Chapter 2 - Research in Child Devel. Flashcards
child development researchers typically use one of what 3 approaches in research
-obersving systematically
-using tasks to sample behaviour
-directly asking children or others for info
describe systematic observation
research technique that involves watching and carefully recording what people do or say
what are the 2 forms of systematic observation
naturalistic observation
structured observation
what is naturalistic observation
subjects are observed as they behave spontaneously in some real-life situation
what 2 thigns must a researcher decide on ahead of time when uisng naturalistic observation
which variables to record and how often during a an observation session a record of behaviour should be made
in the recent publication regarding early childhood education, teh government of new zealand recognized what method as best practice
observation
describe structured observation
researcher creats a setting that is liekly to elicit the behaviours that are difficult to observe naturally
what structured technique did Mary Ainsworth use on her study of mother-child attachment breifly desribe
Strange Situation
-researchers would document childffrens reactions to being left alternately with mother, stranger, alone and then with mother again
when investigators cant observe a behavioru directly, what is an alternative
to create tasks that are thought ot sample the behaviour of interest
how do some researchers measure childrens ability to differentiate emotions
child is asked to look at photographs and point to person who is happy
to measure working memeory what do researchers sometimes use and describe it
a digit span task
-listen as a sequence of numbers is spoken aloud, after last digit is presented, they are asked to repeat digits in order or reverse order (to demonstrate capacity for short term memory and attention)
why is sampling behaviour with tasks popular in child development research and what is a major problem
cause of its convenience
-the extent to which the task samples the actual behaviour of interest
what is ecological validity
degree to which conclusions from research can provide info about behaviour in real life situaitions
what is the 3rd common appraoch to measurement in child developmetn
asking directly
why are self reposts useful
-can lead directly to info on the topic of interest
-relatively convenient and often can be administered to groups
what is the con of self-reports
not always valid measures of childrens behaviour cause peopels answers are sometimes inaccurate
what are demand characteristics
situational cues that suggest to a research participant how a researcjer wants the participant to respond
what is a weakness of naturalistic observation
difficult to use with behaviours that are rare or private
what makes a measurment reliable
if results are consistent over time
what makes a measurment valid
if conlcusions based on the measure asctually mean what the researcher hypothesized they would mean
what is convergent validity?
the measure in question is closely related to another measure known to be valid
what is divergent validity
the validity of a measure is compared with that of one measuring the exact opposite of a variable
is it possible to have a measure that is reliable but not valid
yes
describe correltational study
study of the relationhsip between variables htat naturally coexist in the wolrd
describe the simplest possibole correlational study
a researcher measures 2 variables1 to see how they are related
in william and colleagues study where they wanted to know the relationship between frequency of substance sue and mental health in adolescence, in the age group of 12-14, using tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana hade what impact on the emotional disrder questionnaire
higher scores than children who enver used these substances when using at least once per week
in william and colleagues study where they wanted to know the relationship between frequency of substance sue and mental health in adolescence, in the age group of 12-14, using cocain, stimulants, tranquilizers and opiates how many tiems had what impact on their emotional disorder questionnaire
at least 3 times in the previous year
-significant higher scores than abstainers
in william and colleagues study where they wanted to know the relationship between frequency of substance sue and mental health in adolescence, what exampels of adolescneces and their substance use end with results of scores that did not significantly differ from the scores of abstainers
-using mariujana 5 or fewer times in total
-alcohol only once or twice on special occasions
-tobacco less than once per week
in william and colleagues study where they wanted to know the relationship between frequency of substance sue and mental health in adolescence, they found that unlike the 12-14 age group, youths 18 and older used tobacco and alochol how many times per week and what were their scores like
tobacoo: 6-7 times per week
alcohol: 3 times per week
-equivalent scores ont he emotional disroder questionnaire to those of abstainers
qhat does it mean when r = 0
2 variables are completely unrelated
qhat does it mean when r is greater than 0
scores are positively related
qhat does it mean when r is less than 0
scores are inversely related
what must experimenters do if want to track down causes
must use an experimental study
what is a way researchers often judge whether a difference is stastically significant and describe it
statistical value = p-value
-shows the probability of obtaining a particular measurement if in fact, no real difference existed between the 2 conditions being observed
when looking at p-values, what shows a significant differeence
if p-values are low
-usually less than 5% but sometimes less than 1%
what is descriptive statistics
basic numerical summaries of research data (averages or ranges etc.)
