Developmental Psychology, 15 credits

Passed results of the first and second semester (30 credits and at least 15 credits, respectively) of the Study Programme in Psychology.

Part 1: Developmental psychology 1: Childhood and adolescence

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:
• account for and compare the different theoretical perspectives within developmental psychology
• describe the general development of children and adolescents concerning psychological functions, for example perception, sensory motor functions, cognitive and socio-emotional abilities, temperament/personality, communication and languages
• describe how heredity and environment affect the individual development, at a general level describe individual deviations from the normal development
• describe brain development and maturity in children and adolescents and biological correlates of psychological functions' development and change over the entire life span
• account for different research designs within developmental psychology
• account for and critically discuss advantages and disadvantages with different research methods (e.g., observation, testing, interview and checklist) that are used within research and clinical practice
• describe a current research project within developmental psychology and discuss its strengths and weaknesses
• account for the occurrence of gender differences regarding the psychological development of children and adolescents and critically discuss possible reasons for these differences
• provide examples of how the psychological development of children and adolescents can be influenced by belonging to a specific subgroup (e.g., homosexual, ethnic minority group)
• provide examples of how knowledge of developmental psychology may be of importance for the future profession

Part 2: Developmental psychology 2: Aging

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:
• account for the development (cognition, social, personality, emotional and neurobiological) in normal aging and demonstrate knowledge of pathological aging (e.g. dementia)
• describe the influence of aging on the brain and its function and biological antecedents of psychological functions change over time during aging
• describe longitudinal design

The course includes the following two parts:

Part 1:

The teaching consists of teacher-supervised lectures, film showings, seminars and meeting with clinical psychologists. Compulsory assignments are included according to timetable and course information.

Part 2:

The teaching consists of teacher-supervised lectures and a compulsory interview with an older individual.

The course director assesses if, absence from a compulsory education element can be replaced. If this is possible, the course director decides how the learning objectives should be achieved. Until the student has participated in the compulsory parts (or compensated any absence with assigned tasks in accordance with instructions from the course director) the final study results can not be reported. Absence from a mandatory education element could mean that the student can not do the part until the next time the course is offered.

The transition rules follow KI's local guidelines for examination.

Course evaluation takes place according to KI's local guidelines. The students are informed of the results of the course evaluation and possible changes made to the course on the website.