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2025 Fall

Developmental Psychology - PSY260/PSY560 Fall 2025


Course
Christopher Randall
For information about registration please contact our admissions.

Lessons

Here is the course outline:

1. Faculty Office

PSY 260 Syllabus Grading Rubrics

2. Session 01 - 02 Sept

During our first meeting, we’ll discuss why we’re here, outline our roles & expectations, review the syllabus & schedule, and conclude with an introduction to/overview of Developmental Psychology.

3. Session 02 - 09 Sept

This week’s module explores human development across the lifespan, encouraging reflection on how people grow and change from infancy through older adulthood. It examines factors such as childhood temperament, adolescence, adult life choices, relationships, and careers, while also considering how these experiences shape aging, personality, and perspectives later in life.

4. Session 03 - 16 Sept

Sep 16

This week’s module focuses on genetic inheritance, explaining how family members can share many traits yet still display striking differences. It also explores prenatal development, highlighting how a single cell grows and transforms into a newborn.

5. Session 04 - 30 Sept

Sep 30

This week’s module examines the rapid physical and cognitive growth that occurs in infancy and toddlerhood, including advances in motor skills, perception, thinking, and language. It also explores socioemotional development, focusing on how babies learn to express and manage emotions, develop self-awareness, and build early social relationships.

6. Session 05 - 07 Oct

Oct 7

This week’s module explores early childhood as a period of rapid growth in physical, motor, cognitive, and language development. It also examines socioemotional development, including how children learn to understand and regulate emotions, the role of parents and play, and the emergence of more complex social and emotional experiences.

7. Session 06 - Oct 21

Oct 21

This week’s module focuses on the physical and cognitive changes that occur during middle childhood, roughly between ages 6 and 11. It also explores how family and peer relationships influence children’s socioemotional development during this stage.

8. Session 07 - 23, 24, 25 Oct

Oct 24

We’ll complete the midterm exam, midterm course evaluation, and preview the 2nd half of PSY 260.

9. Session 09 - 04 Nov

Nov 4

This week’s module examines adolescence, a period of rapid physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development marking the transition from childhood to adulthood. It explores changes such as puberty, the construction of identity, and the evolving complexity of peer and parent relationships, while also considering how industrialized societies extend this stage into emerging adulthood.

10. Session 10 - 11 Nov

Nov 11

This week’s module explores the transition from adolescence into adulthood, focusing on emerging adulthood (ages 18–25) and early adulthood (up to age 40). It examines the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes during these years, as well as the decisions and commitments related to relationships, family, career, and lifestyle that shape adult roles and identity.

11. Session 11 - 18 Nov

Nov 18

This week’s module examines middle adulthood (ages 40–65), a stage marked by mild physical and cognitive declines that are often balanced by experience and wisdom. It also explores shifting developmental tasks, including parenting, career transitions, relationships, and evolving sense of self and personality across midlife.

12. Session 12 - 25 Nov

Nov 25

This week’s module explores late adulthood, focusing on the physical and cognitive changes that come with aging, including declines and chronic health challenges. It also examines socioemotional development, highlighting how older adults adapt through changes in self-concept, living contexts, relationships, and work, often in ways that defy common stereotypes.

13. Session 13 - 02 Dec

Dec 2

This week’s module provides us with an opportunity to pause and review, summarize, and discuss the developmental periods covered in this 2nd half of the PSY 260 course: Adolescence, Emerging and Early Adulthood, Middle Adulthood, and Late Adulthood.

14. Session 14 - 09 Dec

Dec 9

Final Exam (in class); Synthesis/Reflection on Personal Learning Description: We’ll complete the final exam, submit a personal learning reflection, and officially conclude the PSY 260 class.

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