UNIT 1

PSYCHOLOGY
FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND ATTRACTION
Unit Description
Content: This course is designed to familiarize the student with concepts in
social psychology.

Skills: Main Ideas and Supporting Details

• Finding the main idea
• Skimming for main ideas
• Scanning for supporting details
• Listening for main ideas
• Using outlines
• Listening for details
• Recognizing parts of a paragraph
• Writing a topic sentence
• Using an outline to organize a paragraph

Unit Requirements
• Reading: “The Power of First Impressions” (an excerpt from a scientific
journal)
• Lecture: “Elements of Attraction”
• Listening: “A First Meeting” (a campus conversation)
• Integrated Writing Task: Writing a paragraph to make a prediction about
a relationship
• Assignments: www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

Copyright © 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Contents

1 PREVIEW

Previewing the Academic Content

Previewing the Academic Skills Focus

2 BUILDING ACADEMIC READING SKILLS

Before You Read

Global Reading

Focused Reading

3 BUILDING ACADEMIC LISTENING SKILLS

Before You Listen

Global Listening

Focused Listening

4 BUILDING ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS

Before You Write

Focused Writing

Integrated Writing Task

GRAMMAR CHART: Predictions with will

UNIT 1 ANSWER KEY

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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1 PREVIEW
Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Vocabulary Check.

Previewing the Academic Content, page 2

Psychology is a broad academic field that focuses primarily on the workings of
the human mind. College students who major in psychology might choose
careers in clinical psychology (that is, treating patients), school counseling,
teaching, or business as a human resources professional. This unit centers on
social psychology, which is the study of people and how they interact with other
people. In this unit, students will examine:
• the influences first impressions have on relationships with others
• the main factors that cause people to be attracted to one another

Activating Background Knowledge

• Before students open their books, give them the experience of a first
impression:
• Show them a picture of a person they do not know. The key is for
them to see this person for the very first time.
• Have students look at the image for only ten seconds.
• Ask students to say what this person is like, if they would want to
be friends with this person, and why.
• Explain that this is what a first impression is and that this will be the
focus of the unit.
• Examine the Key Words on page 2. This vocabulary will be helpful for
comprehension of the text and lecture and useful for the Integrated Writing
Task.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Key Words and Key Words:

Practice.

Previewing the Academic Skills Focus, page 3

Highlight the purpose of this section, stated on the left. This unit focuses on
strategies for:
• recognizing main ideas and details in readings and lectures
• writing clearly, using main ideas and details
• skimming and scanning a reading
• organizing information with an outline

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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The paragraph “Forming First Impressions” (page 3) comes from a psychology
textbook. The author’s main idea or point can be found in the first sentence:
“People are very good at forming first impressions from little information.” This
information comes from physical features, voice, and clothing.

Review the academic skills focus: Main Ideas and Supporting Details.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Comprehension.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Discussion Board.

2 BUILDING ACADEMIC READING SKILLS

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Vocabulary Check.

Highlight the purpose of this section, stated on the left. Tell students that they will
practice identifying the main ideas and supporting details in a text.

Before You Read, page 4

Students complete exercises that will help them learn how to find the main idea
of a text.

Examine the Key Words on page 4 before starting Exercise 1. This vocabulary
will be helpful for comprehension of the text and useful for the Integrated Writing
Task.

Review the academic skills focus: Finding the Main Idea.

Before reading the paragraph:

• Teach students how to pronounce schemata ['skē-mə-tə]
• Say that the reading will define schemata and explain why schemata are
important.

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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The paragraph “The Importance of Schemata” (page 4) helps students prepare
for the main academic reading in this unit. It defines schemata as “ideas and
expectations about a group based on past experiences.” It also explains that
these ideas and expectations help people form first impressions.

In Exercise 3, page 5, the correct choice is: Schemata are helpful in forming fast
first impressions. Students should have underlined the first two sentences in the
paragraph, the topic sentences. Point out that the concluding sentence echoes
the topic sentence.

In Exercise 4, page 5:
• Have students point directly to the specific parts of the paragraph that
helped them find the main idea.
• Remind students that when reading, they usually do not focus on every
word. Similarly, in skimming they look at just enough to get the “big
picture” or main ideas of the text.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Key Words and Key Words:

Practice.

Global Reading, page 5

Students read an excerpt from a college textbook and learn to skim a reading for
main ideas.

Review the academic skills focus: Skimming for Main Ideas.

Summary of the Reading

“The Power of First Impressions,” page 6

The reading:
• discusses the impact of first impressions on the way relationships are
formed with other people.
• introduces two principles:
• The primacy effect: First impressions are often lasting and difficult
to change.
• Self-fulfilling prophecies: People behave the way they think other
people expect them to behave.

