Psychology 20:
Introduction to Child Development
Prof. Laraine McDonough
Office: James Hall Room 4613
Phone: 951-4787
Office Hours: Tuesday 2:00-3:00
Email: LaraineM@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Required text: The Development of Children: Fourth Edition by Michael and Sheila Cole. W.H. Freeman and Company, 2001
This course is designed to give students a broad overview of human development from conception through adolescence. The major theories on biological, cognitive, social, and personality development will be presented. Recent research and how it influences our theories will be introduced and discussed. The goal of this course is to give students a background on how our views of development influence the decisions that are made in everyday life not only as they directly concern children but also how they influence our medical, legal, economic, cultural, and educational systems.
Four quizzes, a short paper, and a final exam will be given. The lowest score on one of the four quizzes will be dropped from the calculation of the final grade. No make-up quizzes will be offered; instead, a quiz that is missed will be counted as the one to be dropped. Calculation of the final grade will be as follows:
Quizzes = 45%
Paper = 10%
Final = 45%
Final exam: This is a comprehensive exam and 3/4 of the questions will be taken directly from the quizzes (verbatim!); the remaining questions will be general integration questions.
NOTE: THE DATE OF THE FINAL EXAM AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!!!!
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1 |
Class introductions |
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2 |
Introduction: Why study development? |
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3 |
History of childhood: Methods of inquiry |
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Chapter 1 |
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4 |
In the beginning; Prenatal development; Genotype and Phenotype interaction; Genetic mutation |
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Chapter 2 (pages 56-77) & Chapter 3 (pages 80-95; 104-122) |
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5 |
Teratogens |
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6 |
Quiz 1: Lectures and readings from Jan 30 to Feb 15. |
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7 |
Sensorimotor accomplishments |
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Chapter 4 (pages 127-153) |
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8 |
Developmental theories |
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Chapter 4 (pages 154-177) |
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9 |
Memory and infantile amnesia: The “object concept” |
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Chapter 5 |
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10 |
Categorization generalization and inductive reasoning |
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11 |
Social development |
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12 |
Bonding attachment and separation anxiety |
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Chapter 6 |
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13 |
Quiz 2: Lectures and readings from Feb 22 to Mar 13. |
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14 |
Reviewing research articles: Finding the little quirks in the big picture |
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15 |
Vulnerability resilience and long-term consequences? |
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Chapter 7 |
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16 |
Language acquisition: Prelinguistic strategies |
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17 |
Language: grammar; Cognitive and social foundations; What is so special about language? |
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Chapter 8 |
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18 |
Decalage: Questions concerning stage theory |
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Chapter 9 Paper Due! |
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19 |
Early social skills and theory of mind |
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20 |
Culture and context |
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Chapter 10 |
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21 |
Quiz 3: Lectures and readings from Mar 20 to Apr 17. |
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22 |
Middle childhood: new skills new responsibilities |
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Chapter 12 |
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23 |
Friends morals and self-esteem |
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Chapter 14 |
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24 |
Puberty and sexual identity |
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Chapter 15 |
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25 |
Formal operational thought |
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26 |
Quiz 4: Lectures and readings from Apr 24 to May 3 |
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27 |
Overview of issues |
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28 |
Review for final exam |
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