricism
  • introspection
  • psychophysics
  • evolution
  • functionalism
  • structuralism
  • Gestalt psychology
  • psychoanalysis
  • psychodynamic perspective
  • humanistic perspective
  • "third force" in psychology
  • behaviorism
  • cognitive perspective
  • biopsychology
  • biopsychosocial perspective
  • neuroscience
  • industrial/organizational psychology
  • educational psychology
  • psychiatrist
  • psychologist
  • developmental psychology
  • evolutionary psychology
  • social psychology
  • clinical psychology
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The philosophical ideas of Aristotle, John Locke, Wilhelm Wundt, William James, Frantz Fanon, Charles Darwin, G. Stanley Hall.
  • The following schools of psychology, including structuralism, functionalism, Gestalt psychology, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, humanistic psychology, psychoanalysis/ psychodynamic perspective, biopsychology.
  • The biopsychosocial perspective, which highlights the eclectic approach to behavior and mental processes.
  • The different subfields in psychology, including educational psychology, developmental psychology, evolutionary psychology, social psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and clinical psychology.
  • The ways in which psychological science can be used in different careers, situations, and experiences.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Cite textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources (writings of philosophers/early scientists/psychologists).
  • Provide accurate summaries of the writings of philosophers/scientists/psychologists.
  • Evaluate various explanations for actions and events and determining which explanation is best according to the diagnosis and evidence.
  • Evaluate different points of view when looking at behavior and mental processes.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Psychology is a scientific discipline.
  • There are different ways in which psychologists explain behavior and mental processes.
  • There is a historical progression of ideas about behavior and mental processes.
  • There are ways in which psychological science can be applied to different situations and experiences.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
2 ) Describe research strategies used by psychologists to explore mental processes and behavior.

•  Describing the type of methodology and strategies used by researchers in different psychological studies
Examples: surveys, naturalistic observations, case studies, longitudinal studies, cross-sectional studies

•  Contrasting independent, dependent, and confounding variables and control and experimental groups
•  Identifying systematic procedures necessary for conducting an experiment and improving the validity of results
•  Describing the use of statistics in evaluating research, including calculating the mean, median, and mode from a set of data; conducting a simple correlational analysis using either calculators or computer software; and explaining the meaning of statistical significance
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Explain how using the scientific method provides more confidence in understanding behavior and mental processes than other types of knowing (i.e., intuition).
  • Identify the type of methodology used and analyze whether that methodology was appropriate for the research question.
  • Identify the independent variable(s), dependent variable(s), possible confounding variable(s), the selection method for participants, and the ways in which the participants were grouped.
  • Analyze ways in which the study can be improved for greater validity, reliability, and control of extraneous variables.
  • Conduct a research study, using sound methodology and ethical practices.
  • Calculate measures of central tendency and simple correlations.
  • Interpret measures of central tendency and simple correlation coefficients.
  • Explain the concept of statistical significance, interpret the meaning of the p-value, and evaluate its importance to determining the outcomes of research.
  • Evaluate the importance of following ethical practices for working with human and non-human research participants.
Teacher Vocabulary:
intuition hindsight bias
  • overconfidence
  • belief perseverance
  • self-serving bias
  • confirmation bias
  • hypothesis
  • theory
  • naturalistic observation
  • case study
  • survey
  • correlation
  • correlation coefficient
  • direct correlation/positive correlation
  • inverse correlation/negative correlation
  • random sampling
  • random assignment
  • experiment
  • independent variable
  • dependent variable
  • confounding variable
  • double-blind procedure
  • control group
  • experimental group
  • mean
  • median
  • mode
  • normal curve
  • skewed distribution
  • range
  • standard deviation
  • p-value
  • statistical significance
  • ethics
  • informed consent
  • debriefing
  • anonymity
  • confidentiality
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The role of the scientific method in understanding phenomena.
  • The basic steps of the scientific method.
  • How to calculate measures of central tendency.
  • The importance of following ethical guidelines when conducting research.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Cite evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary descriptions of research.
  • Provide an accurate summary of primary and secondary descriptions of research, identifying the essential elements of the particular research being conducted.
  • Analyze primary and secondary descriptions of research to determine whether the research conducted best suited the question posed.
  • Decipher key terms or jargon used by psychologists when writing up research for publication and public consumption.
  • Evaluate whether a researcher's or participant's biases influenced the outcome, description of, or conclusions drawn for the research.
  • Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information to determine if the research conducted was accurate and representative of the population being studied.
  • Cite supporting or contradicting evidence for various research descriptions.
  • Integrate research findings to explain a particular psychological phenomena.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The scientific method plays a role in understanding behavior and mental processes.
  • Different research methods are appropriate for different empirical questions about behavior and mental processes.
  • You can conduct research using different methodologies.
  • Simple statistics can be calculated using data collected from research.
  • Different statistics derived from research can be interpreted.
  • There are important ethical guidelines for working with human and non-human participants in research.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 2
Classroom Resources: 2
3 ) Explain how processes of the central and peripheral nervous systems underlie behavior and mental processes, including how neurons are the basis for neural communication.

