Developmental Psychology Lecture 1 Research Methods

Question 1

What drives development?

Answer 1

Maturation: Hereditary influences on aging process
Learning: Change in behavior due to experience

Question 2

What does development itself refer to?

Answer 2

Systematic changes in the individual that occur between conception and death
Orderly, patterned, enduring

Question 3

What is developmental psychology ?

Answer 3

The scientific study of age related changes in our bodies, behavior, thinking, emotions, social relationships, and personalities
Involves many different people (educators, biologists, sociologists, psychologist)
Lifespan Perspective

Question 4

What is the Lifespan Perspective?

Answer 4

That we are developing throughout our lives and there’s a lot of different milestones and transitions that are important to our development

Question 5

How has developmental psychology changed?

Answer 5

1. Term development now encompasses the entire human lifespan
   2.Developmentalists now understand that inborn characteristics interact with environmental factors in complex ways
   3.The pioneers thought of change almost exclusively in terms of norms, while today’s developmentalists view norms as representing only one kind of change

Question 6

What are the 3 broad categories age related changes can be classified into?

Answer 6

1.Physical Domain
2.Cognitive Domain
3.Social Domain

Question 7

Important elements of research?

Answer 7

Research Methods: The specific activities participants are going to engage in(Questionnaires, interviews)
Research Design: Overall plan for the study

Question 8

What makes a good research question?

Answer 8

Clear and concise
Appropriate scope→ not trying to test everything and anything
Falsifiable
Heuristic value
Manageable

Question 9

Correlational research

Answer 9

Aims to determine if two things are related
Conduct if you do not believe there is a causal relationship between variables or cannot manipulate between them (unethical? Impractical?)
Can not say that something is inevitably related to the other (one causes the other) e.g. this parenting styles causes this specific attachment

Question 10

Experimental Research

Answer 10

Aims to determine whether a causal relationship exists
Conduct if you want a precise assessment of the cause-and-effect relationship that may exist between two variable

Question 11

Descriptive Research

Answer 11

Aims to describe a specific phenomenon
Research defines questions, samples, and the research methods before the process of data collection and analysis (case studies)

Question 12

Cross-Sectional Research Data Collection

Answer 12

Data collected in one point of time
a lot of people used this study because it cheap
Researcher collects data on participants without manipulating the natural environment in which they exist
Limitations:
Cannot draw conclusions regarding causation
Observations of many different individuals at a given time

Question 13

Sequential Data Collection

Answer 13

Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal
Participants of different ages selected outset
All participants observed repeatedly for a period of time
Limitations:Expensive
Takes a long time
Attrition

Question 14

Longitudinal Data Collection

Answer 14

Same participants observed repeatedly over time
Limitations
Practice effects → cognitive improvements by doing stuff over and over again
Selective attrition
Non Representative samples
Cohort effect → results can be different than different cohort

Question 15

Quantitative Research

Answer 15

Quantitative research is a form of research that relies on the methods of natural sciences, which produces numerical data that is tested to find an explanation or causation
Data is manipulated numerically

Question 16

Qualitative Research

Answer 16

an inductive method of research where the researcher generally explores behaviors, perspectives, or insights in specific contexts