Module 1 - Research Methods

Question 1

define empiricism

Answer 1

belief that to be deemed true and reliable, knowledge must come from systematic observations that are recorded as data. want to be able to prove that the data is correct

Question 2

define operational definition

Answer 2

exactly what is meant by each variable in the context of the study, turning abstract ideas into something measurable

Question 3

define experiment

Answer 3

where all is constant except the variable of interest (independent), which will strategically varies across conditions. dependent variable is what you are measuring from the outcome

Question 4

define correlational designs

Answer 4

how variables are related to or associated with one another (genre, personality, socioeconomic status). can not determine causality

Question 5

define experimental designs

Answer 5

can infer causation, all kept constant except variable of interest. rely on random assignment

Question 6

define reliability

Answer 6

consistency of a measure

test-retest: measurements should be stable across time
interrater: how different experimenters score similar results

Question 7

define validity

Answer 7

accuracy of measure

internal: is the results from the manipulations, 3rd variables
external: can the results generalize to other groups of people

Question 8

define structured interview

Answer 8

asking predetermined questions, responses are analyzed and coded

Question 9

define questionnaires

Answer 9

efficient way to get many response, can use scales and such for responses

Question 10

define clincical interview

Answer 10

questions can branch off from predetermined questions to follow up on the answers (ex. determining disorders). will give lower internal validity

Question 11

define naturalistic observations

Answer 11

examining people in their natural environments, researcher has no control of behaviour

Question 12

define structured observation

Answer 12

people are placed in the same controlled situation while behaviour is recorded, can be used to determine specific factors influencing behaviour

Question 13

define cross-sectional designs

Answer 13

using different people across different age groups, used for developmental trends, each person is only tested once, no insight into patterns of change within people

Question 14

define longitudinal designs

Answer 14

look at the changes within the same children over a significant period of development, very rewarding but can be extremely difficult to succeed in completing

Question 15

define microgenetic designs

Answer 15

track small scale developments in children’s cognitive/behavioural process, multiple observations of same child over a short period of time, detailed look at how specific processes develop

Question 16

define meta-analysis

Answer 16

a method for combining the results from independent studies to reach conclusions based on all of them

Question 17

what were both Plato and Aristotle interested in?

Answer 17

how children are influence by their nature and by the nurture they receive

Question 18

who believed that children had innate knowledge?

Answer 18

Plato

Question 19

what are the basic themes in child development?

Answer 19

1. nature vs nurture
2. the active child: how does a child shape their own development (selective attention)
3. continuity and discontinuity
4. mechanisms of change: how does it occur
5. sociocultural context: how does sociocultural influence development
6. individual differences: how do we become so different from one another
7. research and children’s welfare

Question 20

describe the difference between nature and nurture.

Answer 20

nature refers to our biological endowment, the genes that we receive. whereas nurture refers to environments that influence out development.

Question 21

how is epigenetics changing the way we look at nature vs nurture?

Answer 21

we recent studies in epignetics, the study of change in gene expression, it is shown that yes behaviours can be predicted from genes, but behaviours can also influence our genes (methylation = to reduce expression of genes for regulating stress reactions)

Question 22

what is the difference between continuos and discontinuos for development?

Answer 22

continuos is an idea that changes with age occurring gradually, in small increments (a tree growing taller), where discontinuous is the idea that changes with age including occasional large sifts (cocoon to butterfly)

Question 23

define cognitive development

Answer 23

it is the development of thinking and reasoning

Question 24

what kinds of mechanisms can be used to help a child develop?

Answer 24

they can be helped by mechanisms suc as behavioural, neural, or genetic. specifically, roles of brain activity and learning experiences can tell us a lot about developmental changes.

Question 25

define neurotransmitters

Answer 25

chemicals involved in communication among brain cells

Question 26

define sociocultural context

Answer 26

the physical, social, cultural, economic, and historical circumstances that make up any child’s environment

Question 27

define socioeconomic status

Answer 27

a measure of social class that is based on income and education, covering all aspects of children’s lives

Question 28

define cumulative risk

Answer 28

the accumulation of disadvantages over years of development (ex. being in foster care or homeless)

Question 29

define the direction of the causation problem

Answer 29

the concept that a correlation between 2 variables does not indicate which, if either, variable is the cause of the other