•  Describing how neurons communicate, including the role of neurotransmitters in behavior and the electrochemical process
•  Comparing the effect of drugs and toxins on the brain and neurotransmitters
•  Describing how different sections of the brain have specialized yet interdependent functions, including functions of different lobes and hemispheres of the cerebral cortex and consequences of damage to specific sections of the brain
•  Describing different technologies used to study the brain and nervous system
•  Analyzing behavior genetics for its contribution to the understanding of behavior and mental processes, including differentiating between deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), chromosomes, and genes; identifying effects of chromosomal abnormalities; and explaining how genetics and environmental factors work together to determine inherited traits
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Identify and differentiate among the different types of nervous systems in mammals.
  • Describe how neurons communicate electrochemically.
  • Identify the ways in which drugs alter the electrochemical communication system of the nervous system.
  • Explain how brain function in different regions is differentiated but interdependent.
  • Differentiate among the types of scans used to study the brain and nervous systems.
  • Analyze the influence of genetics and the environment on behavior and mental processes.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • central nervous system
  • peripheral nervous system
  • autonomic nervous system
  • skeletal (somatic) nervous system
  • sympathetic nervous system
  • parasympathetic nervous system
  • neuron
  • dendrites
  • axon
  • semipermeable
  • ion
  • resting potential
  • action potential
  • sodium-potassium pump
  • myelin
  • terminal buttons
  • all-or-none law
  • thresholds
  • refractory period
  • neurotransmitters
  • serotonin
  • dopamine
  • acetylcholine
  • GABA
  • glutamate
  • endorphins
  • reuptake
  • synapse
  • medulla
  • pons
  • reticular formation
  • thalamus
  • hypothalamus
  • hippocampus
  • amygdala
  • frontal lobe
  • parietal lobe
  • occipital lobe
  • temporal lobe
  • corpus callosum
  • motor cortex
  • sensory cortex
  • Broca's area
  • Wernicke's area
  • right visual field
  • left visual field
  • epilepsy
  • hemisphere lateralization
  • DNA
  • genes
  • chromosomes
  • identical twins
  • fraternal twins
  • adoption studies
  • EEG
  • PET scan
  • CT scan
  • MRI
  • fMRI
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The basic anatomy of the nervous systems.
  • Basic processes in chemistry, including diffusion and ion exchange.
  • The basic concepts of genetics, including genes, DNA, and chromosomes.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Summarize complex biological processes into simpler but still accurate terms.
  • Determine the meaning of key terms and concepts from biopsychology.
  • Synthesize information from a range of sources about biological processes to describe complex behavior and mental processes coherently.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The nervous system has a specific organization and function.
  • Drugs affect the communication of the nervous systems.
  • Neurons communicate electrochemically.
  • The brain is organized by structure and function.
  • There are many ways in which researchers study the brain and nervous systems.
  • Hemispheric lateralization works in split and whole brains.
  • Behavior and mental processes are influenced by genetics and environmental factors.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 2
Classroom Resources: 2
4 ) Describe the interconnected processes of sensation and perception.

•  Explaining the role of sensory systems in human behavior, including sight, sound, smell, touch, and pain
•  Explaining how what is perceived can be different from what is sensed, including how attention and environmental cues can affect the ability to accurately sense and perceive the world
•  Describing the role of Gestalt principles and concepts in perception
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Explain how sensation and perception are interconnected.
  • Analyze the impact of attention and environmental cues on successful sensation and perception.
  • Evaluate the functions and limits of sensory systems.
  • Evaluate the impact of damage to a particular sensory system.
  • Identify monocular and binocular depth cues in the world around them or in 2D media.
  • Offer real-world examples of Gestalt grouping principles.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • sensation
  • bottom-up processing
  • top-down processing
  • perception
  • absolute threshold
  • difference threshold (just noticeable difference)
  • signal detection
  • sensory adaptation
  • selective attention
  • cornea
  • iris
  • pupil
  • lens
  • retina
  • accommodation
  • receptor cells
  • rods
  • cones
  • optic nerve
  • blind spot
  • trichromatic theory of color vision
  • opponent-process theory of color vision
  • pitch
  • cochlea
  • hair cells
  • auditory nerve
  • kinesthetic sense
  • vestibular sense
  • gate-control theory of pain
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The basic anatomy of sensory systems.
  • The brain regions responsible for processing sensory information.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Summarize complex concepts in sensation and perception into simpler, but still accurate, terms.
  • Demonstrate phenomena in sensation and perception using multistep procedures and taking precise measurements and analyzing the results compared to information presented in the text or in research.
  • Determine the meanings of terms related to sensation and perception.
  • Associate terms that specifically relate to a particular sensory systems - vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell, kinesthesis, balance, and pain detection.
  • Explain how a situation is sensed and perceived using a particular sensory system and/or interaction of sensory systems.
  • Evaluate how environmental cues impact the processes of sensation and perception.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Sensation and perception are interconnected.
  • Sensory systems work to get information into the brain.
  • Perception is influenced by environmental cues and attention.
  • Gestalt grouping principles and depth cues influence sensation and perception.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
5 ) Explain ways to promote psychological wellness.

