PY3DPP: Developmental Psychopathology

Module code: PY3DPP

Module provider: Psychology; School of Psych and Clin Lang Sci

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Rebecca Cheung, email: rebecca.cheung@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Are the first 1000 days the most important in a child’s development and how do genetic factors and environmental influences interact with each other in the development of psychopathology?  

In this module, you will learn about the interplay between the child as an active agent and the environment as sources of risk or resilience for psychopathology. You will be able to evaluate the strengths and limitations of different study designs for investigating developmental processes in psychopathology. You will also be able to communicate the developmental processes in psychopathology to both lay and academic audience. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Critically evaluate scientific evidence related to the topic of developmental psychopathology.  
2. Discuss and synthesise key topics related to the development of psychopathology across childhood and adolescence, including aggressive disruptive behaviour, anxiety, and depression. 
3. Create and critically evaluate, at least two different research designs to address an important question in developmental psychopathology and communicate this to an academic audience.  

Module content

Through interactive lectures and seminars, this module will enable students to understand what is meant by “developmental psychopathology”. Content will span the BPS core areas of developmental psychology, individual differences, and research methods. Specifically, we will examine how multiple processes (i.e., biological, psychological, and social) influence the development of psychopathology. For example, we will consider the interplay between genetics and the environment on the development of specific problems, including aggressive disruptive behaviour (conduct problems), anxiety, depression, and self-harm from early childhood to adolescence. We will discuss some of the ways in which children are influenced by their parents and their wider social world, including their peers, school and culture. We will also examine how threats in the environment, such as child maltreatment, bullying, and social media, put children and adolescents at risk of psychopathology. The module will also cover the concept of “resilience” and how resilience can be identified in research.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

We will adopt a flipped learning approach within the module. Before attending the live session, students will be expected to watch 2-3 10-minute screencasts that provide the background content of each topic and independently complete associated activities uploaded on to Blackboard. During the live session, the lecturer will deliver the second half of the topic’s content, but students will spend the majority of the session participating in active learning activities that encourage class discussions and group work.  

• Much of the content will be on screencasts which students will be expected to watch before they attend the seminar.  
• The seminars will provide an opportunity to ask questions or clarification. 
• Small groups will be given topics, such as ‘the family is the paramount source of risk and resilience for psychopathology: discuss’ with feedback to the larger group and discussion. 

Study hours

At least 24 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative feedback from peers during the poster conference will inform students approach to the final poster submission.  Formative opportunities will also equip students well for the essay. 

Reassessment

Additional costs