1
Kean University
LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 3110-01
Mondays & Wednesdays, 11:00am – 12:20pm
Spring 2008
Instructor: Verneda P. Hamm Baugh, Ph.D.
Office: J-330D908-737- 4008
Course Syllabus
Selected Class Assignments
Selected Reviews
Name ______
Lifespan Developmental Psychology (Psy 3110-01)
Monday & Wednesday 11:00am 12:20pm
Course Syllabus – Spring 2008
Instructor: Dr. Verneda P. Hamm BaughOffice: Hutchinson Hall, J-330D
Phone: 908-737-4008 (direct line); 908-737-4000 (secretary)
Email:
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 9:30am – 11:00am; Friday 9:30am – 12:00pm; also by appointment
Required Text: Newman, B. M., & Newman P. R. (2006). Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach. 9th Edition. California: Wadsworth Publishing
Course Objectives
The objective of this course is to introduce students to the study of human development from conception through old age. The course will highlight a psychosocial framework that emphasizes the role of genetic, maturational, societal, and self-directed factors in development.
Course Requirements
Students must read the required assignments and participate in discussions of the readings. Assignments related to topics under discussion are given throughout the course. The completion of these assignments will constitute 20% of the final grade. There will be 4 exams worth 20% each. The course outline contains exam dates but the outline may change at any time; therefore, class attendance is crucial. Make-up exams will be given only in the case of excused absences and with prior approval. Make-up exams must be taken within one week of the original exam date.
Attendance
Class attendance is required of all students. Consistent and active student participation is necessary for the success of this course. Excused absences include doctor’s notes, official university business or other documented letters/forms including the name and phone number of the person providing the excuse. Regular attendance will be taken at the beginning of every class. More than 3 unexcused absences will result in a
5- point deduction from the final computed average. More than 5 unexcused absences will result in a 10 point deduction from the final computed average. The Kean University policy on class attendance, effective Fall 2007 is as follows:
“Attendance is expected in all courses. Attendance will be a component of the grade of any course if so stated in the syllabus. Students are responsible for informing the instructor in advance or in a timely manner of the reasons for their absence. Instructors in consultation with their department chairs are expected to respect university practices and policies regarding what counts as an excused absence. Typically excused absences include illness, bereavement, or religious observances. Serious tardiness may be dealt with at the discretion of the instructor.” Documentation of excused absence must be provided.
Academic Dishonesty – No form of academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, etc.) will be tolerated. Kean University has established guidelines for all academic dishonesty. Suspected academic dishonesty will be dealt with according to those guidelines. Visit to read Kean University’s policy.
Notes
- The last day to withdraw from this class with a grade of W is March 26, 2008.
- Please turn all electronic devices to the off, silent, or vibrate position during the class period. Phone and other electronic interruptions during class will result in a 5-point reduction of grade after the first warning.
- No electronic devices of any type should be visible during class or during exams.
- No caps, hoods, or earpieces may be worn during exams.
- Attendance will be taken at each class meeting.
- Assignments will not be accepted via email.
5. Foul language (cursing) is not acceptable.
Grading
Grades will be assigned according to the following scale:
A (96-100%)A- (90-95%) B+ (87-89%) B (84-86%) B- (80-83%)
C+ (76-79%)C (70-75%)D (60-69%)F (below 60%)
Course Outline
Following is a tentative schedule for the chapters to be covered, assignments and exam dates.
Week 1Jan 23Introduction and Overview of Class
Chapter 1 (Development Through Life Perspective)
Personal Timeline
Week 2Jan 28Chapter 2 – (The Research Process)
Jan 30Chapter 3 – (Psychosocial Theory)
Take-home assignment 1 (assigned)
Week 3Feb 4Chapter 4 – (Major Theories)
Feb 6Continue Chapter 4
Take-home assignment 1 - due
Chapter 5 (Pregnancy and Prenatal Dev.)
