BSc Psychology / Course details

In this unit, we discover the developmental processes that have resulted in the unique individuals who are enrolled on this unit.

Students will be introduced to the study of development as a core discipline within psychology. The first thing we will do is to discuss why we should study development, and how we should study development -- because we cannot necessarily ask young children questions or get their informed consent to take part in experiments, we have to be creative and think of new ways to investigate their understanding and capabilities.

From there, we move on to present prominent theories of development (e.g. Piaget, and Socio-cultural approaches) and why theories of how we develop are so important.

We then lead into overviews of the current state of the fields of perceptual, motor, cognitive, biological, social, and emotional development in children.

The course is a compulsory Level 4 course unit for the BSc (Hons) Psychology programme, falling within the Evolution and Development theme. It provides a foundation for further study in Developmental Psychology at Levels 5 and 6.

Provide students with an overview of human development from infancy to late childhood

This unit adopts a blended learning approach comprising on-demand, self-paced materials (estimated study time: 30-60 mins per week) for students to study in advance of 60 minute in-person large-group session. There will also be in-person empirical lab workshops which run in Weeks 1-5.

The precise set-up may vary week-to-week and in response to ongoing student feedback, but is anticipated that on-demand materials will comprise a mix of bespoke pre recorded video materials from staff, reading, activities, and quizzes to check for understanding.

The weekly large-group sessions will build on the self-paced materials -- students delve into these topics in more depth with activities such as videos, examples, quizzes - and include some more "traditional" lecture delivery.

In Week 1-4, students will have a 2-hour lab workshop which will include a range of resources including live-taught segments, pre-prepared materials, videos, activities, and discussions. Students will also work together in small groups to complete activities based on the lab content. In Week 5, there will be an optional drop-in session to support students with preparing their coursework assignment.

Lecture content, on-demand materials, supplementary reading, optional resources and a monitored discussion board for students to ask questions will be available via the unit Blackboard site.

During the course, practice Multiple Choice Questions will be provided to enable students to test their knowledge of course content, helping to reinforce the learning of the material, and giving practice for the end of semester exam.

• Appreciate the importance of the study of development to the understanding of human behaviour
• Read and evaluate current research literature
• Recognise the limitations imposed by particular design decisions
• Understand how knowledge accumulates in developmental psychology

On successful completion of this unit students will:

• Understand the importance of understanding how humans develop - in their cultural context - in order to fully understand human behaviour
• Understand theories of development - and their usefulness in making novel predictions - with special reference to constructivist and socio-cognitive approaches
• Appreciate the methodology used to study child development, and how research methodologies progress to allow a more complete understanding of the capabilities of the child
• Have a good understanding of cognitive development - including perceptual and motor development - in childhood and how this underpins successful adult behaviour
• Understand the child as a social being, with particular reference to social and emotional development, attachment relationships, and the child's understanding of themselves in their environment

• Compare theoretical predictions and empirical findings in the field of development
• Objectively interpret the results of analyses in the context of the research design

• Evaluate commonly used methodology in developmental psychology

• Present information, ideas and arguments in written form
• Sustain and develop cogent and coherent arguments

MCQ exam 50 questions 50%

Research Review 2 pages 50%

Students will receive a grade for their final exam, and feedback will be available on request.

There will be ongoing feedback in class, including from formative practice MCQs (weekly) for students to check their understanding.

Students will receive a grade and written feedback on their final assignment.

Seigler, R., DeLoache, J., Eisenberg, N., & Saffran, J. (2017). How Children Develop (5th international edition). New York: Worth