introduction/methods Flashcards
t/f kids who find out later than average about santa are shown to have more neg. feelings
true
what are the 3 main goals of developmental psych and what do they mean
describe: identify what development looks like at different ages
explain: determine what factors contribute to development
apply: application of findings
when studying development what are the 2 main approaches to be aware of
stages/ages and domains of development (changes in physical, cognitive, social/emotional)
when approaching development in a domain way, it’s easy/hard to dissentangle one type of development away from another
hard
john locke holds a nature/nurture perspective
nurture
john jacques rousseau holds a nature/nurture perspective
nature
what is the current view with nature/nurture debate (and an example of a factor)
nature and nurture
interplay with each other to influence
development, ex: epigenetics- changes in gene expression NOT caused by DNA
what are the 3 mechanisms of change that influence development
Biological processes
* Experiences
* Timing of experiences
what was an example mentioned about continuous development
vocabulary growth
what was an example mentioned about discontinuous development
our moral development/what we view as good/bad
whats a good example of the importance of the timing of our experiences
sensitive periods: such as after age 7 language is a lot more difficult to acquire
3 important factors to consider within research methods:
who is studied,
how the data is collected,
the design of research
what kind of methods are involved in self/other report (4)
Surveys & questionnaires Interviews
Focus groups
Standardized tests
what 2 types of sampling are involved with naturalistic observation (and what are they)
Time-sampling: Record all
behaviours during pre-
determined time periods (ex. every 10 mins)
Event-sampling: Record
behaviour every time
event of interest occurs,
but not other behaviours
what’s a possible issue with event-sampling
the need for an operational definition! what constitutes as “bad or helpful behaviour?”
what’s an upside for structured observation as opossed to naturalistic
- study a behaviour in a more controlled setting so diff envioronments do not bias the study
EEG measures:
electrical activity
in the brain
MRI measures: using:
brain structure using magnetic fields
fMRI measures: using:
blood flow in the brain using
magnetic fields
NIRS measures: using:
blood flow in the brain using light
what are the 4 broad ways of gathering data/information
self/other report, naturalistic observation, structured observation, physiological measures
what is an ethical concern with structural observation
we are creating a scenario trying to evoke behaviour that is maybe not ethical
what generally is a correlational design
Examine/measure relationships between variables without any assignment/manipulation
correlation coefficient measures the:
association between 2 variables
can we claim that correlation equals causation
no
what is a cross-sectional design
different groups of participants
at different ages measured at the same time
what is a challenge of cross-sectional design
impossible to tell if differences between groups are due to age, or just different cohorts
can’t track individuals’ development
what is a longitudinal design
same participants measured
repeatedly across time at
different ages
challenged of longitudinal design:
time, cost, drop-outs, generalizability
impossible to tell if changes observed between measurements are changes with age, or changes in history
Why would experimental designs hold ethical concerns with creating experimental groups
what can you ethically assign the experimental group? ex. how many sodas are you allowed to assign to this group?
in terms of the 2 design types used to study age/development, why is random assignment of groups not possible
can’t “randomly assign” someone to be a 5yold
when studying age/development, what is meant by “measurement equivilance” being an issue
*ex: toddlers: physical aggression is common (biting)
* teenagers: cannot measure aggression in the same way (biting). teens more likely to show gossip, exclusion, etc
t/f clinical psych has the lowest mean replication score
false. developmental psych does
what was the main finding from “the myth of normative development”
Developmental psychology has often been conducted by/on/in a context of Western, White, comparatively wealthy individuals. This is assumed to be the “norm” that other development is compared to
what are some limitations within “science” as a way of knowing
- Cannot answer all questions such as religion/good vs evil
- can exclude/disregard other ways of knowing
- bias of scientists can influence how we approach methods, findings etc
what is the basis of the 30mil word gap study? what could have had an effect on this?
children from higher income families, parents were talking to their children much more. children from these fams hearing aprox 30mil. more words
most lower-income families were also multi-lingual, which could have had an effect on this
___% of our samples are either US, English speaking or European.
90
