Developmental Psychology (PSYC2030)

Course overview

This introduction to lifespan developmental psychology focuses on key issues in development and ageing, including early social development, the role of early input in language acquisition, attachment and intimate relationships, child-rearing, moral reasoning, memory and problem-solving. A cross-cultural focus is adopted wherever possible.

This course provides an introduction to lifespan developmental psychology, emphasising recent theory and research. It is not possible to cover all aspects of human lifespan development within any one course, and so lectures will feature key issues, sometimes focusing on some age ranges more than others, but using examples from other ages. Throughout, the course will emphasise developmental psychology as a research discipline. Students will learn to understand and think critically about theoretical issues and empirical research and to communicate this understanding.

EXPECTATIONS

A typical week in PSYC2030 will consist of a 2-hour lecture (RECORDED) and a 2-hour tutorial (NOT RECORDED), both of which will be delivered in person. All information presented in lectures and tutorials are assessable, and students are expected to be available to attend and engage with lectures and tutorials each week.

Tutorials will not be recorded, as they are designed to be highly interactive. A significant portion of the tutorial hours will be dedicated to team work. Therefore, you will need to be present in class for the duration of each tutorial, and we expect that you will engage with your classmates and tutors. Given that tutorials are not recorded, information presented in tutorials will only be available through attending the tutorial sessions. You must sign on to a tutorial session using the standard UQ signon procedure via Allocate+.

You will need to spend between 6 to 10 hours per week engaging with the lectures and tutorials, completing relevant readings for tutorials, and preparing for and completing assessments for this course. The activities and assessments are designed to build on your learning throughout the semester.

Course requirements

Assumed background

Students are strongly advised not to undertake PSYC2030 unless they have completed PSYC1030. PSYC2030 assumes a basic knowledge of developmental topics covered in PSYC1030, as well as familiarity with searching for research articles and writing research papers. Students who disregard this warning may find some of the material difficult, and will not be given special help to compensate.

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

NEUR1020 or PSYC1030

Companion or co-requisite courses

You'll need to complete the following courses at the same time:

PSYC1040, if not taken in first year

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Aims and outcomes

(1) To acquaint students with the basic concepts, theories, and research methods in lifespan developmental psychology, highlighting links between developmental processes in childhood and later life and development in socio-cultural context.
(2) To provide opportunities for students to develop an understanding of research methods used in developmental psychology and an awareness of ethical considerations when conducting research.
(3) To provide opportunities for students to develop written and oral communication skills.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Lecture Reflection

• Identity Verified
• Team or group-based
• In-person

Mode

Activity/ Performance, Oral, Written

Category

Participation/ Student contribution, Reflection

Weight

16%

Due date

27/08/2025 - 23/10/2025

Lecture reflections will take place in the Weeks 5 to 12 tutorial sessions. Your team will be assigned to facilitate a discussion in one of these weeks. In addition to facilitating the discussion in your allocated tutorial session, you will need to submit your team's written reflections as part of this assessment. 

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Submission guidelines

The task sheet with more details about this assessment, along with instructions for the submission of additional document leading up to your team's lecture reflections will be available on the course Blackboard site.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

There are no extensions available for this piece of assessment. If your team is unable to attend your allocated tutorial session for the lecture reflection, please discuss directly with your tutor to arrange an alternate time.

Literature search + review

• Hurdle

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Essay/ Critique

Weight

39%

Due date

17/10/2025 2:00 pm

It is each student's responsibility to COMPLETE the submission BEFORE 2PM (14:00:00) of the due date via the Blackboard TurnitIn submission portal.

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

To submit your assignment electronically, log into http://learn.uq.edu.au with your UQ username and password, then click on PSYC2030 >> Assessment >> Assignment submission portals, and then use the appropriate assignment submission link for the assignment. No emailed submissions will be accepted. Full instructions on how to submit your assignment through TurnitIn can be found under 'Assessments' on Blackboard. You will be required to keep evidence that your assignment was submitted successfully by downloading the digital receipt confirming submission provided in the TurnitIn Assignment dashboard.

Note. You will not receive an automatic submission receipt from TurnitIn confirming your assignment has been received. Failure to provide proof of submission may result in your assignment not being accepted. If your assignment was submitted successfully, you should be able to download a digital receipt of submission from the Assignment Dashboard. Please make sure to check that you have submitted the correct document and download a copy of the digital receipt. 

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Please refer to the UQ policy for instructions on how to apply for an extension.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Assignments will not be accepted for marking after results have been released to the rest of the class.

