5 Steps to a 5: AP Psychology - McGraw Hill 2021

Preface

Welcome to the new edition of this test preparation book for AP Psychology that includes information from DSM-5. If you don’t know what DSM-5 is, you will soon. The book has been designed so that it is user-friendly and employs the concepts psychologists know about learning and remembering to help you succeed. Each chapter begins with an advance organizer to help you understand the material. Smaller sections enable you to fit what you are learning into the framework of what you already know. Features that previous users found most helpful, such as the definitions in the glossary at the end of the book, questions very similar to those actually on the AP exam, and Rapid Review at the end of each content chapter have been retained.

If psychology were mainly common sense, as many people think, you wouldn’t need this book. You wouldn’t need to study either. In fact, many concepts in psychology are counterintuitive, the opposite of what common sense leads us to think. Actually, psychology is a real science with a substantial knowledge base. If you are currently enrolled in an Advanced Placement Psychology course, you know how much more than listening to people’s problems and analyzing them is included in the study of psychology, and you know how many hundreds of pages you need to navigate in a hard-covered course textbook. If you’re not enrolled in an AP course, you may need additional support to help you select material that is likely to be tested on the May exam. In either situation, you’ll benefit from this book, which was created to help you study for the Advanced Placement Exam in Psychology®.

This book provides you with the information on which you need to focus for taking the Advanced Placement Exam in Psychology® and gives you opportunities to practice answering AP-type questions. The multiple-choice questions count for two-thirds of your test score, and the essays count for one-third. While multiple-choice questions usually assess your understanding of one concept, essays test your understanding of numerous concepts and your ability to integrate information from more than one chapter. Practice in answering both multiple-choice and essay questions will help you do well on the AP exam. Read all the material and answer all the questions in all of the content chapters of this book, if you have enough time. Check your answers. Follow the study tips to help you learn and remember material you need to know. As the May exam approaches, take the two practice tests at the end of the book, and check your answers to see what you still need to learn. Since studying will help you succeed, it’s time to get started!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Laura Lincoln Maitland received a BA in biological sciences from Douglass College, an MA in psychology from Stony Brook University, an MS in education from CUNY—Queens College, and a Professional Diploma from Long Island University.

Retired from the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, where she was lead science chairperson and taught Living Environment, AP Psychology, and Science Research for many years, she is currently an adjunct instructor at Hofstra University. She is also an education consultant at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Long Island BOCES, and a variety of other venues. Laura has been a workshop presenter for the College Board, the New York State Biology-Chemistry Professional Development Network, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Dolan DNA Learning Center, the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, the New York City Board of Education, and the New York State Education Department.

One of the founders and early chairs of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools, she chaired the committee that created National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula. She also served on the AP Psychology Development Committee for the College Board/ETS. She received the first American Psychological Association Presidential Citation presented to a high school teacher and the American Psychological Association Division Two Excellence in Teaching Award.

Laura Sheckell studied psychology at the University of Michigan, where she received her BA in psychology. She continued her studies at the University of Michigan in secondary education with certification in social studies and psychology. Laura also received an MA in K—12 administrative education from Michigan State University.

Laura is currently teaching various psychology courses at Wylie E. Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, where she has spent 20 years as part of the Birmingham Public Schools system. The extensive psychology curriculum includes Psychology, Psychology and the Individual, AP Psychology, and Topics in Psychology. She has also served as the Social Studies Department chairperson for the past five years. Laura has been fortunate to work as an AP Psychology reader and table leader for College Board/ETS for 5 years.