Social (and Emotional) Development (PSY624-P)
Fall 2015, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00-12:15, Flipse 302

Instructor:
Daniel Messinger, Ph.D. (Homepage)
Office Hours:
Tuesday 12:30pm-3:30pm, or by appointment
Office: FLP 308
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: (305) 284-8443

Objective: The goal of the course is to review contemporary theory, research, and methods relevant to understanding social and emotional development, particularly during childhood.  The course focuses on both normative and atypical development; an understanding of one enriches an understanding of the other. Individual differences, sociocultural diversity, and a historical perspective on the study of all these themes, will be emphasized throughout. 

Readings: Each week, several readings will be assigned that are representative of current work in the field. These papers will be available linked to this syllabus. Empirical and review articles from the literature are available on-line (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 basic background material to inform our discussion. Some of this material will be in the form of PowerPoint slides that I will review 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 real-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.

Preparing readings for class discussion. Review the reading as a starting point for leading a class discussion. Summarize the central point and the main points (main points!) of the article; then tell us what the most interesting issues for discussion emerge from the article. Limit your presentations to 5 minutes. End with a couple of questions about the meaning of this article and its message in terms of other readings, larger issues, your own work, etc. Please write-up your notes that summarize the reading and suggest discussion points in 2-3 PowerPoint slides. These should be emailed to the class the evening before class and brought to class with handouts for all. Download the PowerPoint slides that I have prepared for the class and indicate how your material can be integrated. The goal is to encourage class participation and discussion.

Discussion Facilitation: Students will be responsible for facilitating discussion during class approximately several times over the course of the semester. To do so, you will be responsible for presenting the article and coordinating class discussion. Please familiarize yourself with the class’ online slides as you will use them to present your article. Most lectures will be available from the links below. As needed, please edit the slides and create new slides. If you create a new slide, please consider putting your last name in the footer section of the slide. Slides will be due by email 12 hours before class. Your presentations should cover 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. The discussion sessions you are responsible for will be worth 20% of your final grade and will be based on the thoughtfulness and quality of your presentations and ensuing discussion.

Exams: Students will complete a take-home midterm

The final project should concern typical or atypical social/emotional development. You should find a project that interests you and will help you professionally (consult with your advisor). Alternatives for a final project:

1) A publication quality research project such as a draft of a thesis. The idea is to learn about social and emotional development by doing research that will facilitate your career goals.

2) A NIH R03/R01 or NSF grant (or, potentially, fellowship) proposal (6, 12, or 15 single-spaced pages, respectively). The idea here is to tie together your knowledge of an area with a proposal to do research in this area.

3) A publication-quality literature review in summary-article format (i.e., organized by theme, not by article).

        4) Possibility of contributing or writing a Wikipedia article or articles on a topic related to social development. See the related initiative of the Association for Psychological Science http://www.psychologicalscience.org/?s=wikipedia+initiative

 

During the last class session(s), you will present your project using PowerPoint. Class-time will be devoted to helping you develop your final projects and there will be assignments during the semester (i.e. written topic selection, overview) to make the projects an integral part of our class. 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).

Participation: 20% of your final grade will be assigned based on your preparation of articles, level of engagement, participation in classroom discussions, and your thought questions. 15% will be based on the mid-term. Participation may include your written responses to in-class queries. These will be brief and typically cover a single key concept found in the readings that we have discussed in class. Attendance is mandatory. Your final project (both the oral presentation and the final paper) will constitute 65% of your grade.

 

9/1. Potential topic (a title).

9/17.   One paragraph single-spaced summary.

10/6.   One page single-spaced abstract, 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.

[10/20. Distribute midterm. Due 10/27.]

10/22.  Updated one page abstract and a two-page outline of the final project. 

11/12. Review of first drafts of final project.

11/17.   First draft of final paper containing all components of the projects (e.g., results)

12/8.    PowerPoint presentations of final project.

12/16.   Final paper due.

No class meeting 10/8 (break) 10/29, 11/5, 11/24-26 (thanksgiving)

August 25th – Introduction to social development and to the class.  

August 27th – Overview: Temperament, emotion, attachment, the self, and the broader context of social and emotional development.

Erikson, E. (1950). Eight Ages of Man, Childhood and Society (pp. 247-274): Norton. Katherine1

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.

 

September 1st – Genetics and epigenetics. Environmental and genetic interaction 

Szyf, M. and J. Bick (2012). "DNA Methylation: A Mechanism for Embedding Early Life Experiences in the Genome." Child Development. Katherine2

 

September 3rd—Temperament

Penela, E. C., Walker, O. L., Degnan, K. A., Fox, N. A., & Henderson, H. A. (2015). Early behavioral inhibition and emotion regulation: Pathways toward social competence in middle childhood. Child Development, 86(4), 1227-1240. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12384 Emily1

Extra:  Degnan, K. A., Hane, A. A., Henderson, H. A., Moas, O. L., Reeb-Sutherland, B. C., & Fox, N. A. (2010) Longitudinal stability of temperamental exuberance and social-emotional outcomes in early childhood. Developmental Psychology. 

