As a soon-to-be HD graduate, I have organized lots of exciting and transformative course recommendations for you! As a tried-and-true guide, I hope you love these offerings as much as I loved taking them!
I. Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood (HD 2170)
Taken: Spring 2024 with Dr. Robert Sternberg
I absolutely loved my time in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood with Professor Sternberg. I learned about biological, social, and psychological development, specifically focused on the high school years and our age group, through engaging lectures and shared anecdotes! I really enjoyed the course opportunities to apply my learning to my personal life and experiences of multifaceted development, and I’m so excited to TA this course this semester!
Favorite Concept Learned: I loved learning about Professor Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love—that the strongest relationships are equally valued in commitment, intimacy, and passion. It inspired me to apply and join Dr. Sternberg’s research lab, The Love Project!
ii. Human Bonding (HD 3620)
Taken: Spring 2024 with Professor Cindy Hazan
Human Bonding is a quintessential Cornell course—it’s unique, highly applicable to our navigation of development and relationships, and draws from fascinating developmental and evolutionary perspectives. I took this course with Amanda, co-pres, and we really enjoyed Professor Cindy Hazan’s lectures! I still remember when our baby pictures were featured at the end of the course, followed by our current selves!
Favorite Concept Learned: I really enjoyed learning about the small and subtle ways to amplify attraction, often rooted in fascinating biological principles. For example, wearing the color red or planning an adventurous first date can create an association between the thrill/dopamine rush and your date!
III. Children’s Learning (HD 4410)
Taken: Spring 2024 with Professor Marianella Casasola
Children’s Learning was an amazing bridge between learning about children’s development and applying that knowledge to improve Sciencenter spaces. I was not familiar with the Sciencenter, an interactive children’s science museum, prior to this course, and I appreciated the opportunity to speak with families to inform theme analysis and recommend developmentally-informed museum enhancements. I also valued the seminar-style format of this course, and it was incredibly rewarding to collaborate with my classmates to help improve the amazing Sciencenter.
Favorite Concept Learned: I really appreciated our personalized Sciencenter tour! I especially loved learning about exhibit construction and hearing the unique inspirations behind specific projects. Additionally, meeting the empowering staff and families was truly inspiring. I loved the outreach components of this course, and it helped me strengthen my public speaking skills!
IV. Children and the Law (HD 3330)
Taken: Spring 2024 with Professor Michael Toglia
Children and the Law, facilitated by Dr. Toglia, energized my passion for the law—specifically, family law! This course transformed my understanding of children’s testimonies, factors leading to wrongful convictions, and the importance of consistent and accurate lineup identifications. I especially enjoyed the written assignments, called Critiques, which allowed us to draw powerful, practical conclusions from different research articles. I was particularly intrigued by the five leading causes of wrongful convictions in the conviction phase of a bifurcated, tiered model, which inspired me to join Dr. Toglia’s Innocence Lab. I currently serve as Undergraduate Lab Manager, interpreting NRE data to enhance understandings of death penalty exoneration cases and our criminal justice system. I am deeply passionate about my research, and Innocence RAs are leading meaningful change across various impactful projects.
Favorite Concept Learned: I appreciated learning about the distinction between pure and impure cases. For example, if more than one of the five leading causes of wrongful conviction is present in a specific case, it is classified as an impure case. Based on my data collection, a significant proportion of cases fall into this category. There are many considerations and urgent areas for reform in the criminal justice system.
V. Psychology of Gender (HD 3310)
Taken: Fall 2023 with Professor Lauren Korfine
Psychology of Gender is a reflective and exciting course that I’d recommend to everyone. I loved learning about different concepts in gender, such as gender essentialism and benevolent sexism, and I appreciated our weekly Reaction Papers as opportunities to personally reflect on concepts covered in class material. I was a TA for Psychology of Gender in Fall 2024 and loved the co-learning opportunities within the course. This past semester, students had the exciting opportunity to create a project from course material, and in Fall 2023, I wrote an empirical paper based on current literature exploring gender in Halloween costume choices!
Favorite Concept Learned: Tough question! I found benevolent sexism to be a particularly fascinating concept. Benevolent sexism is a more subtle form of sexism, where implicitly-held attitudes reinforce gender norms under the guise of supportiveness and kindness. For example, carrying a woman’s luggage up the stairs (which is a thoughtful gesture) may implicitly reinforce (or vocalize) the idea that women are inherently less strong than men.
I have absolutely adored these courses from my time at Cornell and I know you will love them too! Human Development (HD) blends disciplines of psychology, sociology, and biology to conceptualize and improve development—I would highly recommend checking out more courses from this department!
Thank you so much for reading and have a lovely day,
Jessica