CORNELL UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT HD3290 – Self-Regulation Across the Life Span Spring 2020 – Last updated January 21, 2020 Time/Location: Tuesday/Thursday 8:40-9:55am, MVR G71 Instructor: Corinna Loeckenhoff Office: Beebe Hall (202C - upper floor, back corner) Office hours: Sign up via link on Canvas Email: [email protected] (preferred contact) Phone: 607 255 2260 Twitter: @Loeckenhoff Graduate TA: Bridget Hayes [email protected] Undergraduate TAs: Elizabeth Farkouh [email protected] Joy Zhang [email protected] COURSE DESCRIPTION This advanced lecture class will focus on the science of self-regulation and its development over the human life span and within different cultural and societal contexts. After providing an overview of historical perspectives, the class will focus on contemporary research including homeostasis in bodily systems, self-control, goal setting, economic perspectives, as well as the role of emotions and personality. The class concludes with a consideration of practical implications. In addition to learning about theoretical perspectives and empirical findings, you will be asked to select a personal self-regulation challenge that you plan to work on over the course of the semester. This will allow you to integrate your learning with your everyday experiences and evaluate the benefits and challenges of different self-regulation strategies in practice. Each class session will consist of approximately 50 minutes of lecture covering the theoretical background and key topics interleaved with 25 minutes of discussion and hands-on exercises designed to identify limitations of the existing research, develop directions for future inquiries, and explore possible real-life applications. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this class, you should be able to: ● Identify basic mechanisms underlying the self-regulation of human behavior ● Integrate multi-disciplinary theoretical perspectives on self-regulation ● Understand the role of societal, cultural, and life-span developmental factors in self-regulation ● Critically evaluate contemporary research articles in the field ● Translate current findings on self-regulation to policy, programs, and practice ● Apply insights from the class to your personal and academic lifeCOURSE WEBSITE AND READINGS You will be automatically enrolled in Canvas. All assignments, readings, and other class materials will be posted there. There is no primary textbook. Instead, we will rely on a set of mandatory assigned readings that are available in the Readings area of Canvas. Please bring a printed or electronic copy of the readings with your own annotations to each class. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Attendance and Participation Class discussions are more lively and interesting when everybody has the same knowledge base to work from. As a courtesy to your fellow students, it is expected that you read all assigned materials before the scheduled class, arrive on time, and actively participate in group work. Even if you’re taking electronic notes, please bring a few sheets of blank paper to each class. Over the course of the semester, there will be: ● 5 unannounced pop-quizzes consisting of higher-level questions that anyone who read through the readings would be able to answer ● 5 unannounced work samples where we will ask you to turn in materials produced during the class session to assess your engagement with in-class exercises Each of these will be collected in class. They are graded pass/fail and each “passed” assessment will make up 1% of your final grade. Weekly Canvas Quizzes You will be asked to complete at least 10 weekly Canvas quizzes (due Sundays at 11:59pm) that will ask you to track your progress on your personal self-control challenge and identify key concepts you learned in class. Each of these will make up 2% of your final grade. Full credit = 2 points, partial credit = 1 point, fail = 0 points. There are 13 opportunities to post surveys. You can make up for partial credit by completing more than 10 surveys. If you complete all 13 surveys, 1% of extra credit will be added to your final grade. Short Papers This course involves two short papers (4 double-spaced pages + references). Paper #1 will ask you to identify and analyze a personal self-control challenge and leverage theories covered in class to develop potential solutions. Paper #2 will ask you to evaluate a self-help book of your choice and examine its likelihood for success based on the theories and findings covered in class. Each paper is worth 15% of your final grade and detailed instructions will be posted on Canvas.Prelims There will be two in-class prelims that cover material presented in class and assigned readings. Question format will be multiple choice/fill in the blanks/short answers. Prelims are not cumulative. To optimize