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Developmental Psychology (PSYC20008)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5Dual-Delivery (Parkville)
From 2023 most subjects will be taught on campus only with flexible options limited to a select number of postgraduate programs and individual subjects.
To learn more, visit COVID-19 course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Dr Abi Brooker
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 - Dual-Delivery |
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Fees | Look up fees |
This subject examines cognitive, biological, and social developmental psychology in infancy, childhood and adolescence.
Contemporary theories as well as recent and historical accounts of development will be reviewed. Subject topics will highlight major themes that have shaped thinking in developmental psychology. These themes are:
- How do nature and nurture together shape development?
- How do children shape their own development?
- In what ways is development continuous, and in what ways is it discontinuous?
- How does change occur?
- How does the socio-cultural context influence development?
- How do children become so different from each other?
- How can research promote children’s well-being?
This subject will also provide students with experience in the collection, analysis and interpretation of developmental data in either an applied or laboratory setting.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject students should be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes:
Knowledge
- Explain some of the factors that influence cognitive, biological, and social development
- Identify historical as well as contemporary frameworks or theories of development
- Identify ethical considerations of developmental research with children and young people
Skills
- Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of adopting different perspectives for studying developmental processes
- Demonstrate an ability to conduct a constructive peer review of an academic piece
- Analyse and interpret data relevant to developmental inquiry
Application of knowledge and skills
- Provide constructive feedback of an academic piece
- Use developmental theory and analytic techniques to understand how children and young people change
Generic skills
Students should further develop generic skills in:
- analysing research literature
- interpreting research data
- evaluating research methodology
- writing reports
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
512221 Developmental Psychology 2
512227 Developmental Psychology
Recommended background knowledge
Prior coursework in the two Level 1 psychology subjects, Mind Brain and Behaviour 1 and Mind Brain and Behaviour 2 is recommended.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
3 x Revision Quizzes. Each quiz contains 10 multiple-choice questions focusing on content delivered in recent lectures.
| Throughout the teaching period | 15% |
An examination
| During the examination period | 45% |
An assignment
| From Week 7 to Week 11 | 40% |
An online hurdle module
| From Week 4 to Week 7 | N/A |
Attendance of at least 80% of laboratory classes. Hurdle requirement: In case of failure to meet the attendance requirement, additional work related to the missed activities (e.g., an essay whose length is 500 words for each tutorial missed) will be required before a passing grade can be awarded. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Abi Brooker Mode of delivery Dual-Delivery (Parkville) Contact hours 24 hours of Lectures and 12 hours of Practical/Tutorial Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 28 February 2022 to 29 May 2022 Last self-enrol date 11 March 2022 Census date 31 March 2022 Last date to withdraw without fail 6 May 2022 Assessment period ends 24 June 2022 Semester 1 contact information
Dr Abi Brooker
Time commitment details
36 contact hours with an estimated 170 hours time commitment
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Hoffnung, M., Hoffnung, R.J., Seifert, K. L., Hine, A., Pausé, C., Ward, L., Signal, T., Swabey, K., Yates, K, & Burton Smith, R. (2019). Lifespan Development: A chronological approach [4th Australasian edition]. John Wiley & Sons, Australia.
Recommended texts and other resources
PDFs of research articles available via the Library's portal.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Graduate Diploma in Psychology Informal specialisation Science Discipline subjects - new generation B-SCI Major Psychology Major Psychology - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
subject coordinator approval required
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 27 April 2024