Methods

Question 1

main methods? (8)

Answer 1

experimental 
mixed methods
observational
Qual
Twin studies
case studies
cross sectional
longitudinal

Question 2

experimental designs: what (inc quasi,field & natural)

Answer 2

• structured
• IV & DV
• can establish cause & effect
  Quasi: partly experimental (cant randomly assign)
  Field exp: introducing a manip to a real life setting & then measure the manipulation
  Natural exp: observing natural happenings (not cause & effect but correlation)
• quant

Question 3

Experimental designs - downfalls

Answer 3

Harris (2008)

• choice of task is dependent on age (inappropriate task = invalid results)
• controversy of outcomes being innate or learned
• ecological validity (can use natural studies - but there’s issues with hypotheses & confounding variables
• Bronfenbrenner (1977): stuck between rigor & relevance (well designed but limited in scope)
• — experimental dev psych: study of strange behaviour of children in strange situations with strange adults

Question 4

experimental designs: benefits

Answer 4

Leman et al. 2014

• Higher level of control
• only one which can produce cause & effect bc can control for confounding variables in the lab

Question 5

example of experimental design

Answer 5

Mischel et al. 1972

• marshmallow experiment
• DV: time, IV: distraction

Question 6

Longitudinal design

Answer 6

• same group of participants
• assess stability and change
• qual and quant

Question 7

positives of longitudinal designs

Answer 7

• SEE neuroconstructivism
• no guessing of how children develop over time
• study of developmental trends

Question 8

negatives of longitudinal designs

Answer 8

• Gillbrand et al. 2011
• lack of control
• correlational
• expensive
• drop out is an issue
• niche families who agree
• large sample needed

Question 9

example of longitudinal design

Answer 9

Bishop & Stothard (2000) preschool lang impairment a risk factor for dyslexia?

• children tested at: pre school, 8, 15
• children with a history of language impairment performed worse on reading, writing & reading comprehension
• outcomes of dyslexia worse in those with impairments
• dyslexia may affect language itself

Question 10

cross sectional design

Answer 10

• can estimate prevalence of X in the population
• snap shot of a particular cohort
• qual & quant

Question 11

Positives of cross sectional design

Answer 11

Sedgewick 2014

• rapid data collection
• relatively inexpensive
• can infer predictions about the population (if population is big enough)

Question 12

negatives of cross sectional design

Answer 12

sedgewick 2014
cant determine what came first
selection of the sample may cause bias
hard to disentangle individual diffs effects & cohort effects

Question 13

example of cross sectional design

Answer 13

Durland, Hume, larkin & snowling (2005)
Cognitive predictors of children’s arithmetic and reading skills
- 70 to 10 year olds assessed at one point in time

Question 14

Twin desgins

Answer 14

• offer opportunities to disentangle relative genetic & enviro factors
• mono share 100% & di share 50%
• mono dont run in fams, Di does
• qual and quant

Question 15

advantages of twin studies

Answer 15

• can see relative enviro vs genetic components

Question 16

disadvantages of twin studies

Answer 16

• mono twins are rare & frequently studied
• exposure to different hormones in the womb to normal population
• generalisability
• Stromswold (2010): arguably MZ twins dont share the same environment in the womb, i.e. one always bigger than the other etc

Question 17

example of twin study

Answer 17

Bishop (2006)

• SLI kids & identification of behavioural markers
• found several interacting enviro & genetic f’s

Question 18

observational methods

Answer 18

three types:
controlled - in a lab
natural - in society
participation - when examiner takes part too
- can be qual and quant

Question 19

strengths & weaknesses of the three obvs methods

Answer 19

controlled: stengths - replicable & easily done // weaknesses - not ecovalid, demand characs & bias
natural: s - generates novel ideas & eco valid // w - less reliable & training of researcher
participant: s- deep insight // w - bias & time consuming & ethics

Question 20

case studies

Answer 20

• deep insight into an individual
• can be qual and quant
• qual

Question 21

strengths of case studies

Answer 21

• novel insight

- shed light on effectiveness of a new treatment

Question 22

downfalls of case studies

Answer 22

• not generalisable unless studied further

Question 23

technology advances (5)

Answer 23

• eeg
• fmri
  eyetracking
  -nri
• pet

Question 24

which methods study developmental mechanisms of change

Answer 24

• longitudinal
• cross sectional
• twin studies - YES AND NO
• case studies - YES AND NO