Application deadline

Type of course

The course can be taken as a singular course.

Recommended prerequisites: PSY-1001 Introduction to psychology

Admission requirements

Course content

Do infants and young children understand cause and effect? Can they remember what they did last summer? How do they learn what a fork or a remote control is for? When do they start to understand that people have thoughts and feelings? And perhaps most interestingly, how can we find out what they know and think, if we cannot just ask them?

These and similar questions will be discussed in this course in order to provide a comprehensive overview of cognitive development from infancy to preschool age. Following a theoretical introduction on constructivism (Piaget's theory) and neoconstructivism, the lectures will focus on a few prominent areas of cognitive developmental research, such as conceptual development, categorization, language development, naïve physics, reasoning about objects, action understanding, imitation, memory, and theory of mind. Findings about young children's knowledge and reasoning in these areas will be discussed with an emphasis on the most common experimental paradigms in developmental research. In addition, students will get an opportunity to develop their science literacy and communication skills by reading and presenting original research articles and engaging in discussions.

Content learning: In this course, early cognitive development will be discussed in far more detail than what is possible in the scope of the developmental psychology lectures.

Skill learning: This course will help students develop their critical reading and efficient presentation skills, which are not only essential in academia, but also beneficial in a wide range of occupational areas.

Recommended prerequisites

Objectives of the course

Successful completion of the course will lead to the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge:

Students will have

• an understanding of the methods used in research on cognitive development
• knowledge about theories and empirical findings in some prominent areas of cognitive development

Skills:

Students will have developed their ability to

• critically read scientific articles and identify the main arguments
• give a short and efficient presentation about a research topic and engage in a productive discussion

General competence:

Students will have developed their ability to

• work independently
• speak in front of an audience

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

Assessment

4 hours written exam, graded alphabetically A-F.

A re-sit exam exam will be arranged early in the following semester, for candidates who failed the exam.  

Coursework requirement:

Short presentation - Each student will give a presentation based on 1 - 2 research papers. Presentation topics and dates will be agreed on in the first meeting of the class.

Active participation - Students are requested to attend at least six lectures (50%) and actively participate in the discussions.

Recommended reading/syllabus