DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2020/2021
- Teacher
- MARCO DONDI
- Credits
- 12
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- M-PSI/04
Training objectives
- DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
a) Knowledge on discipline
- To know, having as a reference classical developmental theories, recent models which try to describe and explain the human psychological development;
- To become acquainted with the methodological problems concerning the empirical investigation on human development (experimental and observational approaches);
- To analyze in depth specific topics, central for the discipline as well as for the formation of specialists in Education.
b) Know how and capabilities
- To learn the basic knowledge necessary in understanding a psychological analysis of development;
- To develop the capacity to understand and discuss methodologies currently used for the acquisition of knowledge;
- To understand and use the specialist lexicon which characterizes the discipline.
c) Soft skills
- To develop a personal point of view (critical thinking);
- To develop argumentative skills;
- To develop the ability to search, identify and analyze significant literature on different topics through the use of specialized databases. Prerequisites
None.Course programme
- The course is focused on the scientific understanding of age-related psychological changes throughout the lifespan. The aim of Developmental Psychology is in fact to discover, describe and explain how development occurs from its earliest origins into childhood, adulthood and old age. Understanding human development requires considering the diverse effects of nature (biology) and culture (family, society) on the developing child. The most important developmental theorists are introduced to provide a background to the current contemporary research and to the modern synthesis of nature and nurture (Dynamic Systems Approaches).
Didactic methods
- Videorecorded lectures. Seminars will be also organized. The active participation of the student will be considered for the purpose of final evaluation. Additional didactic materials will be uploaded on the website of the course.
Learning assessment procedures
- Written exam (1 hour and 15 minutes): true/false, multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Judging criteria responses are those of the accuracy, adequacy and completeness of the displayed content. The results of the seminars/exercises (aimed at developing the skills of type b and c) will be taken into account in determining the outcome of the final exam.
Reference texts
- Miller, P. H. Teorie dello sviluppo psicologico (Theories of Developmental Psychology). Il Mulino.
Butterworth, G., & Harris, M. Fondamenti di psicologia dello sviluppo (Principles of Developmental Psychology). Psychology Press.
