1 ADVANCED SEMINAR IN DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: BEHAVIORAL AND NEUROLOGICAL CORRELATES 4010 Section M 4010 3.0 M is January 8, 2013 - Tuesday 11:30-2:30 in VH 1158 Reading week February 19-2013 Course Instructor: Professor Maria Legerstee Office 212 BSB Office Hours: By appointment Office phone (416) 736-2100 x 20278 Email: legerste@yorku.ca The stated (Undergraduate Handbook) prerequisites for PSYC 4010 3.0 are that students must be in their 4th year of an Honours Psychology Programme and have completed successfully PSYC 1010 6.0 with a minimum grade of C, PSYC 2020 6.0 or PSYC 2021 3.0 or equivalent (Psych stats course) and PSYC 2110 3.0 Developmental Psychology. Important days: http://www.yorku.ca/roweb/enrol/dates/jan-apr2013calendars.htm January 8, 2013 First day of class TBA Last day to enroll without permission February 18 reading week TBA Last day to drop without grade TBA Final class TBA no lecture, study day before exams TBA - papers due One of the most important things that develops after birth is an understanding of people. The area of research that refers to the ability to understand people is called sociocognition. Socio-cognition covers the understanding of the foundational perceptual skills that allow us to discriminate between people and objects, to the development of mental state awareness (from consciousness to theory of mind) to name a few. Recent research on socio-cognitive development has documented that the capacities of children to process information, remember experienced events, and make cognitive and behavioral decisions as they interact with their social environment are more sophisticated than previously believed. Although the study of socio-cognitive development has answered many important questions and revealed significant developmental milestones, the lack of integration of the diverse developmental, behavioral and neurological methodologies, have failed to provide a comprehensive account of the developmental trajectories of children s capacities. In order to achieve a more thorough understanding, research orientations and methods must combine in order to reveal the mechanisms of change and how these
2 account for brain and behavioral functioning in order to present an integrated look of development. Definitions of some brain measure techniques will be provided in the detailed syllabus. Purpose of the course In this course, we will examine the work of scholars, who each, through the use of several methodologies, have revealed how the child s perceptual, social and cognitive abilities interact, thereby providing a comprehensive picture of socio-cognitive development. We will be using readings from The Infant Mind: Origins of the Social Brain (Guilford Publishers), edited by Drs. Maria Legerstee (York University), David Haley (University of Toronto), and Marc H. Bornstein, (NICHD). Table of contents: Part I: Evolutionary, Neural, and Philosophical Approaches to the Social Mind Chapter 1. An Evolutionary Basis for Social Cognition Robin I. M. Dunbar University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Chapter 2. The Evolution of Motor Cognition: Its role in the Development of Social Cognition and Implications for the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Vittorio Gallese and Magali Rochat University of Parma, Parma, Italy Chapter 3. When the Problem of Intersubjectivity Becomes the Solution Shaun Gallagher University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK Part II: Social Experience and Epigenetic Mechanisms of Genes and Environment Interactions Chapter 4. Differential Susceptibility: Developmental and Evolutionary Mechanisms of Gene and Environment Interaction Michael Pluess (1, 2), Suzanne E. Stevens (1), and Jay Belsky (1,2) (1) Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK (2) University of California, Davis, CA, USA Chapter 5. Variation in Empathy: The Interplay of Genetic and Environmental Factors Ariel Knafo and Florina Uzefovsky The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
3 Part III: The Dynamic Role of Early Social Experience on Vision, Memory, and Language Chapter 6. Development of Brain Networks for Visual Social-Emotional Information Processing in Infancy Michelle de Haan (1) and Leslie J. Carver (2) (1) University of College London, London, UK (2) University of California, San Diego, CA, USA Chapter 7. Event Memory: Neural, Cognitive, and Social Influences on Early Development Patricia J. Bauer Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA Chapter 8. Biology of Shared Experience and Language Development: Regulations For the Inter-Subjective Life of Narratives Colwyn Trevarthen, Jonathan Delafield-Butt University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK Chapter 9. The Situated Infant: Learning in Context Arlene Walker-Andrews (1), Sheila Krogh-Jespersen (2), Estelle Mayhew (3), and Carrie Coffield (3) (1) The University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA (2) Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA (3) Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA Part IV: The Role of Early Experience on Social Development Chapter 10. The Developing Social Brain: Social Connections and Social Bonds, Social Loss and Jealousy in Infancy Maria Legerstee York University, Toronto, ON, Canada Chapter 11. Infant Memory Consolidation: The Social Context of Stress, Learning, and Memory David W. Haley University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Chapter 12. Mother-Infant Attunement: A Multi-Level Approach via Body, Brain, and Behavior Marc H. Bornstein National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, USA
4 Part V: Neural Processes of Mental Awareness Chapter 13. False Belief Understanding in Infants and Preschoolers Mark A. Sabbagh, Jeannette E. Benson, and Valerie A. Kuhlmeier Queen s University, Kingston, ON, Canada Chapter 14. Neural Connectivity, Joint Attention, and the Social-Cognitive Deficits of Autism Peter Mundy University of California, Davis, CA, USA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the first week of classes I will give an overview of the course. I will distribute a publication that details theoretical approaches and research during the first 4 years of life. Legerstee, M., (2009) The role of dyadic communication in infant social-cognitive development. In: Patricia Bauer, editor: Advances in Child Development and Behavior, Vol 37, The Netherlands: Elsevier, pp. 1-53. I will further highlight some aspects of nonverbal children s (infant) understanding of other people through showing the particular infant abilities with small video clips. Nothing is more revealing and supportive of infants understanding of people than actual test performance. During the subsequent weeks, student led seminars will explore theory and research on the various topics discussed in the book. EVALUATION 1) All students should read the required readings every week (2 papers) and prepare an abstract and some questions/comments that they would like to discuss in class. These discussion points should be typed, not longer than a page, and submitted at the end of each class. Attendance is taken, and so is the deposit of your abstract and questions each week. Attendance, questions and participation to discussion is 25%. 2) Each week, two groups of students are required to present on ppt one of the readings in class and lead discussion with the professor. 3) During these student led seminars you should begin to formulate an idea for a paper which you will be presenting orally in class first. (pls use power point presentations). These PPT presentations should be circulated 2 days prior to class, so that each student can participate in the discussion of these orals and provide expert opinion and advice. All papers must address a theoretical controversy (introduction), derive a hypothesis from this controversy (the present study), and develop a solution (method), either quantitative or qualitative. These in class presentations will be worth 25%. These research type papers must be based on your readings in class. 3) The oral presentations are the foundation to the preparation of the final paper. The final paper should be written as a journal article or research grant proposal, and should not be longer than approx. 15 pages excluding references. This format will be discussed further in class. The final paper is 50% of the total mark.
5 Thus you your final mark is 25% abstract/discussion questions and attendance, 2) 25% oral presentation, which is the foundation of your final paper, and 3) 50% final paper. A more detailed syllabus will be handed out at the beginning of class.