Psychology 361 (HD): Psychology of Child and Adolescent Development
Spring, 2008
Meeting times: 11:00–12:15 TuTh in PSY154
Instructor: Kevin MacDonald, Ph. D.
Office: 417 Psychology
Phone: 985-8183 (Answering Machine)
email: KMACD@CSULB.EDU
webpage: www.csulb.edu/~kmacd/psy361.htm
Office Hours: 2:00-3:30 TTh and by appointment.
Textbook: Child Psychology: A Contemporary Viewpoint, 6th Edition (2003) by Mavis Hetherington & Ross D. Parke. NOTE THAT THIS IS THE 6TH EDITION, NOT THE 5TH.
This course is designed as an introduction to the psychology of children and adolescents. We will cover topics in the areas of cognitive, social and personality development, and I will emphasize human diversity in development. By the end of the course I hope that you will have a fairly good understanding of the things developmental psychologists find interesting, of how they go about their work, and some of the recent findings in the field. I will make a major effort to include material relevant to diversity in human development: gender differences, ethnic differences, social class differences, and developmental disabilities in social and cognitive development. Nevertheless, there will also be an emphasis on the universal features of human development—the features of human development which we all share as humans.
Because of my background as an evolutionary biologist and because of recent trends in the field, this course will emphasize evolutionary approaches to human development. Evolutionary perspectives will be central to my discussions of all aspects of child development, including social and personality development, cognitive development, sex differences in development, and ethnic differences in development.
The course will have a lecture format. I will cover topics from the textbook as well as a considerable amount of material which reflects my own interests. I will not cover all of the topics in the textbook. As a result, students must supplement the lecture materials with the readings from the textbook. Skeleton notes for the course and study guides for all of the chapters are at: http://www.csulb.edu/~kmacd/psy361.htm Please download the notes and study guides before they are discussed in class.
EXAMINATIONS and GRADING: There will be a total of 9 grading events with a total of 845 points: 5 multiple choice exams; 2 essay exams; 1 written project, and homework. Each of these will count 100 points, except for the homework which counts 45. The grading of homework is explained below.
The 5 objective (multiple choice) examinations will be based on the study guides for the various chapters in the textbook. I am using the PARSCORE scoring system. This means that for the first multiple choice exam, use the red PARSCORE Student Enrollment form (PARSCORE Form #F-288-ERI). For the rest of the multiple choice exams, use the green PARSCORE Test Form #8000. (NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS SCANTRON TEST FORMS.) I have ordered a number of copies of the publisher’s Study Guide for the textbook. Purchase is optional.
I will review the material for the multiple choice exams in class prior to the exam, highlighting the material I think is important. Bring your textbook. THE BEST WAY TO STUDY FOR THE MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS IS TO WORK ON THE STUDY GUIDES AND LECTURE NOTES FOR THE CHAPTERS.
HOMEWORK REQUIREMENT. Reading the textbook is an important part of the course. My view is that it is important to get students to be able to understand academic writing. As you can see from the schedule, we will cover 14 chapters of the textbook. Of these, I have extensive notes on 5 of the chapters: 1, 2, 6, 10, and 13. For these chapters, you can rely on the notes for the multiple choice questions from those chapters. For the other 9 chapters, I have detailed study guides which indicate what to study and ask questions about the content of the chapters. The idea is for students to read these chapters and be able to discuss the material during class. Unfortunately, few students have been doing this. As a result, for these nine chapters, I am instituting a process whereby students are required to turn in their notes on the chapter at the beginning of the class period devoted to discussion of that chapter. These dates are listed on the schedule. Each homework assignment that is turned in on time will receive 5 points, for a possible total of 45 points. No late homework will be accepted. I will not be reading your homework in any detail, but only scanning it to determine if you are making a good faith effort. Assignments will either receive the full 5 points if they meet requirements, or they will get zero points if they are late or do not show a good faith effort. I will not return homework to you. Therefore, you should make two copies of the homework, one to turn in to me, and the other to keep as your study guide for the multiple choice test for that chapter. This should be easy to do if you download the study guides into word processing files and simply print two copies of your work. Keep enough room in your homework to add material that we discuss in class. That is, if you miss a point on the homework, you can add it in during the class discussion.
There will be also be two written, essay-format examinations, one a mid-term exam on March 18, and the other as part of the final exam. These exams will test how well you are able to write down an argument that I have presented in class and how adequately you present the evidence for the argument. Your answers must be essays, not lists or outlines. I will take up to 20% off for poor writing . A good essay is clear, well-organized, and shows ability to use psychological terms correctly in sentences. Typically, these tests are not on the textbook material; they cover additional material from the lectures. Prior to the tests, I will distribute study guides that will make it clear what you will be examined on.