•  Describing physiological processes associated with stress, including hormones associated with stress responses
•  Describing Hans Selye's general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
•  Describing the flight-or-fight response in terms of the autonomic and somatic nervous systems
•  Contrasting positive and negative ways of coping with stress related to problem-focused coping, aggression, and emotion-focused coping
•  Explaining approach-approach, approach-avoidance, and avoidance-avoidance conflicts
•  Identifying various eating disorders and conditions
Examples: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, obesity

Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Understand the biopsychosocial mechanisms for dealing with stress and promoting psychological wellness.
  • Explain theories regarding the physiological reactions to stress.
  • Contrast the positive and negative ways to cope with stress and conflict.
  • Describe the symptoms of and possible treatments for eating disorders.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • stress
  • stressor
  • stress reaction
  • health psychology
  • fight or flight response
  • general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
  • alarm reaction
  • resistance
  • exhaustion
  • daily hassles
  • burnout
  • catastrophes
  • perceived control
  • learned helplessness
  • optimism
  • pessimism
  • cortisol
  • Type A personality
  • Type B personality
  • heart disease
  • anorexia nervosa
  • bulimia nervosa
  • obesity
  • problem focused coping
  • emotion focused coping
  • aggression
  • frustration aggression hypothesis
  • catharsis
  • approach-approach conflict
  • approach-avoidance conflict
  • avoidance-avoidance conflict
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The basic anatomy of the nervous systems.
  • The role of hormones in body functions.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Summarize the complex theories and processes related to stress and coping in simpler terms.
  • Assess one's own level of stress using multiple measures and following multistep procedures, analyzing the results while considering the research presented in the text.
  • Synthesize information about stress and coping to explain the processes in a real-world context.
  • Integrate information about eating disorders to discuss how to avoid and/or address them.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are physiological mechanisms for responding to stress.
  • There are biopsychosocial processes for coping with stress.
  • There are particular ways in which people perceive and resolve conflict.
  • There are both positive and negative ways to cope with stress.
  • There are many causes and treatments for eating disorders.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
6 ) Describe the physical, cognitive, and social development across the life span of a person from the prenatal through aging stages.

•  Outlining the stage-of-development theories of Jean Piaget, Erik H. Erikson, Sigmund Freud, Carol Gilligan, and Lawrence Kohlberg
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Compare and contrast the theories of development throughout the lifespan.
  • Discuss the environmental and genetic influences on physical development throughout the lifespan.
  • Differentiate between habituation and maturation.
  • Discuss how social development occurs in each stage of life.
  • Distinguish between critical and sensitive periods in development.
  • Discuss how parents and peer each influence behavior and moral/belief choices.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • zygote
  • embryo
  • fetus
  • teratogens
  • fetal alcohol syndrome
  • rooting reflex
  • habituation
  • maturation
  • schema
  • assimilation
  • accommodation
  • sensorimotor stage
  • pre-operational stage
  • concrete operational stage
  • formal operational stage
  • object permanence
  • conservation
  • egocentrism
  • attachment
  • critical/sensitive period
  • imprinting
  • adolescence
  • puberty
  • menarche
  • menopause
  • crystallized intelligence
  • fluid intelligence
  • APGAR
  • preconventional morality
  • conventional morality
  • postconventional morality
  • identity crisis
  • trust vs. mistrust
  • autonomy vs. shame and doubt
  • initiative vs. guilt
  • industry vs. inferiority
  • identity vs. role confusion
  • intimacy vs. isolation
  • generativity vs. stagnation
  • integrity vs. despair
  • authoritarian parenting
  • permissive parenting
  • authoritative parenting
  • secure attachment
  • anxious/ambivalent attachment
  • avoidant attachment
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The physiological processes related to pregnancy, childbirth, and growth throughout the lifespan.
  • The relationship between physical, social, and cognitive factors that influence development.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Use theories of development to explain why people might make different choices at each stage of life about a particular issue or experience.
  • Summarize complex theories of development into simpler, but still accurate, terms.
  • Assess a person's level of physical, cognitive, and social development following a multistep procedure and analyzing the results in light of the theories described in the text.
  • Explain which stages of each developmental theory apply to each stage of life.
  • Synthesize the theories of development for each stage of life to explain why choices may differ throughout the lifespan.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are physical, cognitive, and social factors that influence development.
  • Many different developmental theories apply to each stage of life.
  • Many different developmental theories can be applied to their own lives.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
7 ) Describe the processes and importance of memory, including how information is encoded and stored, mnemonic devices, schemas related to short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory.

