Looking Back on Growing Up (CAMHS-UA.144)
NYU CAMS Department
Fall 2018
Cantor Rm 101
Tues & Thurs 11 AM – 12:15 PM
Instructors:
Lauren Knickerbocker, Ph.D.
NYU Child Study Center
646-754-5066
Lauren.Knickerbocker@nyumc.org
K. Ron-Li Liaw, MD
NYU Child Study Center
646-754-4877
Ron-Li.Liaw@nyumc.org
(office hours by appointment)
Teaching Assistants:
George Carpenter and Rebecca Zagha lbogutas@gmail.com
Course Overview:
This course provides an overview of child development with the goal of understanding the complexity of human growth, adaptation, and responses to adversity. To this aim, we will trace a variety of overlapping trajectories, including the development of cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, and moral capacities. We will examine the strengths and limitations of a variety of developmental theories and place them within their historical context. Special emphasis will be placed upon understanding the dynamic interplay between biology and environment.
Throughout the course, we will explore the important roles that families, peer groups, gender, sexuality, and culture play in shaping development throughout the lifecycle. The course will be

comprised of two interactive lectures per week based upon introductory readings on child development. Students will also be assigned one film to view at home each week to illustrate the myriad of ways in which human beings evolve and adapt through life’s transitions and challenges.
Course Aims:
1) To deconstruct the process of growing up across multiple developmental trajectories and capacities.
2) To critically examine the strengths and limitations of existing developmental theories.
3) To gain a deeper understanding of the dynamic interplay between one’s biology and environment.
4) To explore the myriad of ways that human beings grow and adapt throughout the lifecycle.
Required Reading:
Readings will be comprised of primary sources drawn from the developmental literature and made available by the instructor through NYU Classes. Please check NYU Classes for the most up-to-date schedule and reading assignments throughout the semester.
Films:
Each week a film will be assigned for home viewing. All films are on reserve at the Avery Fisher
Center in the Bobst Library. Many of the films are available on Netflix and Amazon.
Examinations and Grades:
Course grades will be comprised of the following components:

Midterm examination (20%) – Tuesday October 23 rd (11 AM-12:15 PM)

Final examination (25%) – Tuesday December 18th (10-11:50am FINALS WEEK)

Weekly response papers (25%) – 1 page, single-spaced 12 pt font Times New Roman
reflections (assigned weekly; 14 possible, must submit 10 papers) on the assigned readings and films. For each reflection, draw connections between EITHER developmental concepts presented through lecture, class discussion, and/or assigned readings and the assigned film for the week. You will turn papers in as a .doc or .pdf file on NYU Classes in the proper portal. Papers will be due by 11:59 p.m. on the day that we have in-class film discussions (Thursday of each week, leading into Friday). Late papers will NOT be accepted.
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
Two unannounced in class assignments (10%) will be announced in class and completed before the class period ends to be turned in for credit in class.

Critical Analysis Paper (20%) –November 29 th 2018 (IN CLASS) submission of a 5 page,
double-spaced paper based upon prompt below is required. A hardcopy of your critical analysis paper must be submitted in person at the beginning of class on Thursday
November 29 th 2018 in class. Papers should also be uploaded to NYU Classes PRIOR to
11 AM that day as well. Late papers will be accepted no more than 3 days past the due date, we are strict about this. You have 13 weeks to write the paper, problems the week of due date are not grounds for extensions. 10 points will be deducted for the first 3 days after the due date from the final paper grade. After 3 days, late papers are no longer accepted.
INSTRUCTIONS: For your critical analysis paper, choose a topic (e.g., risk & resilience, attachment, emotional development) from one of the weeks from our course and apply what you’ve learned to the life of a well-known person’s childhood and development. This person can be a pop culture icon, politician, actor/actress, or any other public figure. You should cite your sources for both the biographical information of the individual chosen, and the developmental topic you are using for your paper. For example, I may choose to write my paper on Ernest Hemingway and risk & resilience. I will have sources from his biography, from our class readings, and also from empirical research articles about risk & resilience. I would reflect on how his positive and negative childhood experiences impacted his relationships and writing as an adult. They will be cited throughout the paper and in the bibliography at the end of the paper. APA format is preferred.

