Daniel S. Messinger

Professor of Psychology, Pediatrics, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Music Engineering


Curriculum vitae



Department of Psychology

University of Miami



PSY624 (2020)


Fall 2020


20208 - PSY624-Q - Social Development (Fall 2020)
Tuesday, Thursday 12:30PM - 1:45PM
Online via Zoom (Hybrid)
Department of Psychology, University of Miami
Daniel Messinger, Ph.D.
[email protected]
FLP 308, (305) 284-8443 (email me for cel #)
Office Hours: Thursday 1:45 - 2:45, and by appointment
Coronavirus (COVID-19): Everyone—including faculty, staff, and students—is required to wear face coverings on campus. Students are required to do this at all times in the classroom and when physical distancing cannot be guaranteed. Faculty have the right to restrict a student from participating in class if the student does not follow University COVID-19 policies.
Campus Closure: In the event that the UM’s campus closes unexpectedly for an extended period of time due to a hurricane, pandemic, or other emergency situation that prevents this course from meeting in person, students should be prepared to continue their learning through other means as determined by the instructor. In the most likely scenario, instruction would be delivered remotely through BlackBoard and other platforms. Students are expected, to the extent feasible, to check their UM email and course BlackBoard regularly for communications from their instructors. If instructed by the faculty, students are expected, to the extent feasible, to continue their participation in their courses from their off-campus location.
Class Recordings Policy: Students are expressly prohibited from recording any part of this course. Meetings of this course might be recorded by the University. Any recordings will be available to students registered for this class as they are intended to supplement the classroom experience. Students are expected to follow appropriate University policies and maintain the security of passwords used to access recorded lectures. Recordings may not be reproduced, shared with those not in the class, or uploaded to other online environments. If the instructor of a University of Miami office plans any other uses for the recordings, beyond this class, students identifiable in the recordings will be notified to request consent prior to such use. See the separate FERPA consent.
Objective. This course will review contemporary theory, research, and methods relevant to understanding social and emotional development, particularly from infancy to adolescence. The course focuses on both normative and atypical development as an understanding of one enriches an understanding of the other. Individual differences, sociocultural diversity, and a historical perspective will be emphasized throughout.
Readings. Each week, one key readings will be assigned (if there are two, you get to choose). These papers will be available linked to this syllabus (click the indicated reading; they are in Acrobat which can be downloaded here). If a reading assignment is marked as "Extra," it is suggested but not required.
Honor code. All assignments are governed by the Honor code: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received any aid on this exam/paper, etc.” Please review the graduate honor code here.
Class Sessions. I will provide overview and background material to inform our discussion. Most of this material will be PowerPoint presentations that I will present in class and post on-line (I will also include links to some interesting supplementary web-sites). Illustrative videos and in-class activities will help us get a flavor for some of the topics (i.e. coding security of attachment). Please have access to the readings (hard copy or electronic) during class sessions.  BlackBoard will be used mostly for email, the discussion forum, and submitting assignments.
Facilitating Discussion:
Presentations. Students will be responsible for presenting an article and facilitating class discussion approximately 5 times during the semester (30 points). Your presentations should cover the article’s unique contribution, integrative themes across the readings (particularly for that day), the pros and cons of different research methods for addressing the topic, and ideas regarding potential future directions/applications of the findings.
Evaluation. Presentations will be evaluated based on a) the clarity of your presentation and slides, b) your understanding of the article (e.g., adequacy of responses to questions), c) the depth of your communicated understanding of the issues raised by the article (e.g., what is the unique message of the article), and d) the quality of the ensuing discussion (e.g., relationship to ongoing class themes). Hallmarks of quality involve identifying strengths of the article, weaknesses, and specific, article-pertinent ideas for addressing those weaknesses. Weaker presentations often focus on common methodologic weaknesses without identifying solutions. Stronger presentations often focus on key strengths and results.
Slides. Your presentations should use Power-Point slides. I prefer large text and figure-based presentations where the title of each slide is communicative and slide titles do not repeat. In some instances, online slides exist with which to present your article. As needed, please edit the slides and/or create new slides. If you create new slides, please consider putting your last name in the footer section of the slide. The new slides—only send the slides you will be presenting—will be due by email 12 hours before class. You should have a balance of presentations with respect to using existing slides and creating new ones.
Feedback. I am available to discuss articles before your presentation. Good topics for discussion are elements of the article that are difficult to understand, and your questions about what is most important to present, and how it should be presented. In other words, if there is something about the article you are planning to present that don't understand, come discuss it with me beforehand. .
Participation, Participation refers to your level of engagement in class. Over the course of the semester, please submit ten (10) substantive questions or responses concerning the class reading by 12:00 am (midnight) before the class at which we discuss the reading.In addition to these questions, participation includes attendance, having clearly done the required reading, asking pertinent questions, offering informed responses to questions, and constructive debate. Use of electronic devices for anything except class work is prohibited. Full credit participation should not be assumed. If you have a question about your level of presentation, I am happy to discuss. Attendance is mandatory.
Final project. The final project should concern typical or atypical social and/or emotional development. The final project (including all relevant assignments) will constitute 50% of your grade. Choose a question relevant to your research that can be addressed from a developmental perspective emphasizing change over time. The paper must constitute new work. It can be grounded in your scientific research or can be an exploration of developmental themes unrelated to your work. You should find a project that interests you and will help you professionally (consult with your mentor). Collaborative proposals and presentations are allowed. They must include a significant component of individual work for each collaborator and must result in a proportionately higher quality final project (e.g., 2 people could collaborate on a RO1 proposal). In that case, each team member will independently submit their assignments. A group class project is also possible (ask and we can discuss possibilities). Different final project possibilities:
1) An empirical study in the form of a journal submission (10-25 double spaced pages). This is an ideal format for completing an ongoing research project.
2) A NIH F31/R03, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, or comparable proposal to which I agree. The idea here is to tie together your knowledge of an area with a proposal to do research in that area. The final paper should include all substantive areas of the proposal (5 – 6 single-spaced pages). This is an ideal format for exploring ideas in developmental research, which are related or unrelated to your ongoing research.
3) A publication-quality literature review in summary-article format or chapter format (i.e., organized by theme, not by article (10-25 double spaced pages).
Final project dates and details. Please email your mentor, ccing me when submitting each of the products below. Please also submit on BlackBoard. For each date belowbe prepared to discuss your assignment in class. Office hours (listed above) or scheduled after class or by email are an ideal setting for me to assist you with your final paper, exam(s), discussion facilitation, or class participation. If some feature of the assignment is missing in one of these assignments, and I do not draw your attention to its absence, this does not constitute license to omit that portion of the assignment.
Date Final Project Assignments and points (50 points total)