•  Distinguishing between surface and deep processing in memory development
•  Comparing ways memories are stored in the brain, including episodic and procedural
•  Identifying different parts of the brain that store memory
•  Differentiating among different types of amnesia
•  Describing how information is retrieved from memory
•  Explaining how memories can be reconstructed and misremembered
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Differentiate among the different types of memory systems.
  • Practice memory improvement techniques.
  • Identify the different parts of the brain that process and store memories.
  • Understand how the process used to encode memories influences the retention and retrieval of memories.
  • Explain what happens when memory fails.
  • Analyze the causes of memory reconstruction and misinformation.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • cognition
  • memory
  • information processing model
  • sensory memory
  • working memory
  • long-term memory
  • encoding
  • storage
  • retrieval
  • maintenance rehearsal
  • elaborative rehearsal
  • procedural memory
  • declarative memory
  • episodic memory
  • semantic memory
  • anterograde amnesia
  • retrograde amnesia
  • proactive interference
  • retroactive interference
  • flashbulb memory
  • implicit memory
  • explicit memory
  • priming
  • recall
  • recognition
  • encoding specificity
  • mood-congruent memory
  • state-dependent memory
  • tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
  • serial position effect
  • spacing effect
  • distributed rehearsal
  • massed rehearsal
  • misattribution
  • expectancy bias
  • mnemonics
  • method of loci
  • peg-word list
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The importance of good memory to everyday life.
  • The techniques they rely on to improve their memory of events and information.
  • The brain structures typically responsible for processing and storing memories.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Synthesize evidence from multiple sources to create an endorsement of particular memory techniques that would maximize memory retention and retrieval.
  • Summarize the processes and systems of memory into simpler, but still accurate, terms.
  • Assess one's own capacity for memory encoding, storage and retrieval using multistep procedures and taking precise measurements, analyzing the results in light of research presented in the text.
  • Notice how hierarchical organization found in texts contributes to better memory for information contained within.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are ways to improve memory.
  • There are methods that can be used to avoid misinformation and reconstruction of memories.
  • There are ways to study more efficiently by using memory enhancement techniques.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
8 ) Describe ways in which organisms learn, including the processes of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational conditioning.

•  Identifying unconditioned stimuli (UCS), conditioned stimuli (CS), unconditioned responses (UCR), and conditioned responses (CR)
•  Describing the law of effect
•  Describing original experiments conducted by B. F. Skinner, Albert Bandura, Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and Rosalie Rayner
•  Differentiating between reinforcement and punishment, positive and negative reinforcement, and various schedules of reinforcement
•  Describing biological limitations on operantly conditioned learning
•  Differentiating between observational learning and modeling
•  Analyzing watching violent media for effects on violent behavior
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Define learning.
  • Provide real-world examples of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning.
  • Differentiate among the elements of classical conditioning (UCS, CS, UCR, CR).
  • Demonstrate how classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning work in the real-world.
  • Differentiate between reinforcement and punishment.
  • Differentiate among the various schedules of reinforcement.
  • Evaluate the role of cognition in conditioning.
  • Evaluate the influence of role models on others.
  • Evaluate how learning can be limited by biology.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Law of Effect
  • classical conditioning
  • unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
  • conditioned stimulus (CS)
  • unconditioned response (UCR)
  • conditioned response (CR)
  • extinction
  • spontaneous recovery
  • generalization
  • discrimination
  • operant conditioning
  • behaviorism
  • consequence
  • positive reinforcement
  • negative reinforcement
  • continuous reinforcement
  • partial reinforcement
  • variable ratio schedule
  • variable interval schedule
  • fixed ratio schedule
  • fixed interval schedule
  • instinctive drift
  • primary reinforcer
  • secondary reinforcer
  • shaping
  • chaining
  • modeling
  • observational learning
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • What it means to learn.
  • How stimuli and consequences affect behavior and mental processes.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Explain the complex procedures involved in classical and operant conditioning in simpler, yet still accurate, terms.
  • Carry out multistep procedures using classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning to teach someone a new skill, analyzing the results in terms of research presented in the text.
  • Decipher the meanings of jargon used with conditioning procedures.
  • Analyze the more recent contributions of cognitive psychology, biopsychology, and social learning on behaviorist views of learning.
  • Apply appropriate conditioning techniques to a real-world learning experience by modifying a behavior.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are specific characteristics of learning.
  • Behavior can be modified using conditioning or observational learning techniques.
  • There are ways to identify classical and operant conditioning in real-world examples.
  • There are conditions under which observational learning and modeling occurs best.
  • There are limitations of conditioning techniques for teaching new skills.
  • Cognition has a specific role in learning.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
9 ) Describe how organisms think and solve problems, including processes involved in accurate thinking.

