Lectures here refer to the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that occur in human beings over the course of the life span. Although many of these courses focus on infants and children, some will also include adolescence and adult development, aging, and the entire life span. This field examines change across a broad range of topics including motor skills and other psycho-physiological processes; cognitive development involving areas such as problem solving, moral understanding, and conceptual understanding; language acquisition; social, personality, and emotional development; and self-concept and identity formation. The rating represents the breadth of material available, the effectiveness of the lecturer, and the accessibility of the website and lecture topics in general. If you have comments or suggestions, feel free to email me at eric@psychlectures.com. Enjoy!
Developmental Psychology
Lori Markson Fall 2007 – UC Berkeley Webcasts
“This course explores the development of children from birth to adolescence, in a wide range of areas including biological, cognitive, linguistic, social, and personality development. It also covers the effects of genes, experience, and social context on children’s development.“
[mp3 audio]
Developmental Neurobiology
Prof. Elly Nedivi, Spring 2005 – MIT OpenCourseWare
“This course considers molecular control of neural specification, formation of neuronal connections, construction of neural systems, and the contributions of experience to shaping brain structure and function. Topics include: neural induction and pattern formation, cell lineage and fate determination, neuronal migration, axon guidance, synapse formation and stabilization, activity-dependent development and critical periods, development of behavior.”
[syllabus] – [calendar] – [required readings] – [assignments] – [study materials] – [downloadable content]
Infant and Early Childhood Cognition
Prof. Laura Schulz, Fall 2005 – MIT OpenCourseWare
“This course is an introduction to cognitive development focusing on children’s understanding of objects, agents, and causality. Students develop a critical understanding of experimental design and how developmental research might address philosophical questions about the origins of knowledge, appearance and reality, and the problem of other minds.”
[syllabus] – [calendar] – [required readings] – [lecture notes] – [assignments] – [downloadable content]
Neural Plasticity in Learning and Development
Prof. Earl Miller et al., Spring 2002 – MIT OpenCourseWare
“Roles of neural plasticity in learning and memory and in development of invertebrates and mammals. An in-depth critical analysis of current literature of molecular, cellular, genetic, electrophysiological, and behavioral studies. Discussion of original papers supplemented by introductory lectures.”
[syllabus] – [calendar] – [required readings] – [lecture notes] – [assignments] – [related resources] – [downloadable content]
