Human Development & Social Policy (HDSP)

HDSP 401-0 Proseminar in Human Development and Social Policy I (1 Unit)  

Conceptual framework for studying human development, socialization, and social policy. Theoretical and empirical studies.

HDSP 402-0 Child Development and Social Policy (1 Unit)  

Major theories and current empirical research concerning cognitive and social/emotional development of children. Interaction of internal maturational factors with effects of families, peers, and schools.

HDSP 403-0 Adolescent Development (1 Unit)  

Biological, cognitive, and social development during adolescence. Social institutions and policies that affect the well-being of adolescents.

HDSP 404-0 Adult Development and Aging (1 Unit)  

Concepts, theories, and research on development and adaptation from early adulthood through aging: age periods, transitions; cognitive, moral, and faith development; psychosocial and ego development; defense mechanisms; death and dying.

HDSP 406-0 Diversity Science in Psychology (1 Unit)  

Grad-level seminar course designed to frame and engage the concept of “diversity science” in psychological research. Topics include: the WEIRD history of psychology; psychometric and other validity issues in studying diversity; (3) qualitative and diverse methodologies; (4) levels of analysis in studying diversity (e.g., individual-level versus group-level phenomena); (5) oppression and privilege, and strategies for understanding and redressing social inequities.

HDSP 407-1 Culture and Development (1 Unit)  

This course will provide a comprehensive understanding on the role of culture in human development at behavioral, psychological, and neurobiological levels. Importantly, this course will not only review well-documented similarities and differences across cultures (e.g., how cultures are different from each other), but also examine potential mechanisms underlying such cultural differences (e.g., why there are cultural differences) based on empirical studies.

HDSP 408-1 Emotional Mysteries (1 Unit)  

Classrooms, work settings, and family relations are hotbeds of emotion. But what is an emotion? What happens in our bodies when an emotion is triggered? How can emotions help us live productive, healthy, and connected lives? And can we ever truly understand what somebody else is feeling? These are some of the mysteries that we will seek to unravel in this course. We will read literature from Darwin to the latest scientific studies, combine lectures and small-group discussions, conduct research experiments, and engage in peer review and online collaboration.

HDSP 410-0 Quantitative Methods I: Probability and Statistics (1 Unit)  

HDSP 411-0 Quantitative Methods II: Regression Analysis (1 Unit)  

HDSP 412-0 Quantitative Methods III: Empirical Tools for Causal Quantitative Analysis (1 Unit)  

HDSP 413-0 Theories of Human Development (1 Unit)  

Biological bases and interactions with the social and physical environments as sources of human development. Social, emotional, and cognitive aspects of development. Theorists include Bowlby, Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky, Mead, and Gardner.

HDSP 414-1 Research Design (1 Unit)  

The purpose of this class is to pull together key core concepts related to research design in HDSP. Many of these concepts are touched upon in other methods courses. This class seeks to bring some of these key concepts together and explicitly discuss the implications for research design. We will begin by reviewing Crotty’s framework for distinguishing between and linking epistemology, theoretical perspective, methodology, and method. The course will then focus on epistemology, theoretical perspective, and methodology. (We will not address methods, as they are addressed more centrally in the quant and qual methods sequences.) We will identify key methodologies of interest to course participants (ie. experimental design, quasi-experimental, developmental designs, case study, ethnography, participatory, etc.) and provide an overview of each. Finally, we will also spend some time on the craft of writing research proposals.

HDSP 415-0 Society, Stress and Development: Implications for Intervention (1 Unit)  

Recent research has demonstrated that, rather than human biology determining human behavior and experience, human biological development is exquisitely sensitive to environmental input, particularly the social environment. In this course, we will discuss theoretical models and data regarding the interplay between biology and social experience in development. Topics include gene-environment correlations, gene-environment interactions, epigenetics, and theoretical models for the interplay between biological systems and ecological conditions. We will learn some basic facts about brain development, stress physiology, and immune functioning, and will examine social-environmental influences on these systems. Special emphasis is placed on the social influences on stress-system biology, a major pathway by which socio-emotional experience affects the body, brain and developmental outcomes.

HDSP 421-0 Adult Development and Work Careers (1 Unit)  

HDSP 424-0 Intersectionality, Measurement and Public Policy (1 Unit)  

As understanding of identity and bias increased, Kimberlé Crenshaw developed the theory of intersectionality which challenges us to consider various components of identities as having the potential to create overlapping and intersecting experiences. When an individual holds multiple identities that have traditionally been marginalized, any discrimination experienced will be different than someone without that unique blend of identities. To use Crenshaw's initial example in 1989, Black women experience a different type of racism than Black men, and a different form of sexism than White women. Thirty years later, researchers still are coming to terms with what this means in the public sphere, but also in research which underlines the importance of thinking about identity more comprehensively and completely. In this class, we will begin by addressing the question of what intersectionality is. We will also consider how considering identity as intersectional alters our understanding of policy, and what policy should address. Importantly, we will consider how to incorporate intersectionality into a basic framework of research and analysis through a term-long project.

