Psychology of typical and atypical development

STEFANIA SETTE

General aims
The course provides theoretical and applicative contents related to:
biological bases of social development
Theories of social development
(10 hours)
attachment relationships
peer relationships
empaty,prosocial and moral reasoning
emotions regulation and effortfull control
gender identity and segregation
identity processes in adolescence
Vulnerabillty and health risk behaviors in adolescence
(30 hours)

The course is based on lectures, encouraging active student participation. There will be exercises in small groups aimed at the application of evaluation tools of socio-emotional development and quality of interpersonal relationships into classrooms.
((8 hours)
Students who have attendance problems will still have to carry out a practical activity by e-learning.
Attendance to the lessons is considered not mandatory.


Specific aims. Knowledge and understanding: passing the exam would imply being capable of knowing and understanding social development, determinants and correlates across different ages
Applying knowledge and understanding: passing the exam would imply mastering appropriate tools to identify typical and atypical social/emotional profiles
Making judgment: passing the exam would imply mastering the ability to make informed judgments and evaluations on determinants and correlates of typical and atypical social/emotional profiles. Communication skills: passing the exam would attest that students master the communication abilities and tools needed for an efficacious scientific communication. Learning skills: passing the exam would attest the acquisition of skills conducive to further learning related to psychological test and programs in the field of social and emotional development. During the traditional lessons such abilities would be transmitted by emphasizing different perspective

The course aims to provide advanced knowledge on children’s and adolescents’ social development and emotional regulation, describing early social and emotional skills and their evolution over time. The expected learning outcomes are a critical understanding of the different theories of social development, an analysis of typical and atypical social and emotional development processes, and knowledge of risk and protective factors in the different developmental phases.
The course has the following specific objectives:
Knowledge and understanding: passing the exam ensures that students can be to know and understand the processes of social and emotional development from childhood to adolescence.
The ability to apply knowledge and understanding: passing the exam guarantees knowing how to use assessment tools and identifying typical and atypical social and emotional functioning profiles.
Making judgments: passing the exam implies the ability to critically judge the assessment tools to recognize strengths and weaknesses and acquire the ability to read scientific articles critically.
Communication skills: passing the exam implies the ability to use the communication tools of the assessment effectively. Furthermore, students will acquire communication skills in scientific publications and oral presentations.
Learning skills: passing the exam implies the acquisition of transversal learning skills that will allow students to deepen the main tools and intervention programs aimed at increasing social and emotional skills from infancy to adolescence.

It is useful to have discrete skills to understand and critically read scientific articles. It is also useful to have skills for collaborating in a group.

The contents regard children's and adolescents' emotional and social development, focusing on children's and adolescents' social relationships in the family or school contexts.
The 48 hours will be divided into two parts. In the first part (around 6 weeks - 24 hours), we will focus the attention on:
the main theories on social and emotional development; the emotional development; the behavioral genetic; the temperament; the first interactional phases; the attachment; the knowledge of self and other (e.g., self-esteem, empathy).
In the last weeks (around 24 hours), we will focus on family, parents, and socialization; from other-control to self-control (e.g., prosociality, aggression, moral development, social withdrawal); peer relationships (e.g., acceptance and rejection, friendship); age differences; gender differences.
Each topic will be deepened by reading scientific articles and/or using psychological instruments.

1.Schaffer, H.R. (1998). Lo Sviluppo Sociale. Milano: Cortina (chapters 1, 2 only the paragraph basi dell'individualità, 3, 4 only the paragraph il sé, 5, 6 only the paragraph comportamento prosociale e antisociale, 7 only the paragraph le relazioni con i coetanei);
2.Procacci, M. & Sette, S. (2024). Da soli per forza. Il ritiro sociale in adolescenza. Carocci.
3. Additional materials that will be available on the moodle page at https://elearning.uniroma1.it/. Please email stefania.sette@uniroma1.it to receive the password.
Additional materials will be also for students that will not attend the course.

The course consists of lectures to understand the different theories and practical activities in a group (e.g., reading scientific articles, use of instruments, and case reports, role-playing). For instance, during the course, students will also read scientific articles in small groups, use instruments, case discussions.

The frequency is not mandatory. To receive further information, students can send an email to the teacher.

The exam includes 16 multiple-choice questions and 3 open questions. The exam has a duration of 1 hour. The multiple-choice questions are aimed at investigating the knowledge of all arguments. In contrast, the two open questions aim to critically investigate students' ability to discuss an argument and intervention programs/research articles.
Each multiple-choice includes three alternatives (each correct response is evaluated with a score of 1). Incorrect answers will not be penalized. Each of the three open questions is evaluated with a maximum mark of 5 scores.
The final score will be the sum of the scores of the two written parts (multiple-choices, total of 16, and open questions, total of 15, with a maximum score of 31).
Students who can attend the course will also work in an additional group activity, which will be assessed with a maximum of three additional scores added to the final score. More information on this activity will be available on the moodle page. The activity is not mandatory. To pass the examination, the total score should be 18/30.

Questions examples will be available on the moodle page of the course.