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

Copyright © 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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In Exercise 1, page 5, students should underline the last sentence in the first
paragraph. In American academic writing, the main idea comes early in a
paragraph or essay. Writers usually don’t wait until the end to give the main idea.
However, it is often restated near the end. In an essay, such as this reading, the
main idea is typically found in the final sentence of the first, introductory,
paragraph.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Reading Activities 1–4.

Focused Reading, page 7

Students read the text again and learn to scan a reading for details.

Review the academic skills focus: Scanning for Supporting Details.

Exercise 1, page 8, asks students to circle the question words in the column on
the left (How long, What, When, Who, and How many).
• Before continuing, ask students what other question words they know
(Where, Why, How, How much).
• Elicit questions using these question words.

In Exercise 2, page 8, point out the language structures needed to answer the
questions successfully:
• making predictions with will and be going to
• talking about past events with the simple past
• giving reasons with because

Note that students will make predictions with will and be going to in the
Integrated Writing Task at the end of this unit.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Reading Activity 5.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Checkpoint 1.

3 BUILDING ACADEMIC LISTENING SKILLS

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Vocabulary Check.

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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Highlight the purpose of this section, stated on the left. This section provides
strategies and activities designed to help students learn to understand a
speaker’s main ideas and listen for details in a lecture.

Before You Listen, page 9

Students read about a study on speed dating and learn vocabulary that will be
useful to them in their study of interpersonal attraction.

Before reading about Dr. Todd’s study (in the yellow box), examine the Key
Words on page 9. This vocabulary will be helpful for comprehension of the text
and useful for the Integrated Writing Task.

To prepare students for the lecture, have them read about Dr. Todd’s study of
speed dating. Speed dating is an organized event at which groups of people
meet quickly one-on-one to determine if they want to date each other in the
future. In the lecture, students will hear more about Todd’s research and findings.

For Exercise 2, page 9:

• Draw the chart on the board.
• Select two students to collect the information from the class and tally the
results on the board.
• Ask students to describe the results and react to them.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Key Words and Key Words:

Practice.

Global Listening, page 10

Students listen to the introduction to a lecture in a psychology class. They learn
to listen for main ideas and to use an outline.

Review the academic skills focus: Listening for Main Ideas.

Summary of the Lecture (introduction only)

“Elements of Attraction,” page 10 (For the complete audioscript, see Academic

Connections 1, page 155.)

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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The professor:
• introduces the three elements of interpersonal attraction: physical
attractiveness, similarity, and exchange.
• notes that the term interpersonal attraction includes all relationships, i.e.,
all friends and family, not just romantic partners.

Tell students that Exercise 1, page 10, asks them to determine the focus of the
lecture based on what they hear in the introduction.

Review the academic skills focus: Using Outlines, page 11.

Tell students that the key to successful outlining is being able to identify main
ideas and details, the primary skills focus of this unit.

Summary of the Lecture (complete lecture)

“Elements of Attraction,” page 11 (For the complete audioscript, see Academic

Connections 1, page 155.)

Following the introduction, the professor discusses the three elements of

attraction in detail:
• Physical beauty: Beautiful people are treated better than less attractive
people.
• Similarity: People choose friends and partners of the same or similar age,
race, class, and opinions.
• Exchange: People are attracted when they can give to and receive from
one another in a balanced way.

For Exercise 3, page 11:

• Stress that during this listening, students should focus only on filling in the
main ideas. They will listen again to fill in the details.
• Tell students that careful, consistent abbreviation can help when outlining
a lecture.
• Practice abbreviating key words consistently:
• attraction
attrn
• important
imp
• element
elem
• men
♂
• women
♀
• is/are
=

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Listening Activities 1–4.

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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Focused Listening, page 12
Students listen to the complete lecture, including the introduction, and learn to
listen for details.

Review the academic skills focus: Listening for Details.

In Exercise 3, page 12, don’t let students be distracted by the word most. Men
thought that beauty was most important even though they didn’t say it outright.
The suggestion in this segment of the lecture is that the tendency to believe this
is pervasive. Other answers they gave may have indicated this.

For Exercise 4, page 12:

• Tell students that they can choose any relationship (other than family),
including friendship.
• Remind them to review the reading and their lecture notes to complete the
chart.

For Exercise 5, page 13:

• Ask students to look at the sample response.
• Elicit what tense they will need to use in their responses (simple past).
• Tell students to monitor their use of the simple past when completing this
exercise.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Listening Activity 5.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Checkpoint 2.

