Course description: Welcome to our Infant and Child Development course. It is meant to be an advanced treatment of the subject, so Psychology 340 (Life-Span Development) is a prerequisite for taking this course. (If you haven't taken Psych 340, but you do have a reasonable background in Psychology, this course may still be suitable for you--but please check with me to make sure.)

The purpose of this course is to give you a chance to investigate Infant and Child Development in greater depth. The research literature in these areas is rich in data and theory, so that shouldn't be hard to do. We will use a standard infant and child textbook, but I will supplement this with many examples from the broader literature; the lectures and class discussions will be organized around certain topics that we will explore in depth. You will also be getting more acquainted with this literature, by giving a brief presentaiton in class about a research article that interests you, and writing a research paper on some aspect of child development that interests you. I hope to work fairly closely with you on the ideas and writing style that you use in this project.

Textbook:

Robert Siegler, Judy DeLoache, and Nancy Eisenberg, How Children Develop. New York: Worth Publishers, 2003.

Tests and other assessment: There are three tests in this course; each will consist of 5 to 7 essay questions. I distribute lists of possible essay questions two classes before each test, so you won't be in the dark about the kinds of short essays you'll need to be prepared to write.

In place of a final exam, there will be a research paper. The paper can be on any topic in infant and child development that interests you. My only other requirement is that it be a topic in which you can refer to research articles or books of the sort we can obtain from the Clemson University library (in most cases, this is not an obstacle). I will also ask you to make a short (5 minute) presentation in class about a research article that you located and found useful for your final paper.

Your final grade will be determined as follows (our extra credit arrangement is discussed farther down):

Cheating: Your tests, your presentation, and your paper are meant to be your individual work. (It's fine to discuss the paper with other people, but the writing must be yours alone.) If you cheat, I will take action against you according to Clemson University policy.

Attendance: I do not have a formal attendance policy (except for tests or class presentations). That does not make it a good idea to skip class! Much of the material in this course will be presented in lectures and discussions, not in the textbook. And you don't do your fellow students a favor by skipping their presentations; please be there for them. If you know in advance that major circumstances will prevent you from taking a test on schedule, notify me (email will help us avoid the dreaded "telephone tag") and we will arrange a makeup.

Extra credit: You are encouraged to participate in empirical studies being carried out in the Psychology Department. These not only give you a direct acquaintance with empirical research in psychology, but also give you an opportunity to support your fellow Psych majors who are participating in research teams, doing independent studies, or doing honors research. You can sign up online for some studies that are being conducted in the department; your credit for these will be tracked on the computer. You will receive 1/4 point extra credit for each increment of up to 15 minutes; the maximum is 20 15-minute units, or 5 points added to your final grade (to keep things simple, I always keep track of final grades on a scale of 0 to 100).

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