Lecture 3 Flashcards
we watched a video on helping behaviour and also talked about structured observation where the researcher sets up a situation to evoke that behaviour or interest.
What is a limitation of structured observation?
one of the limitations of the structured observation is if we are trying to create a scenario that will evoke a certain behaviour is that okay to try to do. Are there ethic concerns?
What is a problem with naturalistic observation?
if you are asking about reactions and acting people to hypothesis in a scenario is it obervation? maybe no.
NOT SURE WHAT THIS MEANS
REWATCH THIS LECTURE AT SOME POINT
What are physiological measures?
- Heart rate, blood pressure, hormone
levels, pupil dilation - Neuroimaging
What are the different Neuroimaging methods? What does each do?
What is an example of how we could measure aggression using neuroimaging methods?
- EEG/ERP (Electroencephalogram/Event-
related Potentials): measures electrical activity
in the brain - MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): measures
brain structure using magnetic fields - fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging):
measures blood flow in the brain using
magnetic fields - NIRS (Near-Infrared Spectroscopy): measures
blood flow in the brain using light
for aggression maybe we could have peop’le texting with their friends and measuring brain activity. Like when you send a more hostile text is your brain working differently then when you send a friendly text
What are the advantages, disadvantages, and advantages/disadvantages for children and adolescents of naturalistic observation?
advantages:
Observation
* Reflects real-world behaviour
* Can be affordable
disadvantages:
* May be hard to observe rare behaviour
* Observer bias, effects
* Difficult to control
* Little insight into why behaviour occurs, or inner experience
advantages/disadvantages for children and adolescents:
- Children perhaps less
influenced by observer? (advantage)
What are the advantages, disadvantages, and advantages/disadvantages for children and adolescents of structured observation?
advantages:
* Same situation for everyone→ more control/equivalence
* Useful for rare behaviour/situations
disadvantages:
* May not reflect natural behaviours
* Observer bias
* Little insight into why behaviour occurs, or inner experience
advantages/disadvantages for children and adolescents:
* Children may be unwilling to engage in tasks
* May be ethical concerns about some situations
What are the advantages, disadvantages, and advantages/disadvantages for children and adolescents of self/other report?
advantages:
* Easy to administer
* Can probe inner experience:
motivations, emotions, etc.
disadvantages:
* Can’t guarantee accuracy
* May be biased (by interviewer, by
subject)
advantages/disadvantages for children and adolescents:
* May be unable to fill out questionnaires
* May be shy
* Memory difficulties, easily influenced
What are the advantages, disadvantages, and advantages/disadvantages for children and adolescents of physiological measures?
advantages:
* Assess biological
underpinnings
* Does not require
language/behaviour
disadvantages:
* Can be costly
* Can be difficult to interpret results
advantages/disadvantages for children and adolescents:
* Can be loud/frightening
What are the 2 categories that the overall structure of research typically falls into?
- correlational design
- experimental design
what do correlational designs do? How many variables are involved/how are they assessed?
LOOK AT GRAPH ON SLIDE 11
- Examine relationships between variables
- Do children who differ on variable 1 also differ on variable 2?
- 2 variables are measured; research does not assign/manipulate anything
AKA What is the
relationship between
diet and aggressive
behaviour in children?
What statistics are used for correlational designs?
LOOK AT GRAPHS ON SLIDE 12
Correlation coefficient: measures association between 2
variables
* Direction: Positive or negative
* Strength: 0 to +/- 1
Is correlation causation? Example?
NO.
of sodas per week could have a relationship with number of physical fights but we don’t know if one causes the other, what that direction would be, or if there is a third variable mediating this relationship.
What do experimental designs do? Example?
- Able to examine cause-effect relations
- Research manipulates the
independent variable → participants
are randomly assigned to different
groups - Do differences in the independent
variable cause differences in the
dependent variable? - Can sometimes be difficult to conduct,
as it may be ethically difficult to
randomly assign/manipulate
randomly assign people to # of sodas per week (5 sodas or 1 soda), then measure the number of physical fights they have in a week.
State the ways of gathering data and the 2 overall structures of research and specify what the purpose of these 2 categories is.
Ways of gathering data (purpose = how variables are measured):
- self/other reports
- naturalistic observation
- structured observation
- physiological measures
overall structures of research (how variables are manipulated (or not)):
- correlational design
- experimental design
What are the 2 most common research designs for studying age/development?
longitudinal design
cross sectional design
explain cross-sectional designs. What are the challenges?
- Cross-sectional designs:
different groups of participants
at different ages measured at
the same time
ex: measure 5 year olds, 15 year olds, and 25 year olds at the same time.
Challenge:
impossible to tell if differences
between groups are due to
age, or just different cohorts
can’t track individuals’
development
explain longitudinal designs. What are the challenges?
- Longitudinal designs: same
participants measured
repeatedly across time at
different ages
ex: measure participants at 5 years old, then again when they turn 15, then again when they turn 25.
Challenges:
time, cost, drop-outs,
generalizability
impossible to tell if
changes observed
between
measurements are
changes with age, or
changes in history
What are the challenges in researching development?
Challenges in studying
age/development:
*Understanding what causes change
* Measurement equivalence
Challenges of the population:
* Selection
* Ethics
* Cooperation
