Understanding Developmental Psychology

Course Overview

Our Understanding Developmental Psychology short course will introduce you to key theories and research findings in developmental and lifespan psychology. The focus will be on development in childhood and adolescence, adulthood and old age.

The course explores a range of topics such as psychosexual development, parenting and families. Consideration is also given to the impact of culture on our understanding of developmental processes. You will be helped to consider ways in which such theories fall short, and why this might be. You will also be encouraged to reflect on the ways in which theories studied may be applied to your understanding of yourself and others.

We plan to cover the following content:

• Child development: Piaget and Vygotsky and their implications for education
• Child development: attachment and its impact on learning
• Adolescence and emerging adulthood
• Early and middle adulthood
• Psychosexual development throughout the lifespan
• Parenting (and families)
• Old age
• What's the point of a university education?
• The development of thought in adulthood
• Cultural perspectives on development
• Summary and critique of methods, assumptions and application

This 11-week course will be of interest to anyone interested in developmental psychology, and the changing psychological function, needs and processes from birth to old age. This includes parents and those working in health and social care who want to learn more about psychological theories across the human lifespan and how the theories and research can be applied to everyday life.

The course is assessed via a 1500-word essay (50%) and one-hour in-class timed assessment (50%). If you do not want to gain credit, you can still take the course without completing assessments.

There may be multiple instances of the class starting on the same date and at the same time. This allows us to offer additional places and you can enrol on any that have availability.

As a student on this course, you will study alongside Birkbeck students enrolled on one of our undergraduate or postgraduate courses, giving you the opportunity to network with a range of Birkbeck current students whilst you learn.

This can be taken as a standalone short course or as part of:

• Applied Psychology (Certificate of Higher Education)
• Psychology (Certificate of Higher Education)

Credits: 15 credits at level 4