Final Exam: The Final Exam will include multiple choice questions on Chapters 13, 14, and 15, and there will be an essay exam on the material covered since the mid-term essay. I will give out a study guide to make clear what will be covered in the essay exam.
GRADING. A: > 79%; B 70–79%; C: 60–69%; D: 50–59%; F: < 50%.
TERM PAPER PROJECT. The final portion of your grade involves a term paper project based on a set of written materials available at CopyPro, on the corner of Atherton and Palos Verdes. There are several research articles along with an elaborate set of instructions. You will be expected to read the material and write a summary of the articles. PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS THOROUGHLY. However, we will also discuss this project in class. Plagiarism results in an automatic failure for the class.
The reports for all of these projects should be approximately 4–5 typewritten pages. They will be graded on a 100 point scale and returned to you. You will then have an opportunity to revise your paper and increase your grade by a maximum of 10 points but may not receive a score of more than 90 with the revision. Students whose papers receive a grade less than 80 must revise their papers or lose 10 points from their original grade. Students who do not turn in a term paper can receive a grade no higher than a D for the course. PAPERS ARE DUE ON APRIL 17. Revisions are due on MAY 15, the last day of classes.
RESEARCH REQUIREMENT. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a faculty research project. Participating students will receive 10 points toward their grade.
ATTENDANCE. It is very important to attend class, but there is no penalty for not attending. My experience is that lack of class attendance is strongly associated with poor grades. Since this is a very large class, there is a danger that late-comers will disrupt the lectures. Please be on time.
MAKE-UP EXAMINATIONS: Make-up exams can be taken with appropriate documentation and on condition that, apart from acute emergencies, you notify me prior to the day of the test that you will be absent. Instances where students seek to make up more than one exam will come under special scrutiny. See University policy below.
UNIVERSITY WITHDRAWAL POLICY:
It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw from classes. Instructors have no obligation to withdraw students who do not attend courses, and may choose not to do so.
The deadline to withdraw from a class without a “W” is February 10, 2008.
Withdrawal from a course with a “W” after the first 2 weeks of instruction is permissible only for serious and compelling reasons and requires the signature of the instructor and the department chair. The university deadline to withdraw from classes in spring 2008 is Friday, April 25th.
DURING THE LAST THREE WEEKS OF INSTRUCTION (April 28th through May 16th), YOU MAY NOT DROP (WITHDRAW FROM) A CLASS EXCEPT FOR A VERY SERIOUS REASON THAT IS CLEARLY BEYOND YOUR CONTROL, SUCH AS INJURY OR ACCIDENT (WHICH MUST BE DOCUMENTED). USUALLY, SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES MEAN THAT YOU WILL BE WITHDRAWING FROM ALL YOUR CLASSES. YOU WILL NEED THE APPROVAL OF THE COLLEGE DEAN AS WELL AS THAT OF THE CLASS INSTRUCTOR AND DEPARTMENT CHAIRPERSON FOR EACH CLASS YOU DROP.
The College of Liberal Arts adheres to this policy strictly, and does not sign withdrawal forms in the final three weeks of instruction for other reasons.
Make-up Tests:
Pursuant to university policy, requests to take make-up tests will only be granted under the following situations:
(1) illness or injury to the student; (2) death, injury, or serious illness of an immediate family member or the like; (3) religious reasons (California Education Code section 89320); (4) jury duty or government obligation;
(5) University sanctioned or approved activities.
Students may be required to submit documentation to support their petition for a make-up test.
Cheating and Plagiarism Policy:
The following is taken from University Policy Statement
#85-19:
(A) Definition of Cheating: Cheating is defined as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain or aiding another to obtain academic credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means. Examples of cheating during an examination would include, but not be limited to the following: copying, either in part or in wholes, from another test or examination; discussion of answers or ideas relating to the answers on an examination or test unless such discussion is specifically authorized by the instructor; giving or receiving copies of an exam without the permission of the instructor; using or displaying notes; "cheat sheets," or other information or devices inappropriate to the prescribed test conditions, as when the test of competence includes a test of unassisted recall of information, skill, or procedure; allowing someone other than the officially enrolled student to represent the same.