September 8th.  Discrete emotions.

Cole, P. M., & Moore, G. A. (2015). About face! Infant facial expression of emotion. 7, 116-120. doi: 10.1177/1754073914554786 William1

Extra.

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

September 10. Intensification (email) and Emotion Outcomes:

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. Joseph1

September 15. Predictors of interactive competence.

Paukner, A., Simpson, E., Ferari, P., Mrozek, T., & Suomi, S. (2014). Neonatal imitation predicts how infants engage with faces. Developmental Science, 17(6), 833–840. Liz1

Extra. 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

September 17. Culture in Development

Wörmann, V., Holodynski, M., Kärtner, J., & Keller, H. (2014). The emergence of social smiling: The interplay of maternal and infant imitation during the first three months in cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45(3), 339-361. doi: 10.1177/0022022113509134 Krystal1

Extra. Chen, X. (2012). Culture, peer interaction, and socioemotional development. Child Development Perspectives. 

September 22 – Early interaction: Process

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. Emily2

Kaye, K., & Fogel, A. (1980). The temporal structure of face-to-face communication between mothers and infants.Developmental Psychology, 16(5), 454-464.  

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

Ruvolo, P., Messinger, D., & Movellan, J. (in press). Infants time their smiles to make their moms smile. PLOS ONE.

September 24 – What does early interaction predict?

Hane, A. A., & Fox, N. A. (2006). Ordinary variations in maternal caregiving of human infants influence stress reactivity. Psychological Science, 17, 550-556. Liz2

Raby, K. L., Roisman, G. I., Fraley, R. C., & Simpson, J. A. (2014). The Enduring Predictive Significance of Early Maternal Sensitivity: Social and Academic Competence through Age 32 Years. Child Development, n/a-n/a. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12325 

September 29. Attachment defined and describing secure and insecure attachment

Peltola, M. J., Forssman, L., Puura, K., van Ijzendoorn, M. H., & Leppänen, J. M. (2015). Attention to Faces Expressing Negative Emotion at 7 Months Predicts Attachment Security at 14 Months. Child Development, n/a-n/a. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12380. Katherine3

Extra:
Johnson, S. C., Dweck, C. S., & Chen, F. S. (2007). Evidence for Infants' Internal Working Models of Attachment. Psychological Science, 18(6), 501-502. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01929.x

Attachment site: http://johnbowlby.com: Overview of attachment classifications (on p. 11) and coding.

Social evaluation by preverbal infants. http://pantheon.yale.edu/~kw77/HamlinWynnBloomNature2007.pdf

October 1 - Predicting attachment security

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. Joseph2

Extra:

Belsky, Jay; Houts, Renate M.; Fearon, R. M. Pasco. Infant attachment security and the timing of puberty: Testing an evolutionary hypothesis. Psychological Science, Vol 21(9), Sep 2010, 1195-1201.

van IJzendoorn, M. H., Rutgers, A. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van Daalen, E., Dietz, C., Buitelaar, J. K., et al. (2007). Parental sensitivity and attachment in children with autism spectrum disorder: Comparison with children with mental retardation, with language delays, and with typical development. Child Development, 78, 597-608.

October 6. What does secure attachment predict?

Beijersbergen, M. D., Juffer, F., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (2012). Remaining or becoming secure: Parental sensitive support predicts attachment continuity from infancy to adolescence in a longitudinal adoption study. Developmental Psychology, 48(5), 1277-1282. doi: 10.1037/a0027442 Krystal2

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

van Ijzendoorn, M. (1995). Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness, and infant attachment: A meta-analysis on the predictive validity of the Adult Attachment Interview. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 387-403.

NICHD_Early_Child_Care_Research_Network (2006). "Infant-mother attachment classification: Risk and protection in relation to changing maternal caregiving quality." Developmental Psychology 42(1): 38-58

10/8 No class meeting (break)

10/13. What attachment processes are active in adulthood? How do they impact intimate relationships?

Collibee, C., & Furman, W. (2015). Quality Counts: Developmental Shifts in Associations Between Romantic Relationship Qualities and Psychosocial Adjustment. Child Development, 86(5), 1639-1652. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12403

Extra:
Fraley, R. C., Roisman, G. I., Booth-LaForce, C., Owen, M. T., & Holland, A. S. (2013). Interpersonal and Genetic Origins of Adult Attachment Styles: A Longitudinal Study From Infancy to Early Adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, No Pagination Specified. doi: 10.1037/a0031435 Emily3

10/15 Aggression, empathy, and evolution

Brosnan, S. F., & de Waal, F. B. (2014). Evolution of responses to (un) fairness. Science, 346(6207), 1251776.

