AP Psychology 2015-16

Welcome to AP Psych! I'm guessing if you've found this you're planning on taking AP Psych at AHS in the fall of 2015. If you're not, call your counselor now and sign up. You won't regret it.

We do not have a summer assignment for the class, but I have made suggestions over the last few years of resources that students might want to use over the summer. Honestly, it's like this-- if you're going to read and would like something good that will actually relate to what you're going to learn this fall I've put together a suggested list. I've had many students borrow my copies throughout the year and comment positively after reading.

I haven't changed the list from last year, so if you find something else new and engaging, let me know.

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

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

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die  by Chip and Dan Heath


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.

When Does Consciousness Begin and End from PBS Nova

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

On the National Geographic Channel you can find an excellent show called Brain Games. Last year it aired on Mondays at 9pm. For this years summer schedule, check the website.

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