On Tuesday, May 5th and Wednesday, May 6th, the AP Psychology classes put together a year of hard work and finished their Semi-Finals in the AP Psychology Unethical Presentations. Students were each assigned to an unethical experiment in which they had to present. In a March Madness type bracket, presentations competed in order to continue to the next bracket.
Ella Spencer, a junior and AP Psychology student added, “I’m excited for finals. I love debates, especially because I’ll be going against my two best friends in the class. It’ll be interesting for sure. We started planning for the debate in April, so we’re locked in. I want to win, and I know others on the team want to, as well. I’m also excited to be done with this crazy project.”
In first period, MK Ultra and Tony LaMadrid made it into the finals. In eighth period, Willowbrook State School and Baby Albert will be competing for the winning spot.
Piper Stewart, a sophomore and AP Psychology student said, “In order to prepare, I had the people from my group come over to my house. We made the bunny masks and finalized what we wanted to say. It turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I think that the fake blood added a lot of character to the bunny. Overall, I am just pleasantly surprised with how well our presentation went.”
The final round is formatted as a debate- the large teams on either side will argue for their side, and attempt to refute the arguments against the opposing side.
Spencer said, “I was really nervous the day of. I knew we were prepared and could definitely win, but I was worried the other group was going to be better. I was shaking really badly, but it turned out really pretty well. I really wanted to do a good job. I also wanted it to be over with.”
For AP Psychology students, these debates aren’t just a quick grade.
Stewart said, “I will not lie to you I was ready to pee my pants, I was just really nervous to get up in front of the class and do a presentation like the one we had the costumes on. It was nerve-racking. However, I’d begun thinking about what I could do to make it better and we made a few last minute decisions.”
Even despite the heart-racing nerves, many students find themselves prepared for what comes next.
Spencer said, “While the other team arguably has stronger people, we have some really good ones. Our experiment is also much more unethical, so we definitely stand a chance. I would love to win. While I did technically lose in the first round, I honestly feel like I didn’t, and I’ve been on this team the whole time. I like to think that I’ve carried us this far and we wouldn’t have done it without me. I’m not sure if others would agree, but hopefully they think I’m important.”
