Psyc 4500

This fourth-year selected topics course examines media’s impact on our social and cognitive development, focusing on how the use of various forms of media impact infants, young children, adolescents, and emerging adults.  We will cover five broad topics in this course. We begin with looking at media use among infants and young children, followed by the impact various forms of educational media have on learning outcomes. From there we shift our focus towards adolescents and young adults’ media multitasking practices and the impact media multitasking can have on academic performance and relationships. The final two topics covered in the course are centred around how media influences maladaptive behaviours and the negative outcomes associated with sexualized imagery in the media. The aim is to discuss both the positive and negative consequences media can have on our development.