Final exam

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

45%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025

Other conditions

Time limited.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

You may be able to defer this exam.

Please note that the Course Coordinator and Course Administrator cannot authorise deferred exams and have no control over these decisions; the application is assessed by university-wide exam administrators.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

An attempt must be made at the 'Literature search + review' assignment and the final exam to pass the course. If you do not attempt one or more of these assessments but achieve a passing percentage mark, you will receive a grade of 3.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Appealing assessment marks

If you are unhappy with your mark or would like more feedback for the 'Lecture reflection' and 'Literature search + review' assessments, you must correspond with your tutor first. We ask that you take your assessments away for at least 48 hours and read the comments carefully before you contact your tutor.

If you still feel that there are points of contention after taking the time to reflect on your work in light of your tutor's comments, we ask that you write an email to your tutor specifying (i) the specific marking criteria you are unsure about; and (ii) your justification for why you believe your mark for the criteria should be re-evaluated. Tutors will NOT respond to queries that do not address these points.

If you are unable to resolve your queries via written correspondence with your tutor, you can then apply for your assignment to be remarked. Please note that, as part of your application for remark, you will be required to attach a copy of the written correspondence with your tutor. Applications without evidence for written correspondence with your tutor will not be accepted. Please consult my.UQ Website for information on how to apply for a remark. Also note that this remark is final and your mark (and possibly your grade for the course) can go up or down.

Academic integrity

Each assessment for this course has been designed to be challenging, authentic, and complex. While students may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and/or Machine Translation (MT) technologies to aid preparation for the 'Lecture reflection' and 'Literature search + review' assessments, successful completion of these assessments will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance. In each instance where AI or MT is used, students must clearly outline the nature of use. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass each assessment in this course, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of the content of submission independent of AI and MT tools.

Additionally, written submissions in the course will be electronically screened for overlap in content with other sources using TurnitIn. Any assessments that are flagged by TurnitIn to have substantial overlap will be manually examined by the course coordinator and the course tutor(s). If the nature of overlap is deemed to be of valid concern by the course coordinator, then your assignment, along with the TurnitIn report and any other relevant documentation (e.g., overlapping sources) will be sent to the UQ School of Psychology's Academic Integrity Officer to be formally investigated for academic misconduct. You will not receive any marks for the criteria (based on the marking rubric) which contain work concluded as non-original. Further penalties may apply depending on the nature of the case.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do I have to sign on for a tutorial?

Yes, you need to sign on to a tutorial via Allocate+. You must attend the same tutorial session you are signed on for each week. The tutor who runs the tutorial you sign on for is the person who will be marking your assessments, so you want to get instruction directly from that person.

ﾠ

Should I really attend all my tutorials?

Yes! They are vital to your final result and will contain information that is separate to the lectures. It’s particularly important that you attend the tutorials as the content is designed to help you prepare for the assessments in this course (i.e., lecture reflection, written assessment, final exam). Tutorial sessions will not be recorded, given that much of the learning will take place via engagement in in-class activities and group discussions. If you want to do well in the course, you should attend all tutorials and engage.

I can’t make it to my usual tute this week.ﾠWhat can I do?

With the exception of the week in which your team is allocated to facilitate the 'Lecture reflection' discussion, if you have a legitimate reason, you may sit in on another tutorial in the same week. You will need to contact your tutor (details on Blackboard -> Course Staff Contacts) to arrange for and receive the details for an alternative tutorial session that suits you that week. On the week in which your team is allocated to facilitate the 'Lecture reflection' discussion, the option to attend another tutorial will NOT be feasible, given that the assessment requires you to be in the same tutorial as members of your team (i.e., your team members will be students from your assigned tutorial session). Missing your allocated tutorial for the 'Lecture reflection' assessment will adversely impact your course marks; therefore, please plan ahead and sign onto a tutorial session which you will be consistently available for.

ﾠ

How do I contact my tutor? Can I have their email address?

Tutors don’t have weekly consultation times outside of tutorials. You can find their email addresses on Blackboard -> Course Staff Contacts, however, you should endeavour to raise issues in class or directly afterwards. You can also use the Discussion Forum on Blackboard to raise questions about course content and to communicate your queries to your tutor and other students in your tutorial.

ﾠ

I received an overall failing grade of 3 in this course. What can I do?

You may be eligible to complete a supplementary assessment.ﾠ

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

School guidelines

Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course:

• School of Psychology Student Guidelines