| Unit name | Developmental Psychology and Language |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PSYC20003 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1A (weeks 1 - 6) |
| Unit director | Professor. Davis |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Psychological Science |
| Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
This unit develops your knowledge of developmental psychology and language, and the experimental approach to studying human behaviour during early childhood and interpreting the research from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. It also focuses on the development of linguistic abilities from early infancy to adulthood, paying particular attention to the biological foundations of language, its evolutionary origins and underlying brain mechanisms.
The aims of this unit are to build on Year 1 Developmental Psychology and the methodological approaches used in the study of developmental psychology and the psychology of language, and the application of these to particular areas such as critical period, cognitive development, early memory, speech recognition, and reading.
On successful completion of this unit, a student will be able to:
Lectures, revision session, and seminars (presenting at one of the seminars).
One 1600-word essay (20%); one oral presentation (20%) and one 2-hour written exam (60%).
Essential:
Gathercole, S. E. & Baddeley, A. D. (1993). Working memory and language. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Goswami, U. (2002). Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development. Oxford: Blackwell.
Harley, T. A. (2008). The psychology of language: From data to theory (3rd ed.). Hove: Psychology Press.
Jackendoff, R. S. (2002). Foundations of language: Brain, meaning, grammar, evolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Johnson, M. H. (1997). Developmental cognitive neuroscience. Oxford: Blackwell.
Recommended and further reading will be made available through Blackboard.
