PSY 244, Developmental Psychology
Fall 2015
Tues/Thurs 2:40 – 4:00, Psychology 118
Contact Information
Instructor: Emily Durbin
Psychology 224
Phone #: 517-353-7274
Email: cdurbin@msu.edu
Office hours: Wed 9:30 – 11:00; Thurs 1:30 – 2:30; or by appointment
TA:
Jade Kobayashi
Email: kobaya34@msu.edu
Office hours: Tues 12:00 – 2:30; or by appointment
UA:
Andrea Howes
Email: howesan3@msu.edu
Required Materials
This course will use the following book: Siegler, R.S., Eisenberg, N., Deloache, J.S., & Saffran, J.
(2014). How Children Develop (4th edition). Macmillan.
This book is available in multiple formats, including a traditional textbook (referred to as ‘cloth
text’), a loose-leaf version, an e-book (on a Macmillan format called Launch Pad), and a
combination of the textbook and Launch Pad. The Launch Pad only version is the least
expensive, and purchasing this alone will be sufficient for you to perform well in the course. You
may choose to purchase the other formats if you choose, but this is not required.
Course Overview
This course covers major aspects of human development, with a particular emphasis on
cognitive, emotional, and social development. Human development is dynamic across the entire
lifespan (birth to old age), but in the interest of providing you with a greater depth of knowledge,
we will focus exclusively on development from infancy through adolescence.
Course Goals
At the end of this course, I hope you will have gained an appreciation of (1) both the lawful
nature and the complexity of patterns of human development in infancy, childhood, and
adolescence; (2) the interdependence of psychological domains (e.g., how changes in cognitive
systems can lead to changes in emotional systems and vice versa); (3) the variety of causal
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factors that shape human development; and (4) the presence of individual differences in
developmental trajectories.
In addition, by completing the course requirements, I hope that you will gain: (1) knowledge
about child development that informs your interest in psychology and related disciplines; (2)
awareness of scientific approaches to answering questions about human development; (3) a
critical perspective on policy debates involving developmental issues; and (4) personally
meaningful knowledge regarding children, parenting, education, and children’s health.
Course Calendar
Date
9/3/15
9/8/15
9/10/15
Topic
Introduction
Introduction
Prenatal Development/
Newborn Period
Reading
9/15/15
Prenatal Development/
Newborn Period;
Biology and Behavior
Biology and Behavior
Theories of Cognitive
Development
Chapter 2; Chapter 3
Theories of Cognitive
Development;
Seeing, Thinking, & Doing in
Infancy
Seeing, Thinking, & Doing in
Infancy
Exam 1
Development of Language &
Symbol Use
Development of Language &
Symbol Use;
Conceptual Development
Conceptual Development
Intelligence & Academic
Achievement
Chapter 4; Chapter 5
9/17/15
9/22/15
9/24/15
9/29/15
10/1/15
10/6/15
10/8/15
10/13/15
10/15/15
2
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Assignment
Influencing
Course
Content
Written
Assignment #
1 (topic =
cognitive
development)
Media
critique # 1
due
Chapter 5
Exam 1
Chapter 6
Chapter 6; Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Media
critique # 2
due
Influencing
Course
Content
Written
Assignment
#2 (topic =
emotional
development)
10/20/15
10/22/15
Exam 2
Theories of Social
Development
Theories of Social
Development; Emotional
Development
Emotional Development
Emotional Development;
Attachment to Others,
Development of Self
Attachment to Others,
Development of Self
Exam 2
Chapter 9
11/10/15
Attachment to Others,
Development of Self
Chapter 11
11/12/15
11/17/15
11/19/15
12/3/15
12/8/15
12/10/15
Exam 3
The Family
The Family; Peer
Relationships
Peer Relationships
Peer Relationships; Moral
Development
Moral Development
Gender Development
Review and Wrap-Up
12/15/15
Exam 4, 10:00 – 12:00
10/27/15
10/29/15
11/3/15
11/5/15
11/24/15
12/1/15
Chapter 9; Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Chapter 10; Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Media
critique # 3
due
Influencing
Course
Content
Written
Assignment
#3 (topic =
social
development)
Chapter 12
Chapter 12; Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Chapter 13; Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Parenting “in
the trenches”
paper due
Final Exam Date
Course requirements
Attendance and attention.