•  Identifying the role of mental images and verbal symbols in the thought process
•  Explaining how concepts are formed
•  Differentiating between algorithms and heuristics
•  Analyzing different types of heuristics to determine effects on problem solving
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Deconstruct thinking into concepts, prototypes, and schemas.
  • Construct real-world examples of algorithms and heuristics, differentiating between the two.
  • Attempt to solve problems that challenge tendencies toward fixation, mental set, and functional fixedness.
  • Recognize how the use of representativeness and availability heuristics hinders problem solving.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • concept
  • prototype
  • schema
  • algorithm
  • heuristic
  • availability heuristic
  • representativeness heuristic
  • insight
  • confirmation bias
  • fixation
  • mental set
  • functional fixedness
  • overconfidence
  • framing
  • belief bias
  • belief perseverance
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The basic procedures for solving problems.
  • Some basic ways in which people might struggle with solving problems.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Summarize complex concepts involved in thinking and problem solving into simpler, but still accurate, terms.
  • Solve multistep problems that reveal common problem-solving errors, analyzing the data relative to the research presented in the text.
  • Analyze a text for hierarchies in structure and content to demonstrate understanding of how concept hierarchies work in a real-world example.
  • Propose a plan to combat errors in thinking and problem solving in a particular circumstance that synthesizes the literature on these errors.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There is a fundamental cognitive structure of thinking.
  • There are basic processes involved in thinking and solving problems.
  • There are major cognitive obstacles for accurate thinking and problem solving and ways to combat them.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
10 ) Describe the qualities and development of language.

•  Identifying common phonemes and morphemes of language
•  Describing how understanding syntax and grammar affect language comprehension
•  Demonstrating how qualities of sign language are similar to spoken language
•  Describing how infants move from babbling to usage of complete sentences
•  Explaining how hearing loss in infants and children can affect the development of spoken language
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Deconstruct language into its component parts.
  • Determine the number of morphemes and phonemes in a word or phrase.
  • Analyze the role of grammar, semantics, and syntax in the expression of spoken and written language.
  • Differentiate among languages, focusing on structural and expressive differences.
  • Trace the development of language from birth to maturity.
  • Evaluate the impact of hearing loss on the acquisition and expression of language.
  • Consider how culture and the learning of a language can influence thinking in everyday life.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • language
  • morpheme
  • phoneme
  • grammar
  • semantics
  • syntax
  • babbling
  • one-word stage
  • two-word stage
  • telegraphic speech
  • linguistic determinism
  • nerve deafness
  • conduction deafness
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Some defining features of language.
  • How language is different between children and adults.
  • Some basic differences between their native language and other languages.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Summarize complex ideas related to language and its acquisition into simpler, but still accurate, terms.
  • Evaluate the ways in which language influences our thinking, considering the different theories on how language is acquired.
  • Evaluate the importance of physical or cognitive limitations on language acquisition, including hearing loss and learning a second language later in life.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • All language is structured.
  • There are specific ways that language develops.
  • There are differences among languages, both spoken and expressed.
  • There are differences between written and spoken/expressed language.
  • There are ways in which physical limitations can affect language development and expression.
  • There are specific uses of language in different contexts.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
11 ) Compare various states of consciousness evident in human behavior, including the process of sleeping and dreaming.

•  Explaining states of sleep throughout an average night's sleep, including nonrapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM)
•  Describing the mechanism of the circadian rhythm
•  Evaluating the importance of sleep to good performance
•  Comparing theories regarding the use and meaning of dreams
•  Analyzing the use of psychoactive drugs for effects on people, including the mechanisms of addiction, withdrawal, and tolerance
•  Evaluating the phenomenon of hypnosis and its possible uses
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Trace nervous system and physiological activity during a night's sleep.
  • Describe the processes of the circadian rhythm.
  • Evaluate the importance of sleep to good cognition and performance.
  • Compare and contrast theories of dreams.
  • Analyze the impact of the use and misuse of psychoactive drugs on biopsychosocial processes.
  • Evaluate the usefulness of hypnosis as a therapeutic technique.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • consciousness
  • depressants
  • stimulants
  • hallucinogens
  • opiates
  • addiction
  • tolerance
  • withdrawal
  • manifest content
  • latent content
  • activation synthesis
  • hypnosis
  • suggestibility
  • divided consciousness
  • dissociation
  • adaptive theory of sleep
  • restorative theory of sleep
  • REM
  • non-REM
  • Stage 1
  • Stage 2
  • Stages 3 and 4
  • insomnia
  • sleep apnea
  • narcolepsy
  • night terrors
  • restless leg syndrome
  • somnambulism
  • circadian rhythm
  • REM rebound
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The role of neurotransmitters in neural communication.
  • The role of sleep in one's daily life.
  • The effects of psychoactive drugs on behavior and mental processes.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Summarize complex concepts related to sleep, dreams, drug use and misuse, and hypnosis into simpler, yet still accurate, terms.
  • Argue in favor of or against a theory of sleep, dreams, and/or hypnosis using research-based evidence to support claims.
  • Develop a plan for getting enough sleep, using evidence-based strategies derived from theories and information presented in the text.
  • Create a public awareness campaign that discourages children from misusing psychoactive drugs, using evidence-based strategies and information derived from the text.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Sleep is important in one's daily life.
  • There are ways to improve one's sleep experience.
  • There are positive and negative affects of psychoactive drugs on behavior and mental processes.
  • There are ways in which hypnosis can be helpful for alleviating pain.
  • There are unsupported uses of hypnosis as a therapeutic technique.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
12 ) Describe the role of motivation and emotion in human behavior.