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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4 BUILDING ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS
Make sure that students are familiar with the grammar point covered in
MyAcademicConnectionsLab for this unit (predictions with will) before they begin
this section. Go to page 13 in these Teacher's Notes for the grammar chart.

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Grammar Check.

Highlight the purpose of this section, stated on the left. In this section, students
identify the elements of an effective paragraph and write a paragraph about a
relationship between two students.

Before You Write, page 13

Students read a short text about stereotypes, and they are introduced to the
parts of a paragraph.

Review the academic skills focus: Recognizing Parts of a Paragraph.

Tell students that they will transfer their underlining and checking in Exercise 1,
page 13, to the outline in Exercise 2, page 14.

Remind students that the outlining in Exercise 2, page 14, is similar to the
outlining they did on page 11.
• Topic sentence: Stereotypes can influence first impressions in many ways,
and they can also cause problems.
• Body/Details:
• A stereotype is a strong idea about what a person is like based on
one thing.
• People usually learn stereotypes at a young age.
• When people use stereotypes to form first impressions, they expect
the person to behave a certain way because of the stereotype.
• Stereotypes can cause people to not pay attention to the
differences between people.
• Concluding sentence: This can hurt a relationship. (Note that “this” refers
to having incorrect impressions of someone.)

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Comprehension.

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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Focused Writing, page 14
Students learn to write a topic sentence and to use an outline to organize a
paragraph.

Review the academic skills focus: Writing a Topic Sentence.

Tell students that an effective topic sentence clearly expresses the main idea of a
paragraph.

For Exercise 2, page 15, after students present a topic sentence, ask them to say
what specific information the paragraph might include (the body or details). They
will do a similar activity in Exercise 3. For example:

“Beauty is more important to men than women.” This paragraph might include
support from research that men think beauty is more important than women do or
results of a survey conducted by the class on this question.

“In my opinion, the most important thing in a relationship is similarity.” This

paragraph might include reasons for the opinion offered.

Review the academic skills focus: Using an Outline to Organize a Paragraph,

page 15.

In Exercise 4, page 15, encourage students to:

• elaborate on their feedback (e.g., if they see a controlling idea, tell the
writer what it is)
• ask questions about content
• make suggestions

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Writing Strategy.

Integrated Writing Task, page 16

Students listen to a campus conversation and prepare for the final writing task: a
paragraph in which they make a prediction about the speakers.

Tell students that the conversation they will hear is between two students. They
will use this conversation, the main reading, and the lecture to complete the
Integrated Writing Task at the end of this unit.
Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1
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Stress that answers for Exercise 1, page 16, are based on what the speakers say
rather than what students see in the photo.

For Exercise 2, page 16, allow students time to refer back to the main reading
and their lecture notes.

For Exercise 3, page 17:

• Have students follow the steps to complete the Integrated Writing Task.
• Monitor their progress, checking in with them from time to time.
• Collect their paragraphs after Step 5.
• Give them feedback on their paragraphs so that they may write a final
draft. For example, did the writer:
• have a clear main idea in a topic sentence?
• use supporting details?
• use expressions for giving details?
• correctly make predictions with will and be going to?
• use Key Words from this unit?

Go to www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com for Internet Activity and

Academic Words Puzzle.

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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GRAMMAR CHART: Predictions with will
Predictions with will
1. Use will + base form of the verb to They will become good friends
talk about things that will happen in the because they have similar interests.
future.

Will is usually contracted in speech. They’ll become good friends.

Use will not + base form of the verb They will not become good friends
to talk about things that will not happen because they have nothing in common.
in the future.

Won’t is the contraction of will + not. They won’t become good friends.
2. Use will to ask questions about the A: Will they see each other again?
future. B: Yes, I think they will (see each
other again).

In questions, will comes before the A: How will they feel about each
noun or pronoun. other?
B: I think they will like each other.
3. Use probably to say that something
is not definite.

Probably comes between will and the They will probably be attracted to
main verb. each other.

In a negative sentence, probably They probably won’t be attracted to

comes before won’t. each other.
4. You can add an if-clause to the They will become good friends if they
future prediction to talk about possible are similar.
results in the future.

The verb in the if-clause is in the If they are similar, they will become
present tense. good friends.

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

Copyright © 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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UNIT 1 ANSWER KEY

1 PREVIEW
Previewing the Academic Skills Focus
Exercise 1, page 3
Underlined sentence: People are very good at forming first impressions from little
information.

Exercise 2, page 3
Answers will vary. Suggested answers for the second bullet point: People form
first impressions with the little information they have.

