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