printer friendly pagePSYCH 141: Cognitive Development
How do humans think, learn, and communicate? What are the developmental roots of these capacities, and what makes young children such remarkable learners? This course aims to offer an understanding of how human cognition - the ability to think, reason, and learn about the world - changes in the first few years of life. We will review and evaluate both classic findings and state-of-the-art research on cognitive development and understand the logic behind the scientific methods for studying cognition in young children. By the end of the course, students will gain a deeper understanding of the major theoretical accounts of intellectual growth as well as the key empirical findings that support (or refute) these accounts, understand the basic logic of scientific methods in cognitive development research, and be able to discuss implications of cognitive development research on real-world issues in education and social policy. PSYCH141 is an Area A course for 2019-2020. Prerequisites:
PSYCH 1. Recommended:
PSYCH 60
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 141S: The Psychology of Health: Culture, Self, and Society
What is health? How does someone become healthy or maintain good health? In the US, mainstream narratives about health tend to focus on individual choices and behavior. In this course, we take a broader focus, examining how individual health is shaped by social interactions (e.g., with family, friends, doctors), institutions (e.g., media, policy, advertising), and broad cultural ideas and values (e.g., personal responsibility, independence). Drawing from psychological research, we will examine topics at the intersection of self and society, including: the role of stress, stigma and blame in shaping health and wellbeing, cultural processes contributing to health disparities, attitudes about the proper role of government in shaping public health, and the erosion of trust in medical authority (e.g. anti-vaccination attitudes). We will also consider how race, gender, and socioeconomic status impact health outcomes. Throughout the course, we will analyze cultural products including advertisements, media stories, health PSAs, and government statements to better understand the transmission of cultural ideas of health. Finally, we will discuss various opportunities and barriers to creating social and cultural change regarding health. The course will empower students learn to recognize and analyze the influence of culture on everyday functioning and apply that understanding to improving their own and other people's health outcomes.
Last offered: Summer 2019
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