AP Psychology Put behavior to the testAP PsychologyPut behaviorto the test

Start with the experiments linked below and the public Module 1.1 teaching materials. Our neuroscience laboratory curriculum, planned for publication with NSTA Press in 2027, brings this work together in 14 modules across Neurons, Systems and Brains. It is written for high-school teachers, including those without a neuroscience background, with explicit connections to AP Psychology.

The teacher materials include 50- and 75-minute pacing plans, preparation checklists, suggested teaching prompts, troubleshooting guidance, student handouts and assessment rubrics. Students progress from guided investigations to their own questions, data analysis and scientific mini-posters.

The plan offers teacher-demonstration options for touch, adaptation and neuropharmacology, plus behavioral alternatives in capstone projects. Choose the route that fits your class, and follow the module’s preparation and prerequisite guidance.

The course connections above use today’s AP framework. Concept Application, Research Methods and Design, Data Interpretation, and Argumentation depend on the work students actually do. These selected modules supplement your course; they do not cover all five AP units.

Smith and colleagues describe alpha-wave and P300 investigations in the Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education. Their classroom work included recordings from 30 participants in four psychology classes at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Use the paper to plan the method, examine artifacts and discuss why averaging matters. Recordings varied, and some apparently clear P300 responses could not be distinguished from noise. This is published undergraduate classroom work; it does not establish AP exam gains.

Each route leads to an existing experiment with its own setup and procedure. Choose the comparison and student work, then check the materials and your school’s recording setup.

For reaction time, compare the simple response with the existing go/no-go task; use the motor-choice task when students select between two movements. For EEG, the auditory oddball/P300 experiment adds repeated trials and averaged responses. Follow its current software and analysis instructions.

The existing neural-adaptation experiment extends the neuron route. A reduced response to sustained stimulation supports discussion of adaptation; it is not by itself evidence of learned behavior.

Module 3.3 already uses Mar’i and colleagues’ sleep-memory paper to teach scientific reading. Students identify the question and hypotheses, reconstruct the method, interpret figures, and assess conclusions. Its paper organizer and evidence checklist are part of the forthcoming teacher materials; the published study is linked below for reading now.

Can replaying a learned sound during sleep affect later recall? The study compares changes in location-memory error for cued and uncued items. Examine its controls, exclusions and alternative explanations before considering a recording project.

The study had seven adult sleep completers and two awake controls. Its recording protocol requires one continuous 3–4-hour session, including an approximately 90-minute nap. The existing experiment is an advanced project with participant and institutional requirements; reading and analyzing the paper is the more practical starting point for a class.

Our earlier book, Gage and Marzullo’s How Your Brain Works: Neuroscience Experiments for Everyone (MIT Press, 2022), contains 46 numbered experiments. Find reaction time in Chapter 23, EEG in Chapter 10, P300 in Chapter 13, neurons and touch in Chapters 2–3, and sleep and memory in Chapters 11–12.

For a starting point without electronics, MIT Press publishes its ruler-drop reaction-time excerpt. This measures the catch response through a falling ruler, a different endpoint from the EMG timing route above.