University of Essex

PS507-6-SP-CO:
Making connections: How children develop

The details

Year: 2023/24

Department: Psychology

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Spring

Level: Undergraduate: Level 6

Status: Current

Start date: Monday 15 January 2024

End date: Friday 22 March 2024

Credits: 15

Last updated: 14 November 2023

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

BSC C800JS Psychology,
BSC C800NS Psychology

Module description

This module builds on the 2nd year module Developmental Psychology in order to provide a greater understanding of the relation between brain development and the development of skills in infants and children, and will provide insights into applied developmental psychology.

The topics range from typical and atypical development to how neuroscience can inform educational practices, and may include: prenatal brain development, the development of the sense of self and self control, infant and children attachment and social skills, neurodevelopmental disorders and applied neuroscience.

Module aims

The aim of this module is:

To provide final year undergraduate students with a deep understanding of the connections between brain development and child behaviour and skills, and how neuroscience can inform educational practices

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

Understand how the brain develops from prenatal stages and how such development is connected to children’s developing skills and observable behaviour.

Understand the development of the sense of self, how children learn self control and social skills.

Understand neuroscientific findings that are providing insight into neurodevelopmental disorders.

Communicate complex information about the relationship between the brain and development in a way appropriate for non-psychologists.

Module information

Learning outcome 1 will be assessed by the essay (first coursework), learning outcomes 2, 3 and 4 will be assessed by the learning material (second coursework).

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be delivered via:

One 2-hour lecture per week.

Bibliography

Mark H. Johnson and Michelle De Haan (2015) Developmental cognitive neuroscience: an introduction. Fourth edition. Malden, MA: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=985137.
Johnson, M.H. and De Haan, M. (2015e) Developmental cognitive neuroscience: an introduction. Fourth edition. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/91135.
Joan Stiles (2017) ‘Principles of brain development’, WIREs Cognitive Science, 8(1-2). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1402.
Stiles, J. and Jernigan, T.L. (2010) ‘The Basics of Brain Development’, Neuropsychology Review, 20(4), pp. 327–348. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-010-9148-4.
Mark H. Johnson (2003) ‘Development of human brain functions’, Biological Psychiatry, 54(12), pp. 1312–1316. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322303004268?via%3Dihub.
Johanna Bick and Charles A. Nelson (2017) ‘Early experience and brain development’, WIREs Cognitive Science, 8(1-2). Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wcs.1387.
Eric I. Knudsen (2004) ‘Sensitive Periods in the Development of the Brain and Behavior’, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16(8), pp. 1412–1425. Available at: https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/10.1162/0898929042304796.
Hoekzema, E. et al. (2017) ‘Pregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in human brain structure’, Nature Neuroscience, 20(2), pp. 287–296. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4458.
Barba-Müller, E. et al. (2019) ‘Brain plasticity in pregnancy and the postpartum period: links to maternal caregiving and mental health’, Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 22(2), pp. 289–299. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0889-z.
Abraham, E. et al. (2014) ‘Father’s brain is sensitive to childcare experiences’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(27), pp. 9792–9797. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1402569111.
Orchard, E.R. et al. (2023) ‘Matrescence: lifetime impact of motherhood on cognition and the brain’, Trends in Cognitive Sciences [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2022.12.002.
Blakemore, S.-J. (2018) ‘Avoiding Social Risk in Adolescence’, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(2), pp. 116–122. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417738144.
Emma J. Kilford, Emily Garrett and Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (2016) ‘The development of social cognition in adolescence: An integrated perspective’, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, pp. 106–120. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014976341630183X?via%3Dihub.
Hervé, P.-Y. et al. (2013) ‘Revisiting human hemispheric specialization with neuroimaging’, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(2), pp. 69–80. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.12.004.
Jennifer Herbert and Deborah Stipek (2005) ‘The emergence of gender differences in children’s perceptions of their academic competence’, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 26(3), pp. 276–295. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0193397305000171?via%3Dihub.
Ralph Adolphs (2009) ‘The Social Brain: Neural Basis of Social Knowledge’, Annual Review of Psychology, 60(1), pp. 693–716. Available at: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163514.
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (2008) ‘Development of the Social Brain during Adolescence’, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 61(1), pp. 40–49. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210701508715.
Aron, A.R., Robbins, T.W. and Poldrack, R.A. (2004) ‘Inhibition and the right inferior frontal cortex’, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(4), pp. 170–177. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2004.02.010.
Simpson, A. and Carroll, D.J. (2019) ‘Understanding Early Inhibitory Development: Distinguishing Two Ways That Children Use Inhibitory Control’, Child Development, 90(5), pp. 1459–1473. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13283.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Deadline	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Essay		40%
Coursework	Learning Material		60%

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Dr Silvia Rigato, email: srigato@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff: Dr Silvia Rigato

Contact details: email: srigato@essex.ac.uk

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: No

Available to Audit: No

External examiner

Name: Dr Paula Miles

Institution: University of St Andrews

Academic role: Director of Teaching, Senior Lecturer

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

Further information

Department website: Psychology

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Module Directory

PS507-6-SP-CO:Making connections: How children develop