Click here to download the PDF and use the password "fransdewaal" (all in lowercase) to open. William2

10/15 Additional Lecture. Humans as Animals: Primate Politics, Culture, and Morality. Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 7:00pm

10/16 Additional Lecture. Evolution of Responses to (Un)fairness in Apes. Friday, October 16, 2015 at 12:30pm

Extra:

10/20. Distribute and review midterm. Due 10/27. Final project review 10/22. de Waal debrief. Aggression, empathy, and sex differences

Del Giudice, M., & Angeleri, R. (in press). Digit ratio (2D:4D) and attachment styles in middle childhood: Indirect evidence for an organizational effect of sex hormones. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology. William3

Extra:

10/22. Peers (popularity).

Due: Final project—2 page abstract.

Hartl, A. C., Laursen, B., & Cillessen, A. H. N. (2015). A Survival Analysis of Adolescent Friendships: The Downside of Dissimilarity. Psychological Science. doi: 10.1177/0956797615588751 Krystal3

10/27. Gender

Lynn Martin, C., Fabes, R. A., Hanish, L. D., & Hollenstein, T. (2005). Social dynamics in the preschool. Developmental Review, 25(3–4), 299-327. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2005.10.001. Katherine4

Extra:

Messinger, D. S., Young, G. S., Webb, S. J., Ozonoff, S., Bryson, S. E., Carter, A., Carver, L., Charman, T., Chawarska, K., Curtin, S., Dobkins, K., Hertz-Picciotto, I., Hutman, T., Iverson, J. M., Landa, R., Nelson, C. A., Stone, W. L., Tager-Flusberg, H., & Zwaigenbaum, L. (2015). Early sex differences are not autism-specific: A Baby Siblings Research Consortium (BSRC) study. Mol Autism, 6, 32. doi: 10.1186/s13229-015-0027-y

10/29. No Class.

11/3. Prosocial development and morality. Abuse.

Cowell, J., & Decety, J. (2015). Precursors to morality in development as a complex interplay between neural, socio-environmental, and behavioral facets. PNAS, 112 (41), 12657-12662. Joseph3

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.

11/5. No Class.

11/10. Social development in classroom settings.

Liz3

Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2013). Genetic Moderation of Early Child-Care Effects on Social Functioning Across Childhood: A Developmental Analysis. Child Development, 84(4), 1209-1225. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12058

Bierman, K. L., Welsh, J. A., Heinrichs, B. S., Nix, R. L., & Mathis, E. T. (2015). Helping Head Start Parents Promote Their Children's Kindergarten Adjustment: The Research-Based Developmentally Informed Parent Program. Child Dev, 86(6), 1877-1891. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12448

11/12. Due: Review of first drafts of final project.

11/17. Due: First draft of final project.

Abraham, E., Hendler, T., Shapira-Lichter, I., Kanat-Maymon, Y., Zagoory-Sharon, O., Feldman, R. (2014). Father’s brain is sensitive to childcare experiences. PNAS. Krystal4

Rilling, J. K., & Young, L. J. (2014). The biology of mammalian parenting and its effect on offspring social development. Science, 345(6198), 771-776. doi: 10.1126/science.1252723. William4

11/19. Parenting (cont.) and old age

Weisman, O., et al. (2012). "Oxytocin administration to parent enhances infant physiological and behavioral readiness for social engagement." Biological Psychiatry 72(12): 982 989. Joseph4

Extra:

Belsky, J. & Shalev, I. (in press). Contextual Adversity, Telomere Erosion, Pubertal Development and Health: Two Models of Accelerated Aging—or One? Development and Psychopathology.

Belsky, J. (2014). Toward an evo-devo theory of reproductive strategy, health and longevity. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 9, 16-18.

12/1. Self-regulation, risky behaviors.

Berry, D., McCartney, K., Petrill, S., Deater‐Deckard, K., & Blair, C. (2014). Gene–environment interaction between DRD4 7‐repeat VNTR and early child‐care experiences predicts self‐regulation abilities in prekindergarten. Developmental Psychobiology, 56(3), 373-391. doi: 10.1002/dev.21105 Liz4

Extra:

12/3. Social development disrupted: Autism spectrum disorder [emailed].

Thomas, M. S. C., Davis, R., Karmiloff-Smith, A., Knowland, V. C. P., & Charman, T. (2015). The over-pruning hypothesis of autism. Developmental Science, n/a-n/a. doi: 10.1111/desc.12303. Emily4

Nomi, J. S., & Uddin, L. Q. (2015). Developmental changes in large-scale network connectivity in autism. NeuroImage: Clinical, 7, 732-741.

12/8. Presentations