PSYC 005. First-Year Seminar: Is Nature vs. Nurture the Wrong Question?: Topics in Cognitive Development

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 things children need learn are relevant to many species, others are actually cultural products created by humans. Does the nature vs. nurture question make sense for both of these sets of problems? In this seminar we will focus on four topics in cognitive development and consider each with respect to the nature vs. nurture debate. First, we will consider topics for which the question does seem quite sensible, such as how children understand objects and perceive faces. Next we will move onto children’s development in several areas for which this question may not be so sensible: language acquisition and theory of mind development. 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.
PSYC 005 serves as an alternate prerequisite for further work in the department.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology

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