Child Development

3 credits

This is one of two foundational courses focused on multiple dimensions of child development from the prenatal period through middle childhood, with a consideration of applications to educational and other applied settings. The course offers an overview of the array of research methods used in developmental psychology; normative trends in physical, social-emotional, and cognitive development; and factors and processes that affect developmental change and optimize child development. Key questions in the field of developmental psychology such as "How do nature and nurture together shape development?" and "How do children become so different from one another?" will recur across topics to help students establish a coherent understanding of child development.