PSYb1030 Developmental psychology I

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Lenka Lacinová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Zuzana Masopustová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Petra Pátková Daňsová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Dana Seryjová Juhová (assistant)
Mgr. Marie Rudolfová (assistant)
Mgr. Barbora Fejtová (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Lenka Lacinová, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: doc. Mgr. Lenka Lacinová, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Psychology – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! PSY103 Developmental psychology I
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Developmental psychology I. is the first part of the developmental psychology (DP) course. Introduction focuses on basic theoretical and methodological questions as well as an explanation of developmental stages from pregnancy to preschool age. Basic theoretical concepts, methodological possibilities of research as well as new empirical research findings will be presented within each developmental stage.
The course objective is:
- to acquire not only the basic concepts and knowledge of DP, but also to understand the principles and characteristics of the individual developmental stages in the context of different developmental theories;
- to understand variability, uniqueness, specificity and general trends in development;
- to become aware of research methods focusing on intraindividual and interindividual differences in psychological development;
- to learn basic principles and characteristics which are typical for particular developmental stages from the prenatal period to preschool age;
- to learn how to interpret individual behavioral expressions, experience etc., according to so-called normative development and to learn how to explain to them while applying particular theoretical approaches.
The course assumes:
- basic knowledge of human biology, physiology, and anthropology, synthesis with knowledge from other currently studied psychological disciplines, mainly from the cognitive psychology, psychology of emotion and motivation, social psychology, as well as from statistics;
- ability to work with scholarly sources (including electronic databases);
- the knowledge of the APA7th manual.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to:
- understand basic terms and concepts from DP;
- understand principles and characteristics of particular developmental stages in the context of different developmental theories;
- include variability, uniqueness, specificity, and general trends in development and take them into account when analyzing human behavior, experience, ability and skills;
- understand research methods focusing on intraindividual and interindividual differences in psychological development;
- use the knowledge of basic principles and characteristics typical for particular developmental stages from the prenatal period to preschool age for a better understanding of human behavior, experience and their abilities and skills;
- interpret individual behavior manifestations and experience, etc., according to so-called normative development and be able to apply particular theoretical approaches for their explanation;
- summarize the results of empirical research studies, review articles and meta-analyses in the overview of the present knowledge („introduction“) from the chosen field of developmental psychology;
- propose questions for the empirical research in the developmental psychology field.
Syllabus
  • Introduction to the study of VP and developmental theories, basic topics and issues, terminology, history. Overview of developmental theories. Current research issues in developmental psychology.
  • Methods of developmental psychology/how to study human development. Advantages and disadvantages of methodological approaches to the study of development. Formulation of developmental psychology research questions.
  • Heredity vs. environment, epigenetics.
  • Prenatal period, birth, newborn, neonatal reflexes.
  • Infant period, sensorimotor development.
  • Toddler period
  • Attachment theory, measuring attachment in early childhood, Strange Situation Procedure, development of attachment in a lifespan perspective
  • Cognitive development
  • Language development, play development
  • Theory of mind, mentalization
  • Preschool period
Literature
    required literature
  • UPTON, Penney. Developmental psychology. First published. Exeter: Learning Matters, 2011, x, 222. ISBN 9780857252760. info
  • UPTON, Penney. Developmental psychology. First published. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall is an imprint of Pearson, 2012, xii, 260. ISBN 9780273735168. info
  • VÁGNEROVÁ, Marie. Vývojová psychologie. Vyd. 1. V Praze: Karolinum, 2005, 467 s. ISBN 9788024609560. info
  • VÁGNEROVÁ, Marie. Vývojová psychologie. Vyd. 1. Praha: Karolinum, 2007, 461 s. ISBN 9788024613185. info
  • UPTON, Penney. Developmental psychology. [Brno]: [Masarykova univerzita. Středisko pro pomoc studentům se specifickými nároky], 2024, 1 online. URL info
    recommended literature
  • Handbook of attachment : theory, research, and clinical applications. Edited by Jude Cassidy - Phillip R. Shaver. Third edition. New York: The Guilford Press, 2016, xx, 1068. ISBN 9781462525294. info
  • ARNETT, Jeffrey Jensen. Human development : a cultural development. 1st ed. Harlow: Pearson, 2014, ii, 760. ISBN 9781292039596. info
  • BOWLBY, John. Ztráta : smutek a deprese. Translated by Ivo Müller. Vydání první. Praha: Portál, 2013, 420 stran. ISBN 9788026203551. info
  • BOWLBY, John. Odloučení : kritické období raného vztahu mezi matkou a dítětem. Translated by Ivo Müller. Vyd. 1. Praha: Portál, 2012, 399 s. ISBN 9788026200765. info
  • BOWLBY, John. Vazba : teorie kvality raných vztahů mezi matkou a dítětem. Vydání první. Praha: Portál, 2010, 356 stran. ISBN 9788073676704. info
  • MILLER, Scott A. Developmental research methods. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2007, x, 405. ISBN 9781412950299. info
  • ERIKSON, Erik H. Dětství a společnost. Vyd. 1. Praha: Argo, 2002, 387 s. ISBN 8072033808. info
  • PIAGET, Jean and Bärbel INHELDER. Psychologie dítěte. Vyd. 3., v nakl. Portál 2. Praha: Portál, 2000, 144 s. ISBN 80-7178-407-9. info
  • NEWMAN, Barbara M. and Philip R. NEWMAN. Development through life :a psychosocial approach. 7th ed. Belmont: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1999, xxvi, 638. ISBN 0-534-35798-9. info
  • VYGOTSKIJ, Lev Semenovič and Jan PRŮCHA. Vývoj vyšších psychických funkcí. Translated by Miluše Sedláková. Vyd. 1. V Praze: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1976, 363 s. URL info
  • LANGMEIER, Josef and Zdeněk MATĚJČEK. Psychická deprivace v dětství. Vyd. 1. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1963, 297 s. info
    not specified
  • ARNETT, Jeffrey Jensen. Human development : a cultural development. Second edition. Boston: Pearson, 2016, xxii, 647. ISBN 9780133792423. info
  • ŠVANCARA, Josef. Kompendium vývojové psychologie [Švancara, 1986]. Vyd. 4. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1986, 235 pp. info
  • SCHMIDT, Hans-Dieter. Obecná vývojová psychologie. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1978, 411 s. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, seminar paper ("introduction" with the formulation of a developmental-psychological research question)
Assessment methods
The course is taught 2 hours per week and ends with an exam. Credit: final seminar paper (max 10 points, min not specified) Three continuous written tests (max 5 points per test, min not specified) Exam: final written test (approx. 25 multiple choice questions, max 40 points, min 23 points)
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
Teacher's information
https://is.muni.cz/auth/el/fss/jaro2020/PSYb1030/index.qwarp
The interactive syllabus describes the literature to be studied in greater detail.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/PSYb1030