•  Identifying theories that explain motivational processes, including cognitive, biological, and psychological reasons for motivational behavior, and Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs and arousal theory
•  Describing situational cues that cause emotions, including anger, curiosity, and anxiety
•  Differentiating among theories of emotion
•  Identifying universally recognized emotions
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Differentiate among the theories of motivation.
  • Appreciate that motivation is a complex concept that involves multiple variables.
  • Evaluate whether popular theories of motivation can be applied consistently to all types of motivated behavior.
  • Evaluate how environmental and genetic factors influence motivated behavior.
  • Differentiate among theories of emotions.
  • Identify the universally recognized emotional expressions and consider explanations of why these emotions are universally recognized.
  • Consider how culture and gender affect the expression of emotions and motivated behavior.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • motivation
  • instinct
  • drive reduction theory
  • homeostasis
  • incentive
  • hierarchy of needs
  • flow
  • achievement motivation
  • intrinsic motivation
  • extrinsic motivation
  • James-Lange theory of emotion
  • Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
  • Schachter's two-factor theory of
  • emotion
  • catharsis
  • feel good-do good phenomenon
  • adaptation level phenomenon
  • self actualization
  • emotion
  • relative deprivation
  • arousal theory
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The ways in which they are motivated to action in multiple domains.
  • An understanding of differences and similarities among cultures and between genders.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Summarize the complex theories of motivation into simpler, yet still accurate, terms.
  • Evaluate the theories of motivation by considering the relative contributions of each theory to a complete understanding of motivated behavior.
  • Assess one's own level of motivation and emotional expression by carrying out multistep procedures and analyzing the resulting data in light of research presented in the text.
  • Evaluate the reasoning behind major theories of motivated behavior and emotional expression by considering the methodology, context, and perspective of the researchers/theorists.
  • Synthesize evidence to provide an overarching and multivariate explanation for a motivated behavior (i.e., eating behavior, achievement motivation), resolving conflicting information where necessary.
  • Synthesize research and information to provide a reasoned argument for the impact of gender and culture on emotional expression.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are differences among theories of motivation and emotion.
  • There are complexities involved in explaining motivated behavior and emotional expression.
  • There are similarities and differences among people regarding motivated behavior and emotional expression.
  • Culture and gender can influence emotional expression and motivate behavior.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
13 ) Describe methods of assessing individual differences and theories of intelligence, including Charles E. Spearman's general (g) factor of intelligence, Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences, and Robert J. Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence.

•  Describing different types of intelligence tests, including the Flynn effect
•  Describing how intelligence may be influenced by differences in heredity and environment and by biases toward ethnic minority and socioeconomic groups
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Explore definitions and theories of intelligence.
  • Evaluate appropriate procedures for administering tests of individual abilities, skills, and dispositions.
  • Debate whether intelligence is a general ability or multiple, distinct abilities.
  • Analyze whether intelligence is an innate ability or whether it can be enhanced via learning and experience.
  • Determine the importance of validity and reliability in the creation, administration and analysis of intelligence tests.
  • Explore the uses and misuses of intelligence tests throughout history.
  • Evaluate the influence of environmental and social factors on assessments of dispositions.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • intelligence
  • factor analysis
  • general intelligence
  • savant syndrome
  • emotional intelligence
  • creativity
  • mental age
  • chronological age
  • intelligence quotient
  • aptitude
  • achievement
  • standardization
  • normal curve
  • reliability
  • validity
  • content validity
  • criterion referenced test
  • predictive validity
  • mental retardation
  • stereotype threat
  • fixed mindset
  • growth mindset
  • multiple intelligences
  • triarchic theory of
  • intelligence/successful intelligence
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Their own definitions of intelligence.
  • How tests are typically administered in different settings.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Cite specific textual and research-based evidence to develop a definition of intelligence, noting how theorists approach the concept differently.
  • Summarize complex theories and approaches to the definition and assessment of intelligence and other dispositions into simpler, yet still accurate, terms.
  • Assess one's own level of intelligence and other dispositions using multistep procedures, analyzing the results in light of research presented in the text while noting the issues related to each assessment tool concerning validity and reliability.
  • Address an issue related to the definitions of intelligence, nature of intelligence, and/or measurement of dispositions by integrating multiple sources of information and research.
  • Synthesize information and research about the definitions, assessment, and nature of intelligence, noting where researchers disagree.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There is a complexity to defining and measuring intelligence and other dispositions.
  • Considering reliability and validity is important when constructing and administering an assessment.
  • Environmental and societal factors can influence the results of assessments.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
14 ) Explain the role of personality development in human behavior.