Due 12:00 pm (noon) except final paper.
8/27 Potential topic, title, and format (e.g., empirical paper), along with a draft of the project (or any related project) in its current status. (5)
9/17 One paragraph, single-spaced summary of the project. (5)
10/1 One page, single-spaced abstract of project. , and a timetable of all necessary steps to complete the project which should be updated with your progress and resubmitted for all subsequent final project topics. (5)
10/20 Updated one page abstract and a two-page outline (or 3 page summary) of the project (5)
11/5 1st draft of project containing all its components. (5)
11/17 PowerPoint draft and oral presentation of final project. (10)
12/4 Final paper due (11:00 pm). (15)
Points
Participation 15
Facilitating Discussion 35
Final project 50
Total 100
Grading Scale Grading Scale
A+ 97-100 C+ 77-79
A 94-96 C 74-76%
A- 90-94 C- 70-73%
B+ 87-89 D 63-69%
B 84-86 F 62 - 0
B- 80-83

Classes and Assigned Readings

8/18. Miami-Dade State Primary
Extra:  
Thompson, R. A., Winer, A. C., & Goodvin, R. (2011). The individual child: Temperament, emotion, self, and personality. In M. H. Bornstein & M. E. Lamb (Ed.), Developmental science: An advanced textbook (6th ed.) (pp. 427-468). New York, NY, US: Psychology Press.
Extra:
Bornstein, M. H., Putnick, D. L., Rigo, P., Esposito, G., Swain, J. E., Suwalsky, J. T. D., Su, X., Du, X., Zhang, K., Cote, L. R., De Pisapia, N., & Venuti, P. (2017). Neurobiology of culturally common maternal responses to infant cry. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(45), E9465-E9473. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1712022114
8/25. Biological bases: Environment * gene interaction, epigenetics
Conradt, E., Beauchaine, T., Abar, B., Lagasse, L., Shankaran, S., Bada, H., … Lester, B. (2016). Early caregiving stress exposure moderates the relation between respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity at 1 month and biobehavioral outcomes at age 3. Psychophysiology, 53(1), 83–96. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12569 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/psyp.12569 Zeng1ns
Extra:
8/27. Potential project topic & title. Temperament
Watts, T. W., Duncan, G. J., & Quan, H. (2018, January). Revisiting the marshmallow test: A conceptual replication investigating links between early delay of gratification and later Outcomes. Tiffany1ns
Extra:
Extra:
Mitsven, S. G., Messinger, D. S., Moffitt, J., & Ahn, Y. A. (in press). Infant Emotional Developments, pp. 748-782. In Lockman, J. & Tamis-Lemonda, C. (Eds.), Handbook of Infant Development. Cambridge University Press.
Thompson, R. A. (2015). Doing It with Feeling: The Emotion in Early Socioemotional Development. Emotion Review, 7(2), 121-125. doi: 10.1177/1754073914554777
Camras, L. A., & Shutter, J. M. (2010). Emotional facial expressions in infancy. Emotion Review, 2(2), 120-129. doi: 10.1177/1754073909352529
Somerville, L.H., Jones, R.M., Ruberry, E.J., Dyke, J.P., Glover, G., & Casey, B.J.(2013). The medial prefrontal cortex and the emergence of self-conscious emotion in adolescence. Psychological Science, 24, 1554-1562.
PDF
9/3. Intensification (email)