Week 4Feb 11Continue Chapter 5
In-class assignment 1
Feb 13Review; Catch up
In-class assignment 1 (if necessary)
Week 5Feb 18No Class: President’s Day
Feb 20Exam 1 – Chpts. 1-5
Week 6Feb 25Chapter 6 (Infancy)
Feb 27Continue Chpt. 6
In class assignment 2
Take-home assignment 2 (assigned)
Week 7Mar 3Chapter 7 (Toddlerhood)
Mar 5Continue Chpt. 7
Take-home assignment 2 - due
Chapter 8 (Early School Age)
Week 8Mar 10Review chpts. 6-8
Group meetings
Mar 12Exam 2 – Chpts. 6-8
Week 9Mar 17, 19Spring Break
Go to: - Search 2006-08- copy/read article
Go to: - copy/read story
Week 10Mar 24Chapter 9 (Middle Childhood)
Take-home assignment 3 (assigned)
Mar 26Chapter 10 (Early Adolescence)
Last day to Withdraw from class with a “W” grade
Week 11Mar 31Continue chpt. 10
Discuss ChildTrends article
Group meetings
Apr 2Chapter 11 (Later Adolescence)
Take-home Assignment 3 – due
Week 12Apr 7Continue chpt. 11
Group meetings
Apr 9Review chpts. 9-11
Week 13Apr 14Exam 3 – Chpts. 9-11
Apr 16Chapter 12 (Early Adulthood)
Week 14Apr 21Continue chpt. 12
Group meetings
Apr 23Chapter 13 (Middle Adulthood)
Take-home portion of exam 4 discussed
Week 15Apr 28Chapter 14 (Later Adulthood)
Group meetings
Apr 30Chapter 15 (Very Old Age)
Group meetings
Week 16May 5Review/Catch up
Take-home portion of exam 4 - due
May 7Exam 4 – Chpts. 12-15
Week 17May 12Exam 4 – if necessary
January 23, 2008
Lifespan Developmental Psychology
Psychology 3110
Personal Time Lines
This task to is help you begin to think from a lifespan developmental perspective. Your task is to create a personal time line. Draw a line across the paper. Label one end birth, the other end death. Write major life events along the time line (e.g., high school graduation).
1. What are some age-graded expectations that are common? How do the events on the time line demonstrate the interaction of biological, psychological, and societal systems?
Lifespan Developmental Psychology
Psychology 3110
Interview Questions
1. Who is your personal hero?
2. At what point did you know you were growing up?
3. Complete the sentence: “The most difficult period of my life was between the ages of ____ and _____.”
4. Complete the sentence: “Ten years from now I see myself…..”
Take-home assignment 1
Due: February 6, 2008
Refer to chart in book.
***No late papers will be accepted***
***Feel free to turn papers in earlier than the due date***
Psychosocial Theory
The basic tenet of the psychosocial theory is that development occurs throughout life in a series of stages. Refer to the chart in the book. Based on your age, which stage of development does the theory predict you are currently facing? You may feel that the previous stage, or the following stage, better reflects your current situation.
In 1 – 2 double-spaced typed pages, discuss your stage of psychosocial development by addressing the following questions.
1. Where does the theory place you in the life stages?
2. Do you believe that there is a close fit between the developmental tasks and psychosocial crisis and your current life circumstances? (It may be helpful to turn to the relevant chapter and briefly review the tasks and crisis.)
3. If so, briefly discuss them. If not, what stage better addresses your life stage?
Remember that the ages in the theory are not set in stone. However, the stages are sequential: it is not possible to skip a stage. All stages influence those that follow.
Please note:
All papers must be typed with your name in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Please use standard white paper and black print and use 12pt. font. Please do not use binders, cover pages, or covers of any kind. Please staple multiple page in the upper left-hand corner.
Take-home assignment 2
Due: March 5, 2008
***No late papers will be accepted***
***Feel free to turn papers in earlier than the due date***
You have a choice between 2 assignments. Read the descriptions of the two assignments carefully before making a decision.
Option 1 – Toddlerhood and Autonomy
The years during toddlerhood are marked by the development of a sense of mastery and autonomy. The child sees himself as separate from his parents and has a desire to “do things his way and by himself:. The child is faced with the conflict of wanting to do things his way and social demands. Much parental authority is required during these “terrible twos” through age 4.