•  Differentiating among personality theories, including psychoanalytic, sociocognitive, trait, and humanistic theories of personality
•  Describing different measures of personality, including the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and projective tests
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Differentiate among personality theories.
  • Match personality theories with assessments of personality.
  • Evaluate the relative reliability and validity of various assessments of personality.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • psychodynamic theory
  • psychosexual theory of personality
  • development
  • id
  • ego
  • superego
  • fixation
  • humanistic theory
  • unconditional positive regard
  • inferiority complex
  • superiority complex
  • archetypes
  • collective unconscious
  • projective tests
  • trait theory
  • Big Five personality traits
  • Eysenck's personality trait theory
  • factor analysis
  • ego defense mechanisms
  • self actualization
  • self concept
  • self esteem
  • unconscious
  • preconscious
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The schools of thought in psychology that have been concerned with personality development and assessment.
  • Their own notions of personality as a disposition.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Cite specific textual and research-based evidence to support a holistic definition of personality.
  • Summarize complex theories of personality into simpler, yet still accurate, terms.
  • Assess one's own personality using multiple assessments that follow multistep procedures, analyzing the results in light of research presented in the text.
  • Consider the perspectives of various researchers and theorists to determine their reasons for constructing their particular theories of personality.
  • Synthesize information and research from multiple sources to develop a coherent understanding of personality as a disposition.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are differences among the perspectives on and theories of personality.
  • There are ways in which each perspective on personality prefers to assess personality.
  • It is important to attend to issues in reliability and validity when assessing personality.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
15 ) Describe major psychological disorders and their treatments.

•  Differentiating between normal and abnormal behavior
•  Describing different approaches for explaining mental illness, including biological and medical, cognitive, and sociocultural models
•  Differentiating types of mental illness, including mood, anxiety, somatoform, schizophrenic, dissociative, and personality disorders
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Evaluate distinctions between normal and abnormal behavior.
  • Describe various approaches to explaining mental illness.
  • Differentiate among mental illnesses.
  • Differentiate among treatments for mental illness.
  • Evaluate the evidence base for various treatments for mental illness.
  • Match mental illnesses with the appropriate evidence-based treatments.
  • Explore the reasons for and impact of stigma for people with mental illness.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • psychotherapy
  • eclectic approach
  • psychoanalysis
  • resistance
  • transference
  • free association
  • interpretation
  • psychodynamic therapists
  • humanistic therapy
  • client-centered therapy
  • active listening
  • unconditional positive regard
  • behavior therapy
  • counterconditioning
  • exposure therapies
  • flooding
  • systematic desensitization
  • token economy
  • aversive conditioning
  • cognitive therapies
  • cognitive-behavioral therapy
  • group therapy
  • evidence-based practice
  • counselor
  • clinical social worker
  • clinical psychologist
  • psychiatrist
  • psychopharmacology
  • biomedical therapy
  • deinstitutionalization
  • antipsychotic drugs
  • tardive dyskinesia
  • anti-anxiety drugs
  • antidepressant drugs
  • psychosurgery
  • lobotomy
  • electroconvulsive therapy
  • rTMS
  • medical model
  • biopsychosocial model
  • insanity
  • DSM-V
  • anxiety
  • generalized anxiety disorder
  • panic disorder
  • phobia
  • obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • posttraumatic stress disorder
  • agoraphobia
  • social anxiety disorder
  • somatoform disorders
  • hypochondriasis
  • conversion disorder
  • dissociative disorders
  • fugue
  • dissociative identity disorder
  • mood disorders
  • major depressive disorder
  • bipolar disorder
  • mania
  • dysthymic disorder
  • schizophrenia
  • delusions
  • hallucinations
  • catatonia
  • paranoia
  • personality disorders
  • antisocial personality
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Their own notions of normal and abnormal behavior.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Cite specific and research-based evidence to support a clinical definition of normal and abnormal behavior.
  • Summarize complex descriptions of symptoms of disorders and types of treatments in simpler, yet still accurate, terms.
  • Analyze the hierarchy of symptoms developed for the DSM-V protocol, evaluating whether this hierarchy seems appropriate for addressing the vast majority of mental illnesses.
  • Evaluate the perspectives of researchers and clinicians regarding the classification systems and treatment preferences for mental illness.
  • Integrate and synthesize multiple sources of information to describe a specific mental illness and its evidence-based treatment.
  • Synthesize information and research to address minimizing stigma for people dealing with mental illness and seeking treatment.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are complexities of the various definitions of normal and abnormal behavior.
  • There are specific symptom hierarchies for different mental illnesses.
  • There are evidence-based treatments for different mental illnesses.
  • There are many ways to minimize stigma for people dealing with and seeking treatment for mental illness.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
16 ) Describe how attitudes, conditions of obedience and conformity, and other influences affect actions and shape human behavior, including actor-observer, self-server, social facilitation, social loafing, bystander effect, groupthink, and group polarization.