Mattson, W. I., Cohn, J. F., Mahoor, M. H., Gangi, D. N., & Messinger, D. S. (2013). Darwin’s Duchenne: Eye constriction during infant joy and distress. PLoS ONE, 8(11). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080161. Regina2s
Extra:
Perlman, S. B., Luna, B., Hein, T. C., & Huppert, T. J. (2014). fNIRS evidence of prefrontal regulation of frustration in early childhood. Neuroimage, 85 Pt 1, 326-334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.04.057
Sheinkopf SJ, Tenenbaum EJ, Messinger DS, Miller-Loncar CL, Tronick EZ, LaGasse LL, Shankaran S, Bada H, Bauer CR, Whitaker TM, Hammond JA, & Lester BM. (2016). Maternal and infant affect at 4 months predicts performance and verbal IQ at 4 and 7 years in a diverse population. Developmental Science. [Epub ahead of print]:doi: 10.1111/desc.12479. PMID: 27774733. Andjela1
Extra.
Meltzoff, A. N., & Marshall, P. J. (2018). Human infant imitation as a social survival circuit. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 24, 130–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.09.006
Reeb-Sutherland, B.C., Levitt, P., & Fox, N.A. (2012). The predictive nature of individual differences in early associative learning and emerging social behavior. PLoS ONE; 7: e30511. PDF
Extra:
Beebe, B., D. Messinger, L. E. Bahrick, A. Margolis, K. A. Buck, & H. Chen (2016). A Systems View of Mother-Infant Face-to-Face Communication. Developmental Psychology, 52(4), 556-571.
Ruvolo, P., Messinger, D., & Movellan, J. (2015). Infants Time Their Smiles to Make Their Moms Smile. PLoS ONE, 10(9), e0136492. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136492
Ekas, N. Haltigan, J.D., Messinger, D.S. (2012). The Dynamic Still-Face Effect: Do Infants Decrease Bidding Over Time When Parents are Not Responsive? Developmental Psychology, 49(6), 1027-1035. doi: 10.1037/a0029330. PMC3568681. Zeng2s
Extra:
Mesman, J., M. H. van IJzendoorn, et al. (2009). "The many faces of the Still-Face Paradigm: A review and meta-analysis." Developmental Review 29(2): 120-162.
Bigelow, A. E., & Power, M. (2014). Effects of Maternal Responsiveness on Infant Responsiveness and Behavior in the Still-Face Task. Infancy, 19(6), 558-584. doi: 10.1111/infa.12059
9/22. One paragraph, single-spaced summary of the project.
Testing the Mid-Range Model: Attachment in a High Risk Sample. Emily B. Prince, Daniel Messinger, Elena J. Tenenbaum, Stephen J. Sheinkopf, Samantha Mitsven, Edward Tronick, Ronald Seifer, Barry M. Lester. MS provided via email. Jenna2
Extra:
Raby, K. L., Roisman, G. I., & Booth-LaForce, C. (2015). Genetic moderation of stability in attachment security from early childhood to age 18 years: A replication study. Dev Psychol, 51(11), 1645-1649. doi: 10.1037/dev0000053
Extra:
Extra:
Fraley RC, Roisman GI, Booth-LaForce C, Owen MT, Holland AS. Interpersonal and genetic origins of adult attachment styles: a longitudinal study from infancy to early adulthood. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2013;104(5):817-838. doi:10.1037/a0031435 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4624037/pdf/nihms716035.pdf
Raby, K. L., Cicchetti, D., Carlson, E. A., Cutuli, J. J., Englund, M. M., & Egeland, B. (2012). Genetic and Caregiving-Based Contributions to Infant Attachment. Psychological Science, 23(9), 1016-1023. doi: 10.1177/0956797612438265.

