In this course we will examine multiple theories of motivation and their relevance across a range of organizational settings (including corporations, special programs, and schools or colleges). How do we spark interest in a new subject or inspire people to undertake a challenging project? How do we sustain persistence in ourselves and others? This course is relevant for students interested in motivation, whether for attainment (such as within in human resources, talent development, or management) or for learning (whether for students, teachers, or leaders).

This course will explore child development in the context of early childhood education. The course will cover topics related to early childhood learning and development including cognition, language and literacy, social-emotional development, and personality development while considering how the early education context supports these developmental processes. Discussion of the early education setting will include the teacher-child relationship, family-school relationships, and curriculum.

Students will work in teams to code videotaped observations of romantic partners discussing relationship conflicts. Students will learn to code emotion expressions and behavior at the dyadic and individual levels. Course topics include methodological issues such as coding bias, construct validity, and intercoder reliability, as well as empirical research on individual differences in conflict behavior and links between conflict behavior and relationship outcomes.

We begin this course by examining how the concept of race was developed to justify human rights atrocities and how it continues to be used to justify racial disparities today. We then examine theories of racism and its persistence at multiple ecological levels: intrapersonally, interpersonally, and institutionally. Although a theory driven course, students will be asked to apply theory to their own personal experiences, deepening an understanding of our own areas of oppression and privilege.

In this course, we will explore and discuss mental health and mental health diagnoses using a developmental lens. Using foundational readings and through case studies, we will establish an understanding of the psychology field's approach to evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of diagnoses and disability that are circumscribed to (e.g., reactive attachment) or typically first appear/are first detected in childhood and adolescence (e.g., ADHD, conduct problems, anxiety, developmental disorders, neurodivergence).