Developmental psychology 2

Question 1

what are psychophysiological methods

Answer 1

measures of autonomic nervous system activity i.e. heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, pupils, stress and hormones etc.
- sensitive to psychological state

Question 2

Give 4 measures of brain function

Answer 2

• Electro-encephalogram (EEG) Eventrelated potentials (ERP)
• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
• Positron emission topography (PET)
• EEG ERPs can be used with very young children/infants
• fMRI and PET require participants to lie still for long periods – not suitable for very young

Question 3

What is an EEG

Answer 3

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is the measurement of ongoing spontaneous electrical activity of the brain by recordings from electrodes placed on the scalp

Question 4

Where are EEGs used?

Answer 4

in experimentation with infants and children because the method is noninvasive

Question 5

Where are Electroencephalograms (EEGs) used?

Answer 5

in experimentation with infants and children because the method is noninvasive

Question 6

what is an Event-related potential (ERP)?

Answer 6

• Similar to EEG but records the brain’s
  electrical response to a given stimulus
  or action
• they are time-locked to stimulus presentation or response execution
• ERPs have good temporal resolution but more limited spatial resolution
• noninvasive

Question 7

what is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Answer 7

Structural MRI is a noninvasive method for imaging the morphology of brain structures with good spatial resolution.

Question 8

when is an MRI used?

Answer 8

MRI is very sensitive to motion artifact, but structural
information collected while infants or young children are sleeping or sedated, or while older children are instructed to stay still.

Question 9

what are the main types of developmental research designs?

Answer 9

Goal: to study age-related changes in various behaviours/abilities
- longitudinal
- cross-sectional
- sequential

Question 10

what are longitudinal research designs?

Answer 10

where the same participants are studied repeatedly at different ages

Question 11

features of longitudinal designs

4 features

Answer 11

• 1 sample
• More than 1 time of testing
• Comparing SAME sample at DIFFERENT times
• Repeated measures

Question 12

what are cross-sectional research designs

Answer 12

People of differing ages all studied at the same time

Question 13

features of cross-sectional designs

5 features

Answer 13

• More than 1 sample (age-group) studied
• 1 time of testing
• Comparing DIFFERENT samples at SAME time
• Studying between (age) group differences
• Independent groups

Question 14

limitations of longitudinal designs

Answer 14

biased sampling
- non-random sample

selective attrition
- some people more likely to withdraw than others

practice effects
- the impact of taking a test more than once
cohort effects

• influences the results (e.g. internet natives)

Question 15

what are sequential research designs?

Answer 15

Same groups of different aged people studied repeatedly as they change ages

Question 16

features of sequential designs

2 features

Answer 16

• Combination of cross-section and longitudinal designs
• Advantages of both designs

Question 17

what do sequential research designs give information about?

Answer 17

• Which age-related trends are age effects?
• Which age-related trends are truly cohort effects?
• Which age-related trends are a result of historical
  events?

Question 18

ethics of research with children

Answer 18

• Children perhaps more vulnerable to harm through participating in research

Question 19

Issue of informed consent

Answer 19

• Can a child give informed consent if they cannot fully understand?
• Sometimes deception is necessary

Question 20

practice essay question: Are some research measures appropriate for one age group but not for another?
Why?
What problems might arise from using different
measures or methods with different age groups?

Answer 20

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