Exercise 3, page 3
Answers will vary. Suggested answers: The other sentences in the paragraph are
supporting details. They give examples of how people form first impressions.

2 BUILDING ACADEMIC READING SKILLS

Before You Read
Exercise 1, page 4
1. impact 3. prediction
2. behave; expect 4. influence

Exercise 3, page 5
Schemata are helpful in forming fast first impressions.
Underlined sentence: They use schemata to help form these impressions.

Exercise 4, page 5
Answers will vary, but all of the items can be correct.
The other statements in the paragraph are not the main idea because they are
the supporting details.

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

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Global Reading
Exercise 1, page 5
Students should circle Paragraph 1. Underlined sentence: Research shows that
first impressions are very important because they have a strong impact on
forming relationships.

Exercise 2, page 7
Paragraph 1: b Paragraph 3: a Paragraph 5: b
Paragraph 2: c Paragraph 4: d

Exercise 3, page 7
1. b 3. a 5. a
2. b 4. b

Focused Reading
Exercise 1, page 8
1. How long; a few seconds 4. Who; Sunnafrank
2. What; clothes, body shape, the way 5. How many; 164
a person talks, expressions
3. When; 1978

3 BUILDING ACADEMIC LISTENING SKILLS

Global Listening
Exercise 1, page 10
2. Three elements of interpersonal attraction are important in all relationships.

Exercise 2, page 10
1, 2, 3

Exercise 3, page 11
Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1
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See the answers in Focused Listening, Exercise 1.

Focused Listening
Exercise 1, page 12
(Introduction) three important elements of attraction
• physical attractiveness
• similarity
• exchange

(Main idea) physical beauty is important

• Peter Todd study: beauty = most significant part for men
• People believe that beautiful people = more intelligent, interesting, happy,
kind
• Teachers behave better toward attractive children
• Mothers give beautiful babies more attention

(Main idea) Similarity is important

• People usually choose friends/partners who are similar to them
• People who are similar are more confident around one another
• Peter Todd study: similarity = most important for men and women

(Main idea) Exchange is important

• Definition = when two people give to and receive from each other
• two people feel good about exchange = will continue in relationship
• two people don’t feel good about exchange = relationship will grow weak

(Conclusion) physical attractiveness, similarity, exchange are important for all

relationships

Exercise 3, page 12
1. T 3. T 5. F 7. F
2. T 4. F 6. F

4 BUILDING ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1
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Before You Write
Exercise 1, page 13
Stereotypes can influence first impressions in many ways, and they can also

) is a strong idea about what a person is like
cause problems. A stereotype (

based on one thing, such as the person’s age, sex, race, or job. People usually

) with ideas they get from family members,
learn stereotypes at a young age, (


) When people use stereotypes to form first
friends, television, and movies. (

impressions, they expect the person to behave a certain way because of the

) For example, they may expect a woman to be a good cook or a
stereotype. (


) people may believe these
man to be strong. Because of their stereotypes, (

things without paying attention to differences between people. As a result, they
may be incorrect in their impressions. This can hurt a relationship.

Exercise 2, page 14
(Topic Sentence) Stereotypes can influence first impressions in many ways, and
they can also cause problems.
(Body/Details)
• stereotype = strong idea about what a person is like based on one
thing
• stereotypes = learned at young age from family, friends, television,
movies
• when people use stereotypes = expect a person to behave a
certain way
• stereotypes = people believe these things without paying attention
to differences between people
(Concluding Sentence) This can hurt a relationship.

Focused Writing
Exercise 1, page 14
1. First impressions are (
) important in forming relationships.
Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1
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2. Physical attractiveness is more (
) important to men than to women.

3. Expecting your children to behave badly in a situation can be a self-fulfilling

prophecy.

4. My friend and I have a (
) good exchange.

5. Stereotypes can have a (
) great influence on first impressions.

Exercise 2, page 15
Answers will vary. Suggested answers:
1. First impressions greatly influence relationships between people.
2. One of the most important elements of attraction is beauty.
3. A self-fulfilling prophecy happens when you expect others to behave a certain
way.
4. People choose their friends and partners based on similarity.

Integrated Writing Task

Exercise 1, page 16
Who . . . Akiko Rosa
1. is a new student?

2. knows Hiro?


3. wears nice clothes?

4. is helping at the orientation?

5. will show the cafeteria?

6. will buy coffee?

7. likes to shop?

Exercise 2, page 16
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1. similarity 3. first impression 5. exchange
2. self-fulfilling prophecy 4. beauty 6. primacy effect

Academic Connections 1, Teacher’s Notes UNIT 1

Copyright © 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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