Course: Developmental Psychology

This course is offered at level two (second year) and credits are 15. The course provides basic knowledge in the Developmental Psychology. The topics covered under the course are: communication in infancy, attachment, temperament, theories of cognitive development, social cognition, gender development, adolescent development and language acquisition. There is a convenor and two lecturers to conduct this course. The lectures are conducted for two days in a week and time (1 hour on each day) is specified by the convenor to  the students for discussion on the course related matters. The students can also send an email to the convenor requesting for an appointment. The course material is available on the “study Direct”. An anonymous feedback form is available on the website for the students to comment on the course (course evaluation) and is considered very important. The feedback of previous years on the same course is also available to view on the web pages of the School. The response of the students on the course will be intimated to the students through the student representatives of the School.

The course is delivered through 18 lectures of one hour each, two seminars of one hour each and two practicals of two hours each by three faculty members in a ten week programme. The seminar topics are different from lecture topics. In the seminar the students are expected to critically evaluate research and brain storm on developmental experimental designs. This would help students to do research independently in the third year. Similarly there are four topics for practicals which are different from lecture and seminar topics. The text book and recommended books for reading are:

1.    Smith P. K., Cowie H., & Blades M. (2007). Understanding Children’s Development, 4thEdition. Oxford, England: Blackwell.

1.      Berk, L. E. (2006). Child Development. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

2.      Siegler R., DeLoache, J. & Eisenberg, N. (2006). How Children Develop, 2nd Edition. New York: Worth Publishers.

The course will be assessed on the basis of course work (30%) and final examination (70%). The final examination consists of 40 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) 40% and two essays 30%. The topics and dead line for submission of essays has been notified and there is penalty for late submission to the extent that no marks will be assigned and only feedback will be sent to the student. The entire schedule of the course with exhaustive list of books and links to the resources from web for additional reading/information are given in the course hand book.