Psychology 2410B 001 FW24
Introduction to Developmental Psychology
Western University
London Canada
Department of Psychology
Winter 2025
Psychology 2410B Section 001
INTRO TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH
1 Calendar Description
A survey of theory and research in developmental psychology including: learning, cognition, perception, personality, and social development in infancy and childhood. https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/academics/timetables.html
Antirequisites: Psychology 2040A/B, Psychology 2480E, Health Sciences 2700A/B, and the former Psychology 2044.
Prerequisites: A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level.
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2 Course Information
Instructor: Dr. Raha Hassan
Office & Phone: see Brightspace
Office Hours: Mondays 3-4
Email: psych2410@uwo.ca
Information on office hours (by appointment or drop in TBA).
Teaching Assistant: TBA
Office: TBA
Office Hours: TBA
Email: psych2410@uwo.ca
For all questions related to course content or exam preparation, please post your question on in the appropriate forum on BrightSpace. For all other inquiries, please contact the TA by email at psych2410@uwo.ca. Please include the course number in the subject line of your email, and a description of the content of the email (e.g., Psych 2410B: Chapter 2 Question). All email correspondence must be from your @uwo.ca email and should go to the psych2410@uwo.ca email. Emails from other addresses will not be responded to.
The TA has weekly Zoom office hours in room (TBA) or on Zoom (link TBA).
Lecture Times and Location: See Student Centre or Brightspace.
Slides and lecture material will be available on OWL prior to class.
3 Course Materials
There is a required textbook for the course: How Children Develop (Canadian Edition; 7th edition) by Siegler, Saffran, Graham, & Gershoff.
The textbook will be available at the TBA library on course reserve.
In addition to the textbook, learning will be supplemented by empirical weekly readings (see class schedule).
4 Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Students completing this course will develop knowledge of the vocabulary, main research findings, theories, methods, and concepts in developmental psychology.
|
Assigned readings and lecture attendance |
Tests, Exam, and (if selected) Written Assignment |
|
Students completing this course will develop am understanding of the developmental processes occurring from conception through childhood.
|
Assigned readings and lecture attendance |
Tests, Exam, and (if selected) Written Assignment |
|
Students completing this course will develop the ability to think critically about issues in developmental psychology. |
Assigned readings and lecture attendance |
Tests, Exam, and (if selected) Written Assignment |
5 Evaluation
There are two in person tests that will occur during the first hour of class on February 3 and March 17. Each test is worth 30% of your grade.
The final exam (date TBA) will cover all topics, with an emphasis on units that have not yet been evaluated on Tests 1 and 2.
There is an optional written assignment. Should you choose to do this assignment, it will replace your lowest test grade worth 30%. If you complete this assignment and the grade you receive is lower than the grade you received on Test 1 or 2, you retain the highest score.
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives
Policy on Missing Coursework
Tests: Students who miss a test for any reason will not be given a makeup test as they have the option to submit the written assignment. In the unlikely situation that a student receives an academic consideration for both tests, one makeup test will be given. The format of makeup may be different from the original exam.
Final Exam. Students who receive academic consideration for an exam will be given an opportunity to write a makeup exam. The format of makeup may be different from the original exam.
Written Assignment. Given that the written assignment is optional, available early in the term, and the deadline is TBA, there is no makeup for the written assignment.
The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses
72% 2100-2999-level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
In the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.
Policy on Grade Rounding
Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered.
6 Assessment/Evaluation Schedule
|
Assessment Method |
Date |
Content |
Percent |
|
Test 1 |
February 3 |
Units 1-4 |
30 |
|
Test 2 |
March 17 |
Units 5-8 |
30 |
|
Final Exam |
TBA |
Units 1-11, with a greater emphasis on units 9 to 11 |
40 |
|
Written Assignment |
TBA |
See assignment instructions. |
30 or 0 |
7 Class Schedule
|
Unit |
Date |
Topic |
Readings |
|
1 |
January 6 |
Enduring Themes and Methods in Developmental Psychology
|
Ch 1 Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
2 |
January 13 |
Prenatal Development Biology and Behaviour
|
Ch 2 & 3 Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
3 |
January 20 |
Theories of Cognitive Development |
Ch 4
Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
4 |
January 27 |
Perception, Concept, and Language Development
|
Ch 5, 6, & 7
Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
5 |
February 3 |
Test 1 (Unit 1-4)
Theories of Social Development
|
Ch 9
Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
6 |
February 10 |
Temperament |
Empirical Paper: TBA
|
|
|
February 17 |
Reading Week/ Family Day |
N/A |
|
7 |
March 3 |
Emotion Development |
Ch 10
Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
8 |
March 10 |
Attachment and the Family |
Ch 11
Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
9 |
March 17 |
Test 2 (Unit 5-8)
Peer Relationships
|
Ch 12
Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
10 |
March 24 |
Moral Development |
Ch 13
Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
11 |
March 31 |
Gender Development |
Ch 14
Empirical Paper: TBA |
|
- |
Final Exam |
Units 1-11, with a greater emphasis on units 9 to 11 |
|
8 Academic Integrity
Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
Plagiarism Detection Software
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com.
Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.
Multiple Choice Exams
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
9 Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education
View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link.
Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western.
If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information. Email: aew@uwo.ca Phone: 519 661-2147
10 Absence & Academic Consideration
View Western’s policy on academic consideration for medical illnesses this link
Find your academic counsellor here: https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain academic considerations. Students must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence.
Medical Absences
Submit a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for Academic Consideration.
Nonmedical Absences
Submit appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Religious Consideration
Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term.
11 Other Information
- Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
- Student Development Services: sdc.uwo.ca
- Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness@Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you.
If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf. Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).
Copyright Statement
Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
12 Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton. Nations, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. This land continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) whom we recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors of our society.