10/1. One page, single-spaced abstract of (proposed) project.
Extra:
Lucassen, N., Tharner, A., Van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Volling, B. L., Verhulst, F. C., Lambregtse-Van den Berg, M. P., & Tiemeier, H. (2011). The association between paternal sensitivity and infant-father attachment security: a meta-analysis of three decades of research. J Fam Psychol, 25(6), 986-992. doi: 10.1037/a0025855
Extra:
Fasano, et al. (2020). Language Abilities, Peer Interactions, and Social Networks: An Objective Perspective on Inclusive Preschool Classrooms. Regina3ns
Extra:
Altman, R. L., Laursen, B., Messinger, D. S., & Perry, L. K. (2020). Validation of continuous measures of peer social interaction with self- and teacher-reports of friendship and social engagement. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 1-13. doi:10.1080/17405629.2020.1716724
Santos, A. J., Daniel, J. R., Fernandes, C. & Vaughn, B. E. Affiliative Subgroups in Preschool Classrooms: Integrating Constructs and Methods from Social Ethology and Sociometric Traditions. PLOS ONE 10, e0130932, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130932 (2015).
Extra:
10/15. Peers.
Extra:
First draft of one page abstract and a two-page outline (or 3 page summary) of the project.
Extra:
Kim, S., Kochanska, G., Boldt, L. J., Koenig Nordling, J., & O’Bleness, J. J. (2014). Developmental trajectory from early responses to transgressions to future antisocial behavior: Evidence for the role of the parent-child relationship from two longitudinal studies. Development and Psychopathology, 26, 93-109.
Dickson, D. J., Richmond, A. D., Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Laursen, B., Dionne, G., & Boivin, M. (2015). Aggression can be contagious: Longitudinal associations between proactive aggression and reactive aggression among young twins. Aggressive Behavior, 41(5), 455-466. doi: 10.1002/ab.21582
10/22. Self-regulation and Risk-taking.
10/27. Updated one page abstract and a two-page outline (or 3 page summary) of the project.
Present these abstract/outlines in class.
Conte, E., Grazzani, I., & Pepe, A. (2018). Social cognition, language, and prosocial behaviors: A multitrait mixed-methods study in early childhood. Early Education and Development, 29(6), 814–830. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2018.1475820 Additional_Link. Jenna5
Extra:
11/3. ELECTION DAY! Maltreatment
Extra:
11/5. 1st draft of project containing all its components.
Extra:
Delgado, M. Y., Nair, R. L., Updegraff, K. A., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2019). Discrimination, Parent–Adolescent Conflict, and Peer Intimacy: Examining Risk and Resilience in Mexican-Origin Youths' Adjustment Trajectories. Child Development, 90(3), 894-910. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12969 https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdev.12969?campaign=wolearlyview
11/10. Parenting
Extra:
Belsky, J. (2014). Toward an evo-devo theory of reproductive strategy, health and longevity. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 9, 16-18.
Andjela5
Extra:
On the Nature of Monozygotic Twin Concordance and Discordance
for Autistic Trait Severity: A Quantitative Analysis https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10519-019-09987-2.pdf
11/17. Social development disrupted: Interventions and questions
Vivanti, G., Dissanayake, C., Duncan, E., Feary, J., Capes, K., Upson, S., Bent, C. A., Rogers, S. J., & Hudry, K. (2019). Outcomes of children receiving Group-Early Start Denver Model in an inclusive versus autism-specific setting: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Autism, 23(5), 1165-1175. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318801341 Link Regina5
Extra:
Martin, K. B., Haltigan, J. D., Ekas, N., Prince, E. B., & Messinger, D. S.   Attachment security differs by later autism spectrum disorder: A prospective study. Developmental Science, n/a(n/a), e12953. doi:10.1111/desc.12953
Baker, J. K., Fenning, R. M., Erath, S. A., Baucom, B. R., Messinger, D. S., Moffitt, J., Kaeppler, A., & Bailey, A. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, parenting, and externalizing behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 0(0), 1362361319848525. doi:10.1177/1362361319848525
11/19. Final project PowerPoint presentations
12/4. Final paper due (11:00 pm).
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