Participation (+/- factored into final grade) – Highly important component of your learning, an expectation of the class, and factored into your final course grade. Class sign-in and active participation during discussions will be required throughout the semester.
Grade Distribution:
A 94-100%
B+ 87-89%
B- 80-83%
C 73-76%
D+ 67-69%
A- 90-93%
B 83-86%
C+ 77-79%
C- 70-72%
D 60-66%
F 0-59%
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Date: Course Topic
Week 1 (September 4 & 6)
Introduction & Development: This class will present an overview of the overlapping developmental trajectories unfolding throughout the life cycle. Students will be introduced to children’s emerging perceptual, attachment, language, cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal capacities. The sequence of developmental theories and constructs presented will unfold according to their salience during different stages of the life cycle with the exception of the more psychoanalytically-oriented theories and social-cultural constructs, which will be presented in the second half of the course given their complexity and, in some cases, controversy. We will also discuss child development themes including the origins of human behavior (biology & environment), the patterns of developmental change over time (continuity
& discontinuity), and the forces that affect change (individual characteristics & contextual influences) across the life cycle.
Reading:
“The Makings of a Memory Continue to Fascinate,” by Perri Klass, MD. New York Times, June
11, 2012.
“If I had bad parents, will I be a bad parent too?” by Daniel Siegel, MD and Tina Payne Bryson,
PhD. This Emotional Life, PBS.
Film:
“Babies” (d. Thomas Balmes, 2010, France)
Week 2 (September 11 & 13)
Genes x Environment Interactions: This class will provide students with an introduction to genetics and gene-environment interactions. We will discuss both Mendelian patterns of inheritance and the complex, multi-determined, multi-factorial patterns of inheritance seen in the development of temperament, personality, and psychiatric conditions. These class will also review basic principles of brain development, neurobiological structures and functioning.
Reading:
"The Interplay of Nature, Nurture, and Developmental Influences: The Challenge Ahead for
Mental Health" by Michael Rutter, MD, FRS.

Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2006). Gene–environment interactions in psychiatry: joining forces with neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience,7 (7), 583-590.
“Too Small to Fail,” by Nicholas Kristof. New York Times, June 2, 2016.
Film: (For each week, pick 1 film from the list below to watch in its entirety.)
“Wonder” (d. Stephen Chbosky, 2017, USA)
Week 3 (September 18 & 20)
Risk and Resilience: These classes will explore the role of factors that aid in establishing risk and resilience in child development and their sustained impact on individual developmental trajectories during times of adversity and stress. We will review the work of Stephen Suomi,
Michael Rutter, and Suniya Luthar to provide a deeper understanding of the underlying processes at work in successful responses to life’s transitions and challenges.
Reading:
Masten, A. S., & Wright, M. O’D. (2009). Resilience over the lifespan: Developmental perspectives on resistance, recovery, and transformation. In J. W. Reich, A. J. Zautra, & J. S. Hall
(Eds.), Handbook of adult resilience (pp. 213-237). New York: Guilford Press.
Dreyer, B. P. (2013). To create a better world for children and families: the case for ending childhood poverty. Academic pediatrics, 13(2), 83-90.
Shonkoff, J.P. & Garner, A.S. (2012). The Lifelong Effects of Early Childhood Adversity and Toxic
Stress. Pediatrics, 129:e232–e246.
Film:
“Beast of the Southern Wild” (d. Benh Zeitlin, 2012, USA)
Week 4 (September 25 & 27)
Pregnancy & Birth: These classes will also explore biological and socio-cultural influences during pregnancy and the birthing process.
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Reading:
“The Healthy Woman: A Complete Guide for All Ages”
Noble, K. G., Fifer, W. P., Rauh, V. A., Nomura, Y., & Andrews, H. F. (2012). Academic achievement varies with gestational age among children born at term. Pediatrics, 130(2), e257e264.
“The Infant Mental Health Specialist” by Deborah J. Weatherston, PhD. Zero to Three, Oct/Nov
2000.
Film: “Juno” (d. Jason Reitman, 2007, USA)
Week 5 (October 2 & 4)
Attachment Theory: This class will introduce students to attachment theory as it applies to our earliest relationships and relationships across the lifecycle. We will examine the evolution, nature, and quality of attachments in early life and its continued impact in adulthood.
Reading: (For each week, pick 2 articles from the list below to read.)
Dozier, M., Higley, E., Albus, K. E., & Nutter, A. (2002). Intervening with foster infants' caregivers: Targeting three critical needs. Infant mental health journal,23(5), 541-554.
“Yes, it’s Your Parents’ Fault”by Kate Murphy http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/opinion/sunday/yes-its-your-parents-fault.html?_r=0
Supporting Children with Slow to Warm Temperaments https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/198-children-with-shy-or-slow-to-warm-uptemperaments#chapter-129
Film:
“Matilda” (d. Danny DeVito, 1996, USA)
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Week 6 (October 9 & 11)
NO CLASS TUESDAY OCTOBER 9 th (following a Monday schedule)
Early Childhood: These classes will explore dramatic growth during the 3 years of life, including key milestones in physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. Are these the years of the “terrible” or “terrific” twos? During this week, we will examine this period of expansive development across multiple realms with a special focus on attachment. We will examine the evolution, nature, and quality of attachments throughout the life cycle. We will also explore the origins of empathy and the birth of the self.
Week 7 (October 16 & 18)
Cognitive Development & Play: Through the work of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, these classes will address how we make sense of the world and learn to think outside of ourselves.
We will discuss how our understanding of cognitive maturity has changed drastically in recent years as we have learned more about the role of experience and have applied neuroimaging tools to observe brain maturation. We will also discuss current disagreement going on in the education world about how much play should be incorporated into a curriculum. Some people view play as a waste of time, and school should be focused more on academics; “after all, kids don’t get extra credit for pretending to be a lion. They can’t put “played a ton of hide and seek” on a college essay.” However, while play may seem like a waste of time, in actuality, play builds brains – and this recitation event will show students just that by having them learn about play and to play themselves. “What is play? Does play look different depending on what age the child is? How might contextual factors affect the type of play (gender, sexual orientation, culture, race, economic background) children engage in? How can one promote play? How does play support or enhance a child’s cognitive, social, emotional and sexual development? How do one or more of the theoretical perspectives we read and/or discussed support, or don’t support, the importance of play for children? Feel free to use your own experiences with play either as an observer or an active participant to further shape your opinion!”
Readings:
Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics, 119(1), 182-191.
Podcast: http://freakonomics.com/2014/05/22/think-like-a-child-a-new-freakonomics-radiopodcast/
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Baillargeon, R., Spelke, E. S., & Wasserman, S. (1985). Object permanence in five-month-old infants.
Cognition, 20(3), 191-208.
Dehaene, S., Spelke, E., Pinel, P., Stanescu, R., & Tsivkin, S. (1999). Sources of mathematical thinking: Behavioral and brain-imaging evidence. Science, 284(5416), 970-974.
“The Joyful Illiterate Kindergarteners of Finland. by Tim Walker. The Atlantic Monthly. October
1, 2015.
“The Good Divorce,” by Susan Gregory Thomas. New York Times, October 28, 2011.
Film:
“Gifted” (d. Marc Webb, 2017 USA)
Week 8 (October 23 & 25)
MIDTERM TUESDAY IN CLASS!
Emotional Development, Regulation & Coping (part 1): These classes will examine the biological, psychological, and social underpinnings of emotional development and regulation.
We will also explore the relationship between attachment and emotional development through the life cycle. The classes will introduce Anna Freud’s early work in elucidating a wide-range of coping mechanisms, which are unconscious psychological processes employed to help us maintain stability in the face of life’s stresses.
Reading:
Eisenberg, N. (2000). Emotion, regulation, and moral development. Annual review of