You should attend all class meetings, and importantly, you should strive to minimize
distractions to your learning and maximize your attention to the course. Practically speaking,
this means you should refrain from engaging in other activities during class (i.e., checking your
phone/the internet) and get yourself into a mindset conducive to learning by listening actively,
minimizing note-taking, and asking questions. I will make slides available to you digitally for
you to review, save, and edit. You might consider refraining from using your laptop to take
notes. There is evidence that students who take handwritten notes perform better on tests of
deep comprehension of material than those who take notes using computer (Mueller &
Oppenheimer, 2014). Make the most of your time in class!
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Completion of assigned readings.
The assigned readings are the primary material for stimulating class discussion and will
also serve (along with lecture material) as the basis for exam questions. You are responsible for
completing the material listed for each course meeting. I will periodically give short in-class
quizzes covering material in the readings. I particularly encourage you to make use of the selftesting features available in the Launch Pad (online e-book) version of our text, which allows
you to test yourself on material you have just read.
Exams.
There will be 4 exams. Exams will include a variety of formats, including multiple
choice, brief response, and essay questions. Exams are NOT cumulative (although the last exam
is given during our assigned final exam period, it is not cumulative).
Quizzes.
I will periodically administer brief (1-3 item) quizzes in class. In addition to providing an
incentive for attending class, quizzes provide an opportunity for you to solidify your knowledge
of the material. There is consistent evidence that repeated testing of material results in greater
learning. Therefore, ALL quiz items will also appear on your exams. So taking the quizzes gives
you advance knowledge of some exam items.
Written assignments.
You will complete several short written assignments for this course (short = a few
paragraphs to 5 pages). There are several aims of these exercises: (1) to provide greater
personalization of the course content to the students’ interests; (2) to provide an opportunity to
extend what you learn in the classroom to critically evaluate media content and policy
recommendations related to developmental psychology; (3) to improve your writing skills
through feedback.
Written assignments # 1-3: Influencing Course Content
3 times across the semester, you will submit 1-2 questions or topics that you
would like to see addressed in the upcoming section of the course. These can consist of
domains of knowledge in child development, particular kinds of studies about child
development, public policy issues, or practical concerns related to parenting/child
care/child development. I will use these suggestions from students when planning
lectures for the upcoming course section to cover as many of your interests as possible.
The due dates for these are listed in the course calendar above, but note that you can
turn these in earlier if you like. These are to be submitted to me via email and each is
due by 5 PM on the date listed on the course calendar.
Written assignments # 4-6: Critically evaluating media and advice outlets
I will provide you with links to media articles about child development, public or
educational policy, or parenting. You will provide a brief (1-2 pages, double-spaced)
critical assessment of these articles, based on what you have learned in class. Critical
assessment means that you describe the scientific status of the information presented in
the article (does it refer to scientific data or is the basis of the article conjecture, myth,
‘expert recommendation’, or theory?), whether the information is up-to-date or
outdated, the extent to which the authors’ interpretation of the evidence they review is
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warranted scientifically, etc. We will practice one of these in classes before the first of
these assignments is due. These are to be turned in to me via email; due dates are listed
in the course calendar above and they should be submitted by 5 PM on the due date.
Written assignment # 7: Parenting ‘in the trenches’
You have two options for completing this assignment, the purpose of which is to
put what you learned in class within the context of the practical experience of raising a
child. First, you may interview a parent you know to learn more about their experience
as a parent and their observations of their child(ren)’s development. Second, you may
read one of an approved list of parenting memoirs/guidebooks (see the last page of the
syllabus for this list), and provide a critique of the information presented in the book,
drawing upon what you learned in this class. Minimum length = 3 double-spaced pages,
maximum length = 5 double-spaced pages. These are to be submitted to me via email by
5 PM on the due date shown on the course calendar.
Grading
Exams: Total = 50%
Exam 1: 10%
Exam 2: 13%
Exam 3: 13.5%
Exam 4: 13.5%
Quizzes: Total = 10%
Written assignments: Total = 40%
Influencing course content assignments (#1, # 2, # 3) = 3% each
Critically evaluating media & advice outlets (# 4, 5, 6) = 7% each
Parenting ‘in the trenches’ (#7) = 10%
Grading Scale
5
90-100
4.0
85-89
3.5
80-84
3.0
75-79
2.5
70-74
2.0
65-69
1.5
60-64
1.0
<60
Fail
Disclaimer
Elements of this syllabus are subject to change per the discretion of the instructor.