Your assignment is to observe and describe in detail a parent-toddler interaction in a public setting such as a park, grocery store, shopping mall, religious setting, etc. Limit you paper to 1 – 2 double-spaced typed pages. Place your name in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Use white paper, black ink and 12pt. font size.
What are the characteristics of adult-toddler interactions? To what extent does the communication rely on verbal and non-verbal channels? How are these conversations similar and different from interactions between adults? How does the environment contribute to the interaction?
Pay particular attention to the mood of the interaction: How does the adult appear in the interaction? In what behaviors is the child engaging to establish his/her autonomy/independence? In what behaviors does the adult engage in order to establish authority?
Take-home assignment 2
Due: March 5, 2008
***No late papers will be accepted***
***Feel free to turn papers in earlier than the due date***
You have a choice between 2 assignments. Read the descriptions of the two assignments carefully before making a decision.
Option 2 - Conservation of Liquids
In this assignment you will conduct a very simple experiment; a test of conservation using children who are currently in Piaget’s stage of preoperational thought which begins in toddlerhood and goes into middle childhood (approximately age 2 to 6/7 years of age). Preoperational children tend to centrate: they focus on one aspect of a situation and neglect others, often coming to illogical conclusions. They cannot decenter, or think simultaneously about several aspects of a situation.
A classic example is one of Piaget’s most famous experiments. He designed it to test children’s development of conservation – the awareness that two things that are equal remain so if their shape is altered so long as nothing is added or taken away. He suggested that children do not fully understand this concept until the stage of concrete operations, normally in middle childhood.
Your task is to show a child (4-6 years old) two identical clear glasses, both short and wide and holding the same amount of water or juice. Then pour the water from one glass into a third taller, thinner glass. Now, ask the child whether both glasses contain the same amount of water, or whether one contains more. Wait for the child to answer (most likely he/she will say that the tall glass has more water). Then ask the child why he/she answered the way they did. Then, pour the water from the tall glass back into the short glass and ask the child whether the glasses now have the same amount of water (if the child is truly preoperational he/she will say they are equal again)_.
1. Record the child’s age.
2. Record exactly what you ask the child.
3. Record the child’s exact answers to your questions.
4. Answer the question: Is the child in the stage of preoperational thought? What leads you to draw this conclusion?
Limit your paper to 1 – 2 double-spaced typed pages. Place your name in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Use white paper, black ink, and 12pt. font size. Staple multiple pages in the left-hand corner.
Note:
At no time should you laugh at or in any way make the child feel as if he/she is doing or saying anything wrong. Always be encouraging and supportive of the child’s response. Use words like good, that’s good, you did a good job often. Besides, the child’s responses are correct for his/her
stage of cognitive development.
Take-home assignment 3
Due: April 2, 2008
***No late papers will be accepted***
***Feel free to turn papers in earlier than the due date***
Erikson described the period of free experimentation before a final identity is achieved as psychosocial moratorium. This moratorium allows individuals freedom from the daily expectations for role performance. this allows for a time of experimentation with new roles, values, and belief systems before identity achievement is reached.
You are to write a short “What if” paper focusing on what you would do if you had no obligations and received a two-year fellowship to follow any path or pursue any goals you wished. How would you spend this period of psychosocial moratorium? Would you experiment with roles different from those you are currently plaly? Are you currently in a period of psychosocial moratorium? If so, what roles are you experimenting with now?
The paper should be 1 – 2 double-spaced typed pages and clearly describe how your identity achievement would be different from what it is now, if at all. Remember to write your name in the upper left-hand corner of the first page and staple multiple pages in the left-hand corner. Use white paper, black ink, and 12pt. font size.
In-class Assignment 1
Discuss psychosocial factors (biological system, psychological system, and societal system) that are likely to impact the woman described below. As a group, list as many factors for each system as possible. Finally, decide as a group if the sex and name of the child.
Keep notes of the decisions made by the group. You will need this information as we move through the stages of the child.
I. Karen
Happily married, planned pregnancy, she and her husband are both high-powered attorneys hoping to become partners at the law firm, they own their home, she sees her family physician regularly
------
II. Susan
Single college student, planned to attend medical school, works part-time, does not have a good relationship with the father of the baby and does not know where he is, lives with her parents, no medical coverage
------
III. Mary
Unhappily married in an abusive relationship, has 3 children, pregnancy unplanned, lives several hundred miles from other family members and has no close friends.
