Area of Study in Developmental Psychology

Purpose

The Ph.D. program in the Department of Psychology at Northern Illinois University offers developmental psychology as a field of study designed to prepare students for academic careers in research and teaching as developmental psychologists.  Students receive extensive background in psychological theory and research related to the development of behavior, acquire research skills for investigating developmental phenomena, and prepare for teaching college and university courses in a variety of areas of developmental as well as general psychology.  Because graduate study in developmental psychology at NIU is part of an interrelated area of training with cognitive/instructional psychology and school psychology, students can also prepare themselves to function in more applied settings in nonacademic institutions which emphasize research on human factors and skill acquisition and various consultative modalities or educational/school systems which emphasize practitioner applications.

Study in developmental psychology focuses on human development throughout the life span with primary emphasis upon developmental processes in infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Special strengths include cognitive development, language development, social development, and the development of social cognition. The multidisciplinary approach of the area affords students an opportunity to interrelate conceptual, methodological, and practical information from a combined cognitive/instructional, developmental, and school psychology knowledge base. Flexibility in each student's program allows for individualized programs of study to be developed in cooperation with area faculty.

Students are expected to participate in research throughout their graduate careers.  Toward this end, a low student-faculty ratio is maintained.  Research opportunities that help students become highly competent research scientists are provided through research assistantships and independent studies as well as through the master's thesis and doctoral dissertation.

Courses Related to Developmental Psychology

A recommended program of study for students interested in developmental psychology includes the following courses:

Students are encouraged to pursue secondary interests in psychology beyond the aforementioned set of courses through the selection of electives, both within and outside the department. Courses in instrumentation, computer methods, and advanced seminars in other curricular areas are available for the pursuit of such individual interests.

Course Descriptions
 
Below is a description of some of the courses offered in the developmental area.

PSYC 425. ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING (3). Behavioral development from early adulthood through old age. Emphasis on the biological, motor, cognitive, social, and personality characteristics at various stages of development. PRQ: PSYC 324 or equivalent, or consent of department.

PSYC 565. BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT (3). An intensive review of the processes involved in behavioral development. The focus is on the factors affecting these processes, rather than on a cross-sectional description of characteristic behavioral changes related to age. PRQ: Psychology major or permission of department.

PSYC 575. DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (3). Critical evaluation of recent research and theory in developmental psychology on the processes underlying normal language acquisition and development. Background in developmental psychology is assumed, and background in language development is desirable.

PSYC 576. SOCIAL-PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT (3). The development of social behavior and personality characteristics throughout the life-span with emphasis on the changes occurring throughout childhood.  Among the topics to be covered are attachment, aggression, sex-role development, moral development, socialization processes, parent-child relations, peer and the impact of television, and social-class and cross-cultural comparison.

PSYC 577. DEVELOPMENT OF PERCEPTION AND LEARNING (3). The development of perception and children's learning with emphasis on the basic processes and changes which occur during childhood. Topics include visual attention in infancy, form and pattern perception, the development of visually guided behavior, perceptual integration, information processing approaches to perceptual development, infant learning, higher-order learning and motivation.

PSYC 578. DEVELOPMENT OF COGNITION AND MEMORY (3). The development of cognitive skills and memory with emphasis on the basic processes and changes which occur during childhood. The topics to be covered include overview of cognitive theorists, conceptualizations of cognitive growth patterns, concept development, problem solving, cognitive styles, developmental aspects of the obtaining and storing stimulus information, selective attention, and metamemory.

Faculty with Primary Interests in Developmental Psychology

Elise Frank Masur, (Ph.D. University of Minnesota)

Nina S. Mounts, (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin) Bradford H. Pillow, (Ph.D. Stanford University) Frederick M. Schwantes, (Ph.D., University of Iowa) Gregory A. Waas, (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin) Faculty with Related Interests

M. Anne Britt, (Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh)

Michelle K. Demaray, (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin) Peter M. Gutierrez, (Ph.D. University of Michigan) M. Christine Lovejoy, (Ph.D. University of Iowa) Joseph P. Magliano, (Ph.D. Memphis State University) Keith K. Millis, (Ph.D. Memphis State University) Karen J. White, (Ph.D. Florida State University)