psychology, 51(1), 665-697.
“What do Child Psychiatrists Think of Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’? They Love it.” by Zach Schonfeld.
Newsweek, June 28, 2015.
Film: “Inside Out” (d. Pete Docter & Ronaldo Del Carmen, 2015, USA)
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Week 9 (October 30 & Nov 1)
Emotion, Regulation & Coping with Trauma (part 2): We will continue our discussion of emotion development as it relates to individual differences in reactions to trauma. This will tie in with what you learned in the risk and resilience discussions.
Readings:
“To Help Kids Thrive, Coach Their Parents,” by Paul Tough. New York Times, May 21, 2016.
“Major modalities: psychoanalytic/psychodynamic” by Glen O. Gabbard, MD.
Film: “Antwone Fisher” (d. Denzel Washington, 2002, USA) or “The Glass Castle” (d. Destin
Daniel Cretton, 2017, USA)
Week 10 (November 6 & 8)
Adolescence & Peer Relations: Adolescence is a time of dynamic growth and development as children transition towards adulthood. We will explore why during this physically healthiest period of the lifespan, there is a dramatic rise in morbidity and mortality. These classes will examine biological, psychological, and social changes during puberty, which may lead to risktaking behaviors. We will also discuss the natural evolution of peer relationships across the life cycle and their role in shaping adolescent identity.
Reading:
Dahl RE. Adolescent brain development: A period of vulnerabilities and opportunities. Annual of the New York Academy of Sciences 2004; 1021: 1-22.
“Do Your Friends Actually Like You?” by Kate Murphy. New York Times, Aug 6 2016.
Film: “Me, Earl and the Dying Girl” (d. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, 2015, USA)
Week 11 (November 13 & 15)
Family Systems: The family is both the earliest and the most sustained source of social contact for the child and thus one of the most powerful influences in development. These classes will explore what a family is and variations seen in family composition, organization, and
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functioning. These classes will also provide an introduction to Salvador Minuchin’s structural family therapy and Murray Bowen’s systems theory of the family. Andrew Roffman, director of the Family Studies Program at the NYU Child Study Center, will be joining as a guest lecture this week.
Reading:
Minuchin P. “Families and Individual Development: Provocations from the Field of Family
Therapy.” Child Development, Vol. 56, No. 2, Family Development and the Child. (Apr., 1985), pp. 289-302.
Film:
“The Kids Are All Right” (d. Lisa Cholodenko, 2010, USA)
Week 12 (November 20 & 22)
THANKSGIVING BREAK NO CLASS THURSDAY!
Gender & Sexuality: This class will review current theories and debates regarding the development of gender and sexual identity. We will begin with an exploration of the definitions of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation and identity. We will then explore gender differences throughout development and the role of biological, cognitive, and environmental factors in influencing the development gender and sexual identity.
Reading:
Liaw KR & Janssen A. “Not by Convention: Working with People on the Sexual and Gender
Continuum” in The Massachusetts General Hospital Textbook on Diversity and Cultural
Sensitivity (pages 84-104).
DeLamater, J & Friedrich, WN. "Human Sexual Development.” The Journal of Sex Research. Vol
39, No. 1, Feb 2002: pp.10-14.
Film:
“Moonlight” (d. Barry Jenkins, 2016, US)
“The Danish Girl” (d. Tom Hopper, 2015, UK)
“Thanksgiving” (episode 8 from Master of None season 2, 2017, US)
Week 13 (November 27 & 29)
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Young Adulthood & Intimacy: In these classes, we will examine Erikson’s stage of young adulthood and the dialectic between intimacy vs. isolation in more detail. We will explore the questions of 1) How does the identity established during adolescence affect expression of intimacy during young adulthood and 2) How does one find the right balance between one’s own identity needs and those of significant others or as Freud said, how “love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.”
Readings:
“What is it about 20-somethings?” by Robin M Henig. NY Times, August 18, 2010.
“When are you really an Adult?” by Julie Beck. The Atlantic Monthly, January 5, 2016
Film:
“Spectacular Now” (d. James Ponsodlt, 2013, USA)
“Good Will Hunting” (d. Gus Van Sant, 1997, USA)
Week 14 (December 4 & 6)
Lifecycle Perspectives: These classes will also provide an introduction to life span theories of development highlighting the unique contributions of Erik Erikson and his 8 stages of life. We will also explore George Valliant’s work on the Grant Study, which followed 268 promising undergraduates through four decades of their lives.
Reading:
"What Makes Us Happy" from the Atlantic Monthly (2009)
An, J. S., & Cooney, T. M. (2006). Psychological well-being in mid to late life: The role of generativity development and parent–child relationships across the lifespan. International
Journal of Behavioral Development, 30(5), 410-421.
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Film:
“Beginners” (d. Mike Mills, 2010, USA)
Week 15 (December 11 & 13)
Cultural Influences: These classes will explore the role of culture in understanding differences and commonalities in child development across various cultural groups. These classes will explore definitions of culture and the variations seen in expectations, values, norms, family structure, peer relationships, and gender roles across different cultural groups. In these final classes, we will also discuss how the many developmental theories and concepts learned provide multiple lenses through which to understand human beings’ growth, adaptation, and responses to adversity throughout the life cycle.
Reading:
Tappan, M. B. (1997). Language, culture, and moral development: A Vygotskian perspective. Developmental Review, 17(1), 78-100.
Gillen, J., Cameron, C. A., Tapanya, S., Pinto, G., Hancock, R., Young, S., & Gamannossi, B. A.
(2007). ‘A day in the life’: Advancing a methodology for the cultural study of development and learning in early childhood. Early Child Development and Care, 177(2), 207-218.
Rothe EM et al. “Acculturation, Development, and Adaption.” Child Adolesc Psychiatric Clin N
Am 19 (2010) 681–696.
Film:
“The Big Sick” (d. Michael Showalter, 2017, US)
BAKE OFF EVENT: Thursday December 13 th in class
(Instructions will be given in class Tuesday, December 4 th in class)
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