PSYC 789R/NACS 728G
Tuesdays
3:30-6:00 pm
Spring 2012Instructor: Dr. Jonathan Beier, jsbeier@umd.edu
Course Description:
This graduate seminar explores the foundations of social cognition from birth through the first few years of life. Infant and toddler conceptual development in the social domain will be reviewed. Topics include the detection of social partners in one's environment, representations of intentional agents and their actions, and an understanding of perceptual and belief states. Questions will be explored which include on what grounds do infants and toddlers form preferences for some individuals over others? What social motivations underlie their imitative behaviors? Why do children act in helpful ways toward others? Differing theories concerning the origins of basic cognitive abilities (both ontogeny and phylogeny) will be discussed.
Enrollment in this course is open to elgible undergraduates and does fulfill a 400 level non-lab requirement for psychology majors. To determine if you are eligible to take a graduate level course please access the link below:
http://www.bsos.umd.edu/media/23582/gradcourse.pdf
Once you have determined you are eligible to take a graduate-level course, please contact the instructor (jsbeier@umd.edu) to obtain permission.