In-class Assignment 2
Infancy and Attachment
One of the major developmental tasks in infancy is the development of social attachments. This attachment is usually formed with the primary carergiver. In the following scenarios we will assume that the primary caregiver is the mother although attachments can, and often are, formed with other people who perform a large portion of the child-care activities or who interact regularly with the child.
As we have discussed, attachment is affected by what the baby and mother do and how they respond to each other. Because of this, different types of attachments are formed based on how the mother responds to the baby and ultimately how the baby reacts to the mother. The attachments formed can be secure, avoidant, or ambivalent (resistant).
Now, refer back to the life circumstances of your group’s mother (Karen, Susan, or Mary). Given the different circumstances and psychological systems at play, it is possible, though not definite, that different types of attachments will develop for the three women.
Karen - happily married, planned pregnancy, she and her husband are lawyers, she is healthy, has a family physician.
Susan – single college student, works part-time, does not have a good relationship with the father of the baby and does not know where he is, lives with her parents.
Mary – unhappily married in an abusive relationship, has 3 children, pregnancy unplanned.
Based on the discussions your group had, what is your prediction about the type of attachment we can expect for the mother and child? What support systems do you anticipate the woman will have? What obstacles will the child have to overcome as he/she faces the psychosocial crisis of trust versus mistrust?
Keep notes of the decisions made by the group. You will need this information as we move through the stages of the child.
search: 2006-08
Lifespan Developmental Psychology
Psychology 3110
Trends and Recent Estimates: Sexual Activity Among U.S. Teens
Read article and take note of:
a. Trends in teen sexual activity
b. Differences based on gender and race
c. Trends in heterosexual sexual intercourse compared to other forms of sexual activity
d. Relationship between age of dating partner and likelihood of sexual activity
Be prepared to discuss this article in class.
Identity – Four Cases
Below are brief case studies that illustrate the four possible resolutions of the identity crisis. For each of the cases below, suggest the most appropriate identity status.
- Eleanor: Eleanor’s parents are both physicians. In college she majored in French, spending a semester in France studying French art and culture. Upon graduation she surprised her parents by announcing that she had applied to medical school. A close relationship with a friend in nursing and a summer job as a hospital volunteer had helped her arrive at the decision. Eleanor’s identity status would probably be described as ______.
- Kevin: Kevin has changed his college major several times; it will be about 6 years before he graduates. Since his parents have pointedly objected to this extra expense, Kevin has cheerfully taken a variety of jobs ranging from short order cook to forest firefighter. He likes work that allows him time to think and be alone; his few friends are very much the same. Kevin’s grades are generally high, though his record is marred by a number of “incompletes”. He has had one very satisfying relationship with a young woman and is searching rather anxiously for another. Kevin’s identity status would probably be described as ______.
- Wendy: Wendy’s mother is a psychologist who is heavily involved in women’s groups and women’s issues. Wendy admires her mother very much, having seen her strength tested in a very bitter divorce when Wendy was just 8 years old. Wendy believes that she, too, will be a strong and assertive woman. She avoids people (especially men) who either don’t see her in that light or try to bring out her “other sides”. She certainly steers clear of her stepmother, who (although pleasant) is a very disorganized and an “arty” person. Wendy’s college grades are very high, and her course selections reflect an unvarying interest in psychology, politics, and women’s studies. Wendy’s identity status would probably be described as ______.
- Ronald: Ronald is a freshman at a college near his old high school. He comes home nearly every weekend but does not enjoy himself once he is there. He avoids talking to his parents or old high-school friends, preferring to play computer games in his room. Periodically he engages in impulsive shopping; after these sprees he comes home and talks excitedly about the latest electronic gadget he has acquired. He gets angry if his parents ask what he considers to be foolish questions, and angrier still if they patronize him. Ronald is enrolled in courses he has been told are easy, and he does not have strong feelings about his studies or his grades. Ronald’s identity status would probably be described as ______.
Lifespan Developmental Psychology