what is inferential statistics
calculations that go beyond basic description of research data to predict how well data represents the total population of observation from which data might be gathered
in an experimental study, the factor being manipulated is called what
independent variable
in an experiment study, the factor being measured is called what
the dependent variable
what are mediator variabels
variabels that explain or account for any relationship between independent and depenedent variables
Bigler, Averhart and Liben found that childrens vocational interests as well as their perceptoins of occupational status were affected by what
the racial makeup of the workforce
what is a field experiment
type of experiment in which the independent variable is manipulated in a naturalistic setting
why are field experiments often impractical to conduct
-in natural settings children are often supervised by adults who must be willing to become allies in the proposed research
-some may not want to change their routines to fit a researchers needs
what is a longitudinal study
variables of interest are measured in the same research participants repeatedly over time
what method is the only way to study continuity or discontiuity of behaviour
longitudinal study
in the alberta substance-use study, results showed that based on longitudinal research when is substance use highest
-in late teen years, extending somewhat into the early 20s
in the alberta substance-use study, results showed that based on longitudinal research what impact did failing to curb their substance use after youths early twenties have on them
higher risk for problems with their mental health
what is microgrenetic study
variables of interest are measured in the same participants repeaderlty over a short period of time, such as days, works
what method is useful when investigators have hypotheses about a specific age when developmental change should occur
microgenetic study
what is sequential design
variables of interest are measured repeadetly over time in the same groups of research participants, with each group having been born in different time period
sequential design study method combiens what 2 study methods
cross sectional and longitidunial approaches
what does sequential design allow for and why is it so powerful
-learn about cohort effect
-enables researchers to compare data across age but also over time
what is practice effects
becoming test wise and achieveing better scores on a test than on previous because of repeated exposure ot the test
what is attrition
loss of participants in a study
what are the 2 disadvantages of longitudinal studies
pariticipants becoming test wise and those who chose not to continue with the study
what is cross sectional study
varibale of interest is measured at one point in time across persons of different ages or characteristics
what is the advantage of cross sectional study
avoids almost all the problems associated with repeated testing
what is the weakness of cross sectional study
participants tested at only one point in their development, learn nothing about the continuitry of development
what is the differene between sequential and cross sectional studies
cross sectional studies are limitied by cohort effects
-difference between age groups might results as much from environmental events as from developmental processes
definition of correlational design
observe variables as they exist in the world and determine their relations
strength and weaknesses of correlational design
s: behaviour is measured as it occurs naturally
w: cannot determine cause and effect
definition of experimental design
manipulate independent and dependent variable
strength and weakness of experimental design
s: control of variable allows conclusions about cause and effect
w: work is often laboratory based which can be artificial
defintion of longitudinal design
one group of children is tested repeatedly as those children develop
strength and weakness of longitudinal design
s: only way to chart an individuals developmental and look at the continuity of behaviour over time
w: participants drop out, and repeated testing can distort performance
definition of cross sectional design
children of different ages are tested at the same time
strengths and weakness of cross sectional design
s: convinent, avoids problems associated with longitudinal studies (drop out, and test-wise)
w: cannot study continuity of behaviour and cohort effects complicate interpretation of differences among groups
name the 4 principles f the Candian code of ethics for psychologists according to level of priority
- respect for dignity of persons
- responsible caring
- intergrity of relationships
4, responsibility to society
what happens if the review board objects to some aspects of a proposed study
researcher must revise those aspects and present them anew for the boards approval
around what percent of canadian children live with both children
80
aroudn what percent of canadian children live with parents in stepfamilies
10
around what ppercent of canadian children live with a single parent
10
what is a quasi experimental design
involving comparison of groups whose members are not randomly selected
