Summer 2016 Course Offerings in Department of Psychology
Summer 2016 Course Offerings in the Department of Psychology. If you have any questions, please contact the Department office at wehlage@uleth.ca.
Psychology Summer Session Courses 2016:
Summer Session I [May 4 to June 15]
Psychology 2110A - Introduction to Child Development [MW, 1300-1550]
Instructor: Dr. Margaret Forgie
Course Description: This course is designed to provide an introduction to the field of developmental
psychology, which is the application of the fundamentals of scientific psychology to the understanding of the
normative pattern of development in humans. At this introductory level, the emphasis is placed on the period of
early childhood (conception to five years of age) with the aim to give students a foundation for more advanced
courses in developmental psychology at senior levels. All topics will be addressed from a broad, interactionist
perspective that includes biological, cognitive, social, and emotional processes. In doing so, three main areas will
be addressed: a description of processes that apply to all children or universals (e.g., genetics, prenatal
development, predispositions toward specific environmental stimuli); a description and investigation of the
sources and types of individual differences (e.g., sex differences, attachment and parenting style); and a
description of the consequences of severe disturbances of or deviations from the normative path (e.g., genetic
disorders, environmental deprivation).
Psychology 3000A - History of Psychology [MW, 0900-1150]
Instructor: Deanna Forrester
Course Description: In this class we are going to explore both the philosophical background to psychology as an
academic discipline and the history of psychology as a field. We will examine the ideas of specific philosophers
and schools of thought focusing on how they provided the foundation for later psychological thinking. We will
try to uncover some of the historical events and colourful personalities that have affected the trajectory of
psychology as a science and profession.
Psychology 3000B - Infant Development [TR, 1300-1550]
Instructor: Afra Foroud
Course Description: How do infants develop from relatively helpless newborns to walking, talking, intentional
beings, with likes, dislikes, friends, expectations, and reasoning abilities within the first 2 years of life? We will
examine how studies capitalize on prenatal and infant behaviour, and physiology, to understand early social and
cognitive learning and, how rapid and profound changes in the first 2 years of life impact adulthood.
Psychology 4000A –Psychology of Sleep [TR, 0900-1150]
Instructor: Miranda Lucas
Course Description: Psychological and neurological aspects of normal and disordered sleep. This seminar style
course will require students to read, discuss and write critics on primary sleep research literature.
Summer Session II/III [July 6 to August 17]
Psychology 3000N – Primates in Perspective [TR, 1800-2050]
Instructor: Nöelle Gunst
Course Description: This course aims to highlight and explain some complex behavioral features in non-human
primates (e.g., third-party affiliation/aggression, tool use, symbolic communication) from a mechanistic and
evolutionary perspective. The course will consist of an assortment of lectures and student presentations of
scientific articles.