(B) Definition of Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined as the act of using the ideas or work of another person or persons as if they were one's own, without giving credit to the source. Such an act is not plagiarism if it is ascertained that the ideas were arrived at through independent reasoning or logic or where the thought or idea is common knowledge.
Acknowledge of an original author or source must be made through appropriate references, i.e., quotation marks, footnotes, or commentary. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following: the submission of a work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; failure to give credit for ideas, statements, facts or conclusions with rightfully belong to another; in written work, failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, a sentence, or even a part thereof; close and lengthy paraphrasing of another writing or paraphrasing should consult the instructor.
Students are cautioned that, in conducting their research, they should prepare their notes by (a) either quoting material exactly (using quotation marks) at the time they take notes from a source; or (b) departing completely from the language used in the source, putting the material into their own words. In this way, when the material is used in the paper or project, the student can avoid plagiarism resulting from verbatim use of notes. Both quoted and paraphrased materials must be given proper citations.
(c) Response to Cheating and Plagiarism: One or more of the following academic actions are available to the faculty member who finds a student has been cheating or plagiarizing. These options may be taken by the faculty member to the extent that the faulty member considers the cheating or plagiarism to manifest the student's lack of scholarship or to reflect on the student's lack of academic performance in the course. These actions may be taken without a request for or before the receipt of a Report from the Academic Integrity Committee.
(a) Review -- no action.
(b) An oral reprimand with emphasis on counseling toward prevention of further occurrences;
(c) A requirement that the work be repeated;
(d) Assignment of a score of zero (0) for the specific demonstration of competence, resulting in the proportional reduction of final course grade;
(e) Assignment of a failing final grade;
(f) Referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs for possible probation, suspension, or expulsion.
Schedule
Jan. 29–31: Chapter 1: Themes and Theories of Child Development; Lecture Notes 1, Developmental Theory.
Feb. 5–7: Chapter 3: Prenatal Development and Birth. See Study Guide for Chapter 3. Homework for Chapter 3 due on Feb. 5.
Feb. 12–14: Chapter 4: Infancy: Sensation, Perception, and Learning. See Study Guide for Chapter 4. Homework for Chapter 4 due on Feb. 12.
Multiple Choice Test on Chapters 1, 3, 4 on Thursday, Feb. 14
Feb. 19–21: Chapter 2: Heredity and Environment. See Chapter 2 lecture notes.
Feb. 26–Feb. 28: Chapter 5: The Child’s Growth: Brain, Body, Motor Skills, and Sexual Maturation See Study Guide for Chapter 5. Homework for Chapter 5 due on Feb. 26.
Mar. 4–6: Chapter 8: Cognitive Development: Piaget and Vygotsky. See Study Guide for Chapter 8. Homework for Chapter 8 due on Mar. 4.
Multiple Choice Test on Chapters 2, 5, and 8 on Thursday, March 6
Mar. 11–13: Chapter 10: Intelligence; See lecture notes for Chapter 10
Mar. 18–20:.Chapter 10, continued
Mid-term ESSAY TEST based on a study guide, Tuesday, March 18
Mar. 25–27: Chapter 9: Cognitive Development: The Information Processing Approach. See Study Guide for Chapter 9. Homework for Chapter 9 due on Mar. 25.
Multiple Choice Test on Chapters 9 and 10 on Thursday, March 27
Mar. 31–April 4: Spring Break
Apr. 8–10: Chapter 6: Emotional Development: See Chapter 6 study guide plus material on the ethological theory of attachment at the end.
Apr. 15–17: Chapter 11: The Family. See Chapter 11 Study Guide. Homework for Chapter 11 due on April 15.
Term Paper Due on April 17
Apr. 22–24: Chapter 12: Peers and Friends. See Chapter 12 Study Guide. Homework for Chapter 12 due on April 22.
Multiple Choice Test on Chapters 6, 11, 12 on April 24
Apr. 29–May 1: Chapter 13: Gender Roles and Gender Differences; See Chapter 13 Study Guide. This study guide includes material the evolutionary theory of sex not in the text.
May 6–8: Chapter 14: Morality, Altruism, and Aggression. See Chapter 14 Study Guide. Homework for Chapter 14 due on May 6
May 13–15: Chapter 15: Developmental Psychopathogy. See Chapter 15 Study Guide. Homework for Chapter 15 due on May 13.
Term Paper Revisions Due on May 15
The final exam will be on Thursday, May 22 at 10:15–12:15. It will consist of a multiple choice test on Chapters 13, 14, and 15 and an essay test based on a study guide.