•  Explaining the fundamental attribution error
•  Critiquing Stanley Milgram's work with obedience and S. E. Asch's work with conformity
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Analyze how actions affect attitudes, and vice versa.
  • Evaluate the impact of normative social influence on individual and group behavior.
  • Evaluate the role of persuasion on individual and group behavior.
  • Determine the conditions that promote and hinder conformity and obedience.
  • Determine the conditions that promote the bystander effect and helping behavior.
  • Describe the ways in which individuals are influenced by groups and the ways that groups are influenced by individuals.
  • Analyze the factors that lead to and combat prejudice and discrimination.
  • Analyze the factors that lead to attraction, cooperation, and peacemaking.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • social psychology
  • attribution theory
  • cognitive dissonance
  • explanatory style
  • actor-observer bias
  • fundamental attribution error
  • situational attribution
  • dispositional attribution
  • self-serving bias
  • central route to persuasion
  • peripheral route to persuasion
  • foot-in-the-door phenomenon
  • conformity
  • normative social influence
  • social facilitation
  • social loafing
  • group polarization
  • groupthink
  • deindividuation
  • obedience
  • prejudice
  • stereotype
  • discrimination
  • ethnocentrism
  • contact hypothesis
  • in-group bias
  • out-group bias
  • scapegoat theory
  • just world phenomenon
  • other-race effect
  • social identity
  • ethnic identity
  • blaming the victim
  • mere exposure effect
  • passionate love
  • companionate love
  • equity
  • self-disclosure
  • altruism
  • bystander effect
  • diffusion of responsibility
  • reciprocity norm
  • social responsibility norm
  • social trap
  • conflict
  • superordinate goals
  • self-fulfilling prophecy
  • attitude
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Their own notions and behaviors with social interactions.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Cite specific research-based evidence to support various processes in social psychology.
  • Summarize complex theories and concepts in social psychology into simpler, yet still accurate, terms.
  • Provide real-world examples for social psychology concepts.
  • Assess social psychology concepts using sound methodology with multistep procedures, analyzing the results in light of research presented in the text.
  • Evaluate the research in social psychology using multiple sources to verify, corroborate or challenge the conclusions drawn.
  • Synthesize information and research to address and issue in social psychology.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are ways in which individuals are influenced by groups and how groups are influenced by individuals.
  • There are ways that individuals reconcile actions and attitudes.
  • There are ways to promote cooperation among people.
  • There are ways to avoid prejudice and discrimination.
  • There are mechanisms for attracting and sustaining meaningful relationships.
  • Persuasion has an influence on behavior and mental processes.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 0
17 ) Describe various careers pursued by psychologists, including medical and mental health care fields, the business world, education, law and criminal justice, and research.

Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Describe careers pursued by people interested in psychological science.
  • Appreciate the various settings in which psychological science can be used to pursue meaningful careers.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • clinical psychology
  • psychiatry
  • counseling psychology
  • developmental psychology
  • neuroscience
  • cognitive psychology
  • cognitive neuroscience
  • school psychology
  • educational psychology
  • experimental psychology
  • behavioral psychology
  • behavioral economics
  • forensic psychology
  • health psychology
  • industrial/organizational psychology
  • human factors and ergonomics
  • neuropsychology
  • quantitative psychology
  • qualitative psychology
  • rehabilitation psychology
  • social psychology
  • sport psychology
  • military psychology
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • That certain educational paths should be followed in order to pursue a professional career using psychological science.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Distinguish among the various career opportunities that involve psychological science.
  • Synthesize the information available for understanding the educational and career paths necessary to pursue a career using psychological science.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are various career paths available for those interested in psychological science.
  • There are multiple ways that psychological science can be used in a diversity of careers.
  • There are specific educational and licensing pathways needed to pursue a career in psychological science.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Psychology
All Resources: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
18 ) Explain how culture and gender influence behavior.

•  Identifying gender differences and similarities
•  Explaining ways in which gender differences are developed
•  Describing ways in which gender roles are assigned in different cultures
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Psychology
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Analyze how culture and gender influence behavior.
  • Explain differences among cultures and between genders.
  • Analyze how gender differences are inherent and are developed.
  • Explore how gender roles are assigned in various cultures.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • culture
  • norms
  • individualism
  • collectivism
  • interdependent
  • gender role
  • gender identity
  • gender schema theory
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The relative similarities and differences among cultures and between genders.
  • That culture and gender influence behavior and mental processes in a variety of ways.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Cite specific research-based evidence to support analysis of theories regarding culture and gender and their influence on behavior and mental processes.
  • Summarize complex theories regarding culture and gender into simpler, yet still accurate, terms.
  • Integrate research and information to address a key issue related to culture and/or gender and its influence on behavior and mental processes.
  • Synthesize research and evidence from multiple sources to provide a coherent understanding of key issues related to culture and gender and their influences on behavior and mental processes.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are ways in which culture and gender influence behavior.
  • There are differences between genders and among cultures.
  • There are ways in which gender is both inherent and environmentally influenced.
  • There are specific ways in which gender roles can be assigned in different cultures.