University of Alberta
Psychology 223 B1: Developmental Psychology
Winter 2007: Jan. 9 - Apr. 13
Instructor:
Office:
Ria Busink, Ph. D.
BSP 535
(My office is hard to find if you take the stairs. Unless you have
extra time on your hands or want the exercise, get there by taking the elevator
diagonally across from the psychology general office.)
Phone:
492-5261
Office hours: Wed. 3:15 - 4:45 or by appointment
Email:
rbusink@ualberta.ca (Please always put Psyco 223 under the Subject heading.)
Course Website: http://www.psych.ualberta.ca/~rbusink/P223 or go to Course Websites on the
Psychology Department website (will be updated soon)
T.A.: Andrea Dalton
Office: BSP 319E
Office hours: Thursday, 12:00 – 2 o'clock
Telephone: 492 - 7447
Email: andrea.dalton@ualberta.ca
Textbooks:
Shaffer, D. R. (2005). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence (2nd
Canadian ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. (required)
Hensch, S. A. (1999). Study guide and activities for Shaffer's developmental
psychology: Childhood and adolescence (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. (optional)
Required readings on reserve at the Circulation Desk in Cameron:
1. Supplementary reading for Ch. 5: Sigman, M. (1995). Nutrition and child development:
More food for thought. Current Directions, 4, 52-55. (A13)
2. Supplementary reading for Ch. 8: Comer, R. J. (2001). Abnormal psychology, 4th ed. pp.
553 – 556. New York: Worth. (A18)
3. Supplementary reading for Ch. 14 & Ch. 15: Is spanking detrimental to children? In D. S.
DelCampo & R. L. DelCampo (eds.) Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial issues in
childhood and society. (A19)
Optional Readings:
1. Arnett, J. J. (1999). Adolescent storm and stress, reconsidered. American Psychologist, 54,
317-326. (A15)
2. Broberg, A. G., Wessels, H., Lamb, M. E. & Hwang, C. P. (1997) Effects of day care on the
development of cognitive abilities in 8-year olds: A longitudinal study. Developmental
Psychology, 33, 62-69. (A14)
There is also a copy of the Shaffer text and the study guide on reserve.
Text call no. - BF 721, S4688, 2001.
Study guide call no. – BF 721, S4688, 2005
Prerequisites: Psyco 104 and Psyco 105, or equivalent.
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Course Overview and Goals:
Developmental psychology is a very diverse field that looks at how people change and
stay the same over time. It covers the entire lifespan from conception to death. Because of time
constraints, we will not look at development beyond adolescence. Developmental psychology
includes a broad range of topics, including physical, sensory, cognitive, emotional and social
development. Because of this diversity, it has been influenced by a variety of theories.
Psyco 223 provides a more in-depth examination of the nature and processes of human
development that were introduced in Psyco 104/105. However, it is fair to say that it is still a
survey course. Topics covered include research methods in the study of human development,
theoretical perspectives, the influence of heredity and the environment, the prenatal period,
childbirth, the neonate, and physical, cognitive, personality, and social development during
infancy, childhood and adolescence.
At the end of the course you should have some understanding of theories and patterns of
development, how these are studied and how they are applied to and look in the real world "out
there."
Lectures:
Note that the purpose of lectures is not simply to regurgitate the text. In my lectures I
will be variously introducing, clarifying, and elaborating on material related to the course, much
of it in the text, but not all. You will be responsible for a great deal of information in the text on
your own. Lecture time is limited. Just because I haven't talked about it doesn't mean you aren't
responsible for it.
I intend to show quite a few short video clips in class. They will not only make the
course material more accessible, they are usually fun.
Evaluation:
Exams will be based both on the text and the required readings, and on lecture material.
Note that exams will not include many detail questions. The emphasis will be on conceptual and
application questions. You should know the material in three ways: (a) understand the technical
language; (b) be able to word it in ordinary language; and (c) be able to recognize it in the real
world. Note that you are not expected to memorize tables and "figures". Rather, understand the
concepts.
The final grade will be based on two midterms and a final. These will be
weighted as follows to yield the final grade:
Feb. 13
Midterm 1: 30% of the grade
Mar. 20
Midterm 2: 35% of the grade
Apr. 23, 2 o'clock
Final:
35% of the grade
The midterms will consist of 55 multiple choice questions. The questions will be based
on only the readings and the lecture material covered immediately before that midterm. The
final exam will consist of 90 multiple choice questions. About 55 of the questions will be
based on material covered in the last third of the course. The rest of the questions will be
based on lecture material from the first two thirds of the course. Note that the final is
cumulative only for material covered in class.
Absence from exams:
There will be no make-up examinations for the midterms. If a midterm is missed due to a
serious medical condition verified by University Health Services or a personal physician, the
weight of the midterm will be transferred to the final exam. For this to happen, the instructor
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must be contacted within 48 hours of the scheduled midterm. If the final examination is missed,
the deferred examination will be held on May 11 at 5 o'clock in BSP 226. To write the deferred
exam, you will need to go through the deferral process with the Registrar.
