Methods Flashcards
main methods? (8)
experimental mixed methods observational Qual Twin studies case studies cross sectional longitudinal
experimental designs: what (inc quasi,field & natural)
- 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
Experimental designs - downfalls
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
experimental designs: benefits
Leman et al. 2014
- Higher level of control
- only one which can produce cause & effect bc can control for confounding variables in the lab
example of experimental design
Mischel et al. 1972
- marshmallow experiment
- DV: time, IV: distraction
Longitudinal design
- same group of participants
- assess stability and change
- qual and quant
positives of longitudinal designs
- SEE neuroconstructivism
- no guessing of how children develop over time
- study of developmental trends
negatives of longitudinal designs
- Gillbrand et al. 2011
- lack of control
- correlational
- expensive
- drop out is an issue
- niche families who agree
- large sample needed
example of longitudinal design
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
cross sectional design
- can estimate prevalence of X in the population
- snap shot of a particular cohort
- qual & quant
Positives of cross sectional design
Sedgewick 2014
- rapid data collection
- relatively inexpensive
- can infer predictions about the population (if population is big enough)
negatives of cross sectional design
sedgewick 2014
cant determine what came first
selection of the sample may cause bias
hard to disentangle individual diffs effects & cohort effects
example of cross sectional design
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
Twin desgins
- offer opportunities to disentangle relative genetic & enviro factors
- mono share 100% & di share 50%
- mono dont run in fams, Di does
- qual and quant
advantages of twin studies
- can see relative enviro vs genetic components
disadvantages of twin studies
- 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
example of twin study
Bishop (2006)
- SLI kids & identification of behavioural markers
- found several interacting enviro & genetic f’s
observational methods
three types: controlled - in a lab natural - in society participation - when examiner takes part too - can be qual and quant
strengths & weaknesses of the three obvs methods
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
case studies
- deep insight into an individual
- can be qual and quant
- qual
strengths of case studies
- novel insight
- shed light on effectiveness of a new treatment
downfalls of case studies
- not generalisable unless studied further
technology advances (5)
- eeg
- fmri
eyetracking
-nri - pet
which methods study developmental mechanisms of change
- longitudinal
- cross sectional
- twin studies - YES AND NO
- case studies - YES AND NO
