PSYCH 134K
Effects of Early Adversity and Trauma
Description: Lecture, three hours. Examination of extensive evidence of disruptive impact of early adversity. Study offers insights into causal mechanisms that link early adversity to later impairments in learning, behavior, and both physical and psychological well-being. Review of research on common childhood stressors, individual and contextual factors that put children at risk for developmental deficits, and protective factors that promote successful coping and healthy adjustment. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2025 - I thought this class was extremely interesting and just challenging enough to be academically stimulating but not overly difficult. There is a fair amount of neuroscience in this class (more so than the average psych upper div) but as someone who struggles with science, it was not bad/difficult at all. Grading scheme is - 6 short written exercises on course material - pass/fail, participation - 10 points, final paper on a film (500 words) - 25 points, exam 1 - 75 points, exam 2 (not cumulative) - 50 points. There are readings but exams only test on material that comes directly from lecture so there is no need to do them if you don't want to/don't have time. Exams are all MCQ. I thought the difficulty was fair but occasionally questions were written ambiguously in a way where one could argue that any 2-3 choices could be correct. I believe Dr. Goff ended up giving points back to the class for some of these questions or accepting multiple correct answers. She is a very nice, friendly, approachable person who is easy to talk to/ask questions to. Also, Dr. Goff shows a LOT of films/videos in class but only records the audio for lectures. She tests on these films on the exams, so I would really recommend going to class so that you can watch the films and don't have to seek them out on your own. There were also many issues with uploading the audio recordings (cut off halfway through class, she forgot to record, etc.) so you really should try not to skip this class if you take it. I really enjoyed this class, feel like I learned a TON about the impacts of early life adversity on brain development/structure/function, and would highly recommend it to anyone. It is not overly difficult and really is quite interesting.
Winter 2025 - I thought this class was extremely interesting and just challenging enough to be academically stimulating but not overly difficult. There is a fair amount of neuroscience in this class (more so than the average psych upper div) but as someone who struggles with science, it was not bad/difficult at all. Grading scheme is - 6 short written exercises on course material - pass/fail, participation - 10 points, final paper on a film (500 words) - 25 points, exam 1 - 75 points, exam 2 (not cumulative) - 50 points. There are readings but exams only test on material that comes directly from lecture so there is no need to do them if you don't want to/don't have time. Exams are all MCQ. I thought the difficulty was fair but occasionally questions were written ambiguously in a way where one could argue that any 2-3 choices could be correct. I believe Dr. Goff ended up giving points back to the class for some of these questions or accepting multiple correct answers. She is a very nice, friendly, approachable person who is easy to talk to/ask questions to. Also, Dr. Goff shows a LOT of films/videos in class but only records the audio for lectures. She tests on these films on the exams, so I would really recommend going to class so that you can watch the films and don't have to seek them out on your own. There were also many issues with uploading the audio recordings (cut off halfway through class, she forgot to record, etc.) so you really should try not to skip this class if you take it. I really enjoyed this class, feel like I learned a TON about the impacts of early life adversity on brain development/structure/function, and would highly recommend it to anyone. It is not overly difficult and really is quite interesting.
AD
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