If you are hampered by visual or auditory limitations, or if you have a learning disability,
please contact Services for Students with Disabilities in SUB. It is possible both to get help with
note taking and/or to get extra time for writing examinations.
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic
integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards
regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this
respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the
provisions of the Code of Student Behavior (online at
www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behavior which could potentially
result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation
in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or
expulsion from the University.
Grading: It seems likely that final grades will be assigned approximately as follows:
4.0
91%- 100%
A+
4.0
87% - 90%
A
3.7
83% - 86%
A3.3
79% - 82%
B+
These percentages may vary somewhat,
3.0
75% - 78%
B
depending on how the marks cluster or
2.7
71% - 74%
Bbecause of special circumstances.
2.3
67% - 70%
C+
2.0` 63% - 66%
C
1.7
59% - 62%
C1.3
55% - 59%
D+
1.0
50% - 54%
D
Note that in large classes, cutoffs often unavoidably come between tenths of a percent. It
cannot be helped. I will not be able to bump up your grade to an A even though you missed the
cutoff by only 0.1 of a percent. It hurts.
Course Outline
The lecture schedule that follows is not a contract. As the term progresses there may be
some flexibility in lecture dates. Some students prefer to read the text before the material is
presented in lecture and some students prefer to read it afterwards. Whatever your preference, it
is to your benefit to keep up in the textbook with material covered in class.
Jan. 9: Introduction to the course
Issues regarding the text
Jan. 11:
Historical view of children
Ch. 1 Characteristics of development
Jan. 16
Domains of development
Contexts of development
Research: Methods and issues
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Jan. 18:
Ch. 2 (Note: For The Learning Viewpoint and The Cognitive DevelopmentalViewpoint, pp. 46 – 58, you are responsible only for material covered in class. These
theories will be covered in more detail later in the course.)
Theories of Development: Psychoanalytic theories
Learning theories
Cognitive theories
Jan. 23:
Evolutionary theories
Ecological systems theory
Ch. 3 - Hereditary influences on development
Measuring hereditary influence
Jan. 25:
Chromosomal abnormalities
Hereditary disorders
Jan. 30:
Teratogens
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
Feb. 1
Ch. 4 - Prenatal development
The neonate (newborn)
Feb. 6
Part of “The Miracle of Life” video
Giving birth
Feb. 8
Ch. 5 - Physical and motor development
Nutrition and development
(Reading: Sigman, M. (1995). Nutrition and child development: More food for
thought. Current Directions, 4, 52-55. Call no. - A13)
Feb. 13:
Midterm I (Ch. 1 – 5)
Feb. 15: Ch. 6 - Early cognitive foundations
Studying infant sensory and perceptual experience
Sensory capabilities
Feb. 27:
Ch. 6 - Visual perception
Basic learning processes
Mar. 1:
Ch. 7 - Cognitive development
Piaget
Ch. 8 - Information processing views of cognitive development
Attention
Attention Deficit Disorder
(Reading: Comer, R. J. (2001). Abnormal psychology, 4th ed. pp. 553 – 556. New York: Worth. Call no. - A18)
Mar. 6:
Mar. 8 :
Mar. 13:
Mar. 15
Mar. 20:
Cognitive strategies
Children's memory
Children as eyewitnesses
Ch. 9 - Intelligence
What is it?
Is IQ fixed?
Gifted Children
Ch. 10 - Language and Communication
Language acquisition
Expressive and referential language development
Phonological awareness
Bilingualism
Midterm II (Ch. 6 – 10)
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Mar. 22:
Ch. 11 - Emotional Development and Attachment
Temperament
When children are neglected: "Romanian orphans"
Mar. 27:
Street children in Guatemala (video)
Spanking/Child abuse
(Reading: Is spanking detrimental to children? In D. S. DelCampo & R. L. DelCampo (eds.)
Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial issues in childhood and society. (Call no. – A19)
Mar. 29:
Ch. 12 - Development of the Self
The emerging self
(Note: You will not be examined on pp. 466 - 471, Theories of Social-Cognitive
Development.)
Anorexia Nervosa
Apr. 3:
Ch. 13 - Sex Differences and Gender Roles
How similar are the sexes?
Can gender be assigned?
Learning gender roles
Apr. 5 - Apr. 10: Ch. 14 (Aggression, Altruism, and Moral Development) & 15 (The Family)
Styles of parenting
What shapes a bully? A victim? A helper?
Moral reasoning
Moral behavior
(Note: You will not be examined on pp. 541 - 542, Psychoanalytic Explanations of
Moral Development.)
Apr. 12: Is the Authoritative Advantage overstated?
Children of divorce
Winding up
Apr. 23, at 2 o'clock: Final, in our usual classroom.
Policy about course outlines can be found in ' 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.
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