AP Psychology 2013 Suggested Summer Resources

So you're taking AP Psychology next fall. Congratulations, it's a great course and I think that you will enjoy it. You're probably aware that there are no summer assignments required for the course, but over the years I've had several parents and students ask if they could do anything to prepare. Below you will find several suggestions for activities that you can do over the summer for a little introduction to the course.

These are just suggestions. You will not be required to know any information from these resources or to use them in any way at the beginning of the school year. If you choose to use these resources, they should provide a little prior knowledge and context for what we will learn in class next year.

Books

Some of you will likely read a bit over the summer anyway. If so, you may want to add one or two of these suggestions to your summer reading list:


The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow

The Tipping Point, Blink, or Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori and Rom Brafman

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely

Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Articles

If you don't have enough time for a book, here are a few articles from the last year or so that you might find interesting.

Understanding How the Brain Speaks Two Languages from Time

What is Tylenol Doing to Our Mind from The Atlantic

Does It Pay to Know Your Type from The Washington Post

Noam Chomsky on Where Artificial Intelligence Went Wrong from The Atlantic

I Share My Body With Twenty Personalities from The Atlantic

Television

Monday's at 9:00 pm on the National Geographic Channel you can find an excellent show called Brain Games.

If you get a chance to look at any of these resources, let me know what you thought. See you in August.