PSY 363 - Is Nature vs. Nurture the Wrong Question?

The question of nature vs. nurture is everywhere in developmental psychology. Do children come into the world with certain knowledge and expectations? Or does the world around them shape what they know and how they learn? While some of the content children need to learn is relevant to many species, some is actually the product of human culture. In this seminar we will focus on six topics in development: objects vs. agents, faces, number, minds, language, and gender. We will consider each with respect to the nature vs. nurture debate. This course will seek to move beyond the traditional solution of accepting that every developmental process is about nature and nurture working in concert. Instead we will think more deeply about when the question is a helpful framework and when it is not. During the course of the semester, students will serve as discussion leaders to facilitate our consideration of research papers from a range of psychology journals. Each student will also complete a final paper and presentation on a topic of their choice that we have not otherwise covered in the seminar.