Graduate Developmental Psychology (PSYC 50563) is an advanced exploration of the fundamental principles of human development. As can be seen from the textbooks selected for the course, the course emphasizes the perspective of Susan Oyama, who is one of the foremost psychologists and philosophers on issues of development (ontogeny). In my view, Oyama has come closer than anyone else to "getting it right" about how development actually occurs, which is why I am comfortable basing a course entirely on her texts. She is an extraordinarily clear thinker, and if nothing else, the course can be viewed as training in careful, rigorous, scientific thinking. The textbooks for the course are:

• Oyama, S. (2000). The Ontogeny of Information: Developmental Systems and Evolution (2nd ed.). Duke University Press. [Required]
• Oyama, S. (2000). Evolution's Eye: A Systems View of the Biology-Culture Divide. Duke University Press. [Required]
• Oyama, S., Griffiths, P. E., & Gray, R. D. (Eds.). (2001). Cycles of Contingency: Developmental Systems and Evolution. The MIT Press. [Recommended]

Students will take a midterm exam (50 points), and a final exam (50 points), the first over Ontogeny of Information, and the second over Evolution's Eye. In addition, students will take several short quizzes, and be given several short assignments, totaling 50 points for each half of the course. There are 200 points possible, with 180 points required for an A, 160 points for a B, 140 points for a C, and so on.

Here are some helpful websites:

• APA Division 6: Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology
• APA Division 7: Developmental Psychology
• International Society for Developmental Psychobiology
• Jean Piaget Society
• National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
• National Science Foundation
• Society for Neuroscience
• Society for Research in Child Development

The course is open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates, with registration by permission only. The class meets two or three times weekly, but mainly on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 11:00-11:50. More information — and materials — are available on TCU's eCollege webpage (enrolled students will be able to access eCollege on the first day of classes).

Class Photos

• Fall 2010

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