Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives On the completion of this subject students will be familiar with the theories of Piaget and Erikson on cognitive and psychosocial stages of development; have acquired a knowledge of recent researches on language development, moral development, language, intelligence, and dynamics of family structure; understand the relationship between physiological and psychological accounts of the developmental process; be competent in the use of statistical techniques for hypothesis testing, including parametric and non-parametric methods.
Synopsis (1) Physiological and skilled performance: neurotransmitters, psychopharmacology, memory, addiction, circadian rhythms, ageing, language. (2) Human development: psychosocial stages (Erikson), cognitive stages (Piaget), moral development, learning intelligence, language development, prenatal development, structure of the family. (3) Research design and analysis: descriptive versus inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, matched student's t, independent student's t, categorical data and contingency tables, Chi square and Fishers exact, strength of association and McNemars test, Pearson's correlation, Spearman's correlation, non parametric testing, selection of appropriate tests.
Assessment Examinations: 60% + Two laboratory reports: 30% + Seminar presentation: 10%