Topics and Learning Objectives


I. History and Approaches

Psychology has evolved markedly since its inception as a discipline in 1879. There have been significant changes in the theories that psychologists use to explain behavior and mental processes. In addition, the methodology of psychological research has expanded to include a diversity of approaches to data gathering.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:


---structuralism, functionalism, & behaviorism in the early years;

---Gestalt, psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, and humanism emerging later;

---evolutionary, biological, and cognitive, and biopsychosocial as more contemporary approaches.



---biological, clinical, cognitive, counseling, developmental, educational, experimental, human factors, industrial-organizational, personality, psychometric, and social.