Any changes to this syllabus will be provided to the students in writing.
Policies
Policies regarding attendance
It will be difficult to do well in this course if you do not regularly attend class. You may also miss
quizzes if you fail to attend class. You will receive a grade of 0 for missed quizzes.
Policies regarding missed or late quizzes, exams, and assignments
Excused absences from exams may be granted by the instructor in cases of medical or other
emergencies. Proper documentation will be necessary, and granting of make-up exams is solely
at the discretion of the instructor. Late assignments will be penalized 20% for each day
following the deadline (20% for 0-24 hours after the deadline, 40% for 25-48 hours after the
deadline, 60% for 49-72 hours after the deadline, etc.).
Policies regarding academic integrity
Article 2.3.3 of the Academic Freedom Report states that “The student shares with the faculty
the responsibility for maintaining the integrity of scholarship, grades, and professional
standards”. In addition, the Department of Psychology adheres to the policies on academic
honesty as specified in General Student Regulations 1.0, Protection of Scholarship and Grades;
the all-University Policy on Integrity of Scholarship and Grades; and Ordinance 17.00,
Examinations. (See Spartan Life: Student Handbook and Resource Guide and/or the MSU
website: www.msu.edu).
Therefore, unless authorized by your instructor, you are expected to complete all course
assignments, including homework, lab work, quizzes, tests, and exams, without assistance from
any source. You are expected to develop original work for this course; therefore, you may not
submit course work you completed for another course to satisfy the requirements for this
course. Also, you are not authorized to use the http://www.allmsu.com web site to complete any
course work in PSY 244. Students who violate MSU rules may receive a penalty grade, including
– but not limited to – a failing grade on the assignment or in the course. Contact your instructor
if you are unsure about the appropriateness of your coursework. (See also
http://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/honestylinks.html).
Policies regarding extra credit
You will have the opportunity to earn extra credit by participating in psychological research in
the Department of Psychology on a volunteer basis. You may participate in psychological
experiments and earn 3 extra percentage points added to your final grade. For
extra credit, each research credit (½ hour of participation) is worth 0.50% of a
point on your final grade. Therefore, to receive one additional point, you must
complete 2 credits or 2 half-hour experiments (for a total of 2 hours). To receive
the full 3 extra credit points, you must complete an additional 6 credits (or 3
hours) of experiments. If you would like to sign up to participate in research, a
document will be provided to the class with instructions.
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If you have any questions regarding research participation, please contact:
Leslie Baldwin, the Human Subject Pool Secretary, lbaldwin@msu.edu. It is
your responsibility to sign up, participate in the experiments and to track your
personal history. The instructor does not have a record of your research
participation until the end of the course. All questions regarding research
participation should be directed to Leslie Baldwin.
Deadline: Research participation must be completed by May 1, 2015 at 5:00
pm. Credits from participation in experiments after this time will not count.
Alternative to research participation: If you do not wish to participate in
psychology experiments, you may obtain extra credit by writing a one-page paper
for each credit-hour of research participation, for a total of 6 one-page papers.
Detailed explanation of the paper requirements will be provided to you.
Policies related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Michigan State University is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all
programs, services, and activities. Requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities
may be made by contacting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at 517-884-RCPD
or on the web at www.rcpd.msu.edu. Once your eligibility for an accommodation has been
determined, you will be issued a verified individual services accommodation (“VISA”) form.
Please present this form to me at the start of the term and/or two weeks prior to the
accommodation date (test, project, etc.). Requests received after this date will be honored
whenever possible.
Approved books and documentaries for Parenting ‘in the trenches’
paper assignment:
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein
Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, by
Pamela Druckerman
Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment
Parenting Way, by Mayim Bialik
Free-Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry),
by Lenore Skenazy
Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? By Pasi
Sahlberg
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Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How our Children Really Learn – and Why They Need to
Play More and Memorize Less by Golinkoff, Hirsh-Pasek, & Eyer
Documentary films:
Babies. (2010). Director: Thomas Balmes.
Bully. (2011). Director: Lee Hirsch.
Spellbound. (2002). Director: Jeffrey Blitz.
A Boy’s Life. (2003). Director: Rory Kennedy.
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