How we study human development Flashcards
What are some ethical considerations?
Protection from physical and psychological harm
Confidentiality
Informed consent
Deception and debriefing
What can questionnaires be implemeted in research methods?
Can be open or closed ended questions
Validated scales used to study aspects of development
Can identify deviations from the norm for individuals
Can be used to explore relationships between variables
How can interviews be implemented in research methods?
Provide qualitative data
Describing experiences in thier own words, capturing richness and complexity
Requires coding for common themes can be inductive or deductive
Limitations can be time and money
How can observations be implemented in research methods?
Observe individuals in a natural or laboratory enviroment
Common for studying infant cognitive development or attachment
Strength is focus on actual rather than reported behaviour
Limitations can be time intensive and data collected can be influenced by observer effects
How can ethnographic research be implemented in research methods?
Researcher immerse themselves in thier lives of those they are studying living with thier study participants for months or years
Data collected includes observations, experiences and conversations
Focuses on what daily life is like in a particular geographical location and cultural context
Limitations: time, cost, potential misinterpretation/bais
How can case studies be implemented in research methods?
Detailed exploration of an individual or small group of individuals (twins)
Strenths such as detail, richness, can explore events or issues that would not otherwise be possible (e.g. psychologic maltreatment, brain injury)
Limitations such as to generalize findings
What are some examples of research methods biological measurements?
Technological advances: help scientists measure biological processes related to congition, emotions and relationships
Examples and measures: brain activity (EEG), hormone levels, heart rate, cortisol, and sweat repsonses
Brain behaviour link: rapid growth in understanding how brain function influences behaviour
Key advantage: biological measures are difficult to fake, making research more reliable
How can experiments be implemented in research methods?
Experiment often used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions on aspects of development (e.g. efficacy of a parenting skills group).
Participants randomly allocated to treatment or control group
Collect data on variable of interest and compare across groups
What are the ads and dis of a questionnaire?
Ads: large sample, quick data collection
Dis: Present responses, no depth
What are the ads and dis of an interview?
Ads: individuality and complexity
Dis: Time and effort of coding
What are the ads and dis of a observations?
Ads: actual behaviour, not self-report
Dis: observation may affect behaviour
What are the ads and dis of ethnographic research?
Ads: entire span of daily life
Dis: researcher must live among participants; possible bias
What are the ads and dis of a case study?
Ads: rich, detailed data
Dis: difficult to generalize results
What are the ads and dis of biological meaurements?
Ads: precise data
Dis: expensive; relation to behaviour may not be clear
What are the ads and dis of an experiment?
Ads: Control, identification of cause and effect
Dis: may not reflect real life
What are the ads and dis of a natural experiment?
Ads: illuminate gene environment relations
Dis: unusual circumstances; rare
What is the definition of emic in research methods cultural and cross-cultural psychology?
perspective focuses on understanding psychological aspects of a particular group and using this to refine theories and generate new understandings
What is the definition of etic in research methods cultural and cross-cultural psychology?
approach looks for similiarities and differences between cultures
What is the definition of cross cultural comparison in research methods cultural and cross-cultural psychology?
studies involve investigating two or more cultural groups in relation to a psychological variable
What is the definition of cross-cultural validation in research methods cultural and cross-cultural psychology?
studies examine whether is it appropraite to apply a psychological variable or measure with a different cultural group
What is the definition of unpackaging in research methods cultural and cross-cultural psychology?
studies seek to understand and explain why cultural differences occur
What is the definition of indiginous psychology in research methods cultural and cross-cultural psychology?
centres culture in study of human behaviour and experience
Example of a research design?
Cross-sectional studies take data at one time point and look for assosiations between variables
Limitation: correlation does not imply causation
E.g does ageing make us become more conservative?
Example of a research design?
Longitudinal studies follow the same people over time with data collected on two or more occasions
Limition: expense, attrition
Possiblity of cohort effects
sequential studies combine elements of each, studying two cohorts across at least two periods of time
