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PSY-30146 - Module Specification
School of Psychology
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2024/25 Last Updated: 01 May 2024

PSY-30146 - Cognitive Development
Coordinator: Claire Monroy Room: N/A Tel: +44 1782 7 33646
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733736

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25


Aims
The module aims to explore key areas of cognitive development, focusing on the first few years of life. We will focus on cognitive development, but we will incorporate insights from comparative psychology, neuroscience, and cross-cultural psychology to fully characterize the foundations of these cognitive processes. The module¿s secondary aim is to broaden and deepen students¿ thinking about the origins of various cognitive domains and to engage students with the methods used to study cognitive development in both human and non-human species.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Discuss similarities and differences in the cognitive development of human and non-human animals: 1,2
Evaluate key features of methodologies used in research on human cognitive development and with non-human animals.: 1,2
Develop a research proposal and effectively communicate this in an appropriate format: 2
Generate predictions about behaviour across different species or age groups: 2

Study hours

- 24 hours of scheduled synchronous teaching (12 x 2hours p/week)
- 4 hours participating in the observational study
Total synchronous content = 28 hours
- 12 hours of guided asynchronous learning
- 30 hours of Assessment 1 independent work
- 30 hours of Assessment 2 independent work
- 48 hours of independent study (reading around each lecture, etc)

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Laboratory Report weighted 40%
Field observational study
Students will participate in an observational study of non-human primates or children and then complete a lab report detailing their findings. Students will collect observational data of behaviours relevant to cognitive and social aspects. Students will then will complete a lab report detailing their data collection methods, analysis of the observed behaviours, a discussion of how the observed behaviours reveal aspects of cognition, and a discussion of links between human and non-human cognition.1200 words.

2: Research Proposal weighted 60%
Research Proposal
Students will write a research proposal (title, introduction, methods, expected results, references) for a study that investigates a chosen aspect of cognition from a developmental perspective. They will need to justify why their research question is important and novel and why they have selected their proposed approach. 1800 words.

Please note that for the 2022/23 Academic Year programmes may be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there may be some changes made to how modules are delivered and assessed. The latest information will be provided to you by your School in module handbooks. We endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes and details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/student-terms-and-conditions/

Last Updated: 01 May 2024