Psychology

The course will tentatively meet on THURSDAYS from 9:00-11:50 in the large conference room at 202 UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain (202 Cousteau Place, Suite 250, Davis, CA)

Development of Psychological Understanding

Course Description:  This course focuses on how children come to understand people in relation to their inner, mental states, for example, what people desire, intend, believe, remember, think about, and feel emotionally.  We will cover evidence for early understanding about the mind during infancy and toddlerhood (e.g., imitation, joint attention, social referencing, understanding of goal-directed actions, intentionality). We will read and discuss writings on how this early knowledge about the mind develops during the preschool years (e.g., understanding of false belief, causal knowledge about emotions, self-knowledge, understanding of magic, fantasy, and imagination, existential thinking, consciousness).  Readings will also consider causes and correlates of individual differences in children`s understanding of mind--both social (e.g., parent-child conversations, attachment, peer relationships, home environments) and cognitive (e.g., executive control, mirror neurons), including an examination of atypical child populations (children with autism, deaf children, blind children, maltreated children).

The seminar will meet for 3 hours, 1 day per week.