HDSP 425-0 Economics of Health, Human Capital, and Happiness (1 Unit)  

Understanding causal relationships is a central goal in social science and science in general. Correlations help to predict outcomes, but if we want to influence outcomes we need to understand causal pathways. It is not sufficient to observe what is happening, we need to know why it is happening.

HDSP 426-0 Organizations, Institutions and Society: Persistence and Change Among Public, Pr (1 Unit)  

Organizations, Institutions and Society: Persistence and Change Among Public, Private and Non-Profit Sectors This graduate seminar will introduce theories of institutional persistence and change in the context of public, private and nonprofit settings. The course is organized as a seminar and will blend foundational studies in institutional theory with contemporary work from sociology, organization sciences, education and nonprofit studies. An overarching theme of the course addresses how new practices and organizational forms spread (diffusion), how they stick (institutionalization) and how they take the form that they do (emergence). Topics covered will include accountability and performance, organizational learning, contemporary debates about social mechanisms, and micro-foundations of institutional theory. Ideally, this course will provide a platform for students to develop and advance their own research projects, in the form of a research proposal for beginning doctoral students or an empirical analysis for more advanced students.

HDSP 427-0 Sociology of Education (1 Unit)  

Conflicts between offering opportunity to youth and societal imperatives for selecting and preparing youth for future careers; how society and schools deal with this conflict. Approaches to policy reform.

HDSP 428-0 Education Policy: Design, Implementation and Effects (1 Unit)  

HDSP 429-0 Social-Community Interventions (1 Unit)  

Design and implementation of social systems interventions in organizations and communities, especially preventive applications in human service agencies and institutions.

HDSP 430-0 Economics of Social Policy (1 Unit)  

Economic context for social policy (economic crisis, unemployment, poverty); household economics; labor market theory and studies; economic rationales for social policy.

HDSP 432-0 Field Methods (1 Unit)  

The contribution of ethnography to the study of social policy. Strengths and weaknesses of this method for study of governmental programs' impact on clients and participants.

HDSP 433-0 Modern Theories of the State and Social Policy (1 Unit)  

Recent theories of social policy in the context of the welfare state. Analysis of alternative theories and their implications for contemporary problems in social policy.

HDSP 435-0 Advanced Qualitative Methods (1 Unit)  

HDSP 440-0 The Politics of Public Policy (1 Unit)  

Framework for understanding the structure and process of development. How existing social policies can be analyzed and new policies developed.

HDSP 442-0 Social Policymaking and Policy Implementation (1 Unit)  

HDSP 451-0 Topics in Human Development & Soc Policy (1 Unit)  

Topics may vary. May be repeated for credit with change of topic.

HDSP 481-0 Practicum in Human Development & Soc Pol (1-3 Units)  

Specialized fieldwork opportunities. May be repeated for credit.

HDSP 482-0 Methods in Social Psychology (1 Unit)  

During the quarter, we will examine issues regarding research design, with a particular focus on social psychological traditions. Topics will span the entire research process, including the development of hypotheses and a program of research, details of study design, statistical considerations, and guidance in the reporting of findings. The course will be grounded in perspectives that utilize laboratory contexts and employ a variety of field settings.

HDSP 489-0 Identity & Motivation (1 Unit)  

The seminar focuses on the connection between conceptions of the self and goal-oriented motivation, with particular attention devoted to the influence of social, structural, and cultural forces. The first segment of the term will cover classic theoretical work concerning the self and identity. Next, we will consider the relevance of a variety of social influences on identity and motivation. Finally, the course will close with a survey of contemporary identity-based intervention research and practical applications relating to trends in social inequalities, including education and health.

HDSP 491-0 Readings in Human Development & Soc Pol (1 Unit)  

Specialized study between student and faculty sponsor. May be repeated for credit with change of topic.

HDSP 499-0 Independent Study in Human Dev & Soc Pol (1 Unit)  

SEE DEPT FOR SECTION AND PERMISSION NUMBERS.

HDSP 519-0 Responsible Conduct of Research Training (0 Unit)  

HDSP 590-0 Research in Human Development & Soc Pol (1-3 Units)  

SEE DEPT FOR SECTION AND PERMISSION NUMBERS - Independent investigation of selected problems pertaining to thesis or dissertation. May be repeated for credit.