Module 1: Research Methods

Question 1

Empiricism

Answer 1

Belief that in order to be deemed true and reliable, knowledge must come from systematic observations that are documented or recorded as data

Question 2

The Scientific Method

Answer 2

Empirical approach to testing beliefs that involves choosing a question, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing a conclusion

Question 3

Theory

Answer 3

overarching system of interrelated ideas used to explain and unify a wide set of observations, and to guide future research

Question 4

Research Question

Answer 4

Question you are trying to address in your study
Can be more conceptual, doesn’t need to mention specific measures
More specific than theory, emerges from a theory

Question 5

Hypothesis

Answer 5

Statement specifying a relationship between two or more measurable variables that can be proved or disproved within the bounds of your study
Finding either supports or fails to support hypothesis
Fails to support: might create new theory or update theory
Some studies pit two theories against each other (so findings either support one or the other theory)

Question 6

Operational Definition

Answer 6

Exactly what is meant by each variable in the context of a study
How you turn abstract ideas or concepts into something concrete and measurable
E.g. shyness = score on shyness questionnaire

Question 7

Experiment

Answer 7

situation in which the investigator holds all things constant except for one aspect which strategically varies across conditions

Question 8

Independent Variable

Answer 8

thing you change/manipulate across conditions

Question 9

Dependent Variable

Answer 9

thing you measure as your outcome

Question 10

Random Assignment

Answer 10

Participants are randomly placed into conditions
All traits should be distributed equally across conditions

Question 11

Correlational Studies

Answer 11

Examine how variables are related to or associated with one another
Useful with variables that cannot be manipulated (age, gender, personality traits, socioeconomic status)
Can’t infer causation
Direction of causation problem
Third variable problem

Question 12

Direction of Causation Problem

Answer 12

correlation does not indicate which variable is the cause and which is the effect

Question 13

Third Variable Problem

Answer 13

correlation between two variables may be result of some third variable

Question 14

Experimental Studies

Answer 14

Can infer causation
Everything is kept constant except for the variable(s) of interest
Independent variable(s) are manipulated
Impact on dependent variable(s) is measured
Participants randomly assigned into conditions
Experimental control
Experimental group & control group

Question 15

Experimental Control

Answer 15

Ability of the researcher to determine the specific experiences that children in each group encounter

Question 16

Experimental Group

Answer 16

Presented the experience of interest

Question 17

Control Group

Answer 17

Treated identically as experimental group but not presented experience of interest

Question 18

Reliability

Answer 18

The consistency of a measure
Does our measure produce similar results when we expect it should

Question 19

Test-Retest Reliability

Answer 19

Completing a measure multiple times to ensure consistent results
If a trait being measured is supposed to be relatively stable across time, our measurements of that trait should be relatively stable across time too

Question 20

Interrater Reliability

Answer 20

If two different experimenters score a measure, do they get the same results

Question 21

Validity

Answer 21

The accuracy of a measure
Are we actually measuring what we meant to measure

Question 22

Internal Validity

Answer 22

Are we sure the effects in our study are caused by the manipulations we made, or could other factors be influencing the outcome

Question 23

External Validity

Answer 23

Are we sure the findings from our study will generalize to other groups or to real world situations outside the lab

Question 24

Structured Interview

Answer 24

Asking participants series of predetermined questions and recording responses
Responses recorded then analyzed and coded
Answers interpreted and categorized by a trained coder
Converted to a scale using predetermined coding criteria

Question 25

Questionnaires

Answer 25

If participants can read
Fast and efficient alternative
E.g. administering measure to a whole school

Question 26

Clinical Interview

Answer 26

Questions can branch off from the preplanned questions to follow up on the answers the interview provides
Helpful for clinicians obtaining in-depth info about a particular child
E.g. diagnosing disorder or learning disability
Less common in large scale psychological studies
All participants need to be presented with the same questions/prompts to ensure high internal validity

Question 27

Naturalistic Observations

Answer 27

Examining children in their usual environments (e.g. home, school, playground)
Researcher is not in control of what the child does, coding naturally elicited behaviours
E.g. time spent with certain activities, how often they engage with peers, smiles/laughs, etc.

Question 28

Structured Observation

Answer 28

Each child placed in the exact same controlled situation while their behaviour is recorded
Same environment, instructions, interactions
By tightly controlling environmental factors, researchers can identify what specific factors are influencing children’s behaviour
Task characteristics (different roles in a game)
Environmental factors (number of children in room)
Individual differences (child’s/peer’s shyness)

Question 29

Cross Sectional Designs

Answer 29

Different children of different ages and compare performance
Each participant usually only tested once
Highlight developmental trends
Maps out changes across broad developmental time
Drawback: no insight into stability or patterns of change within individual children

Question 30

Longitudinal Designs

Answer 30

Looks at changes within the same children over significant periods of development (months/years/decades)
What individual factors impact the results for each participant
Rare type of study
Drawbacks: costs a lot of time and money, many participants drop out

Question 31

Microgenetic Designs

Answer 31

Track small-scale developments in children’s cognitive/behavioural processes
Several observations of the same child over a short period of time (hours, days, few weeks)
How cognition or behaviour is changing with prolonged experience in a certain context
Offers more detailed look at how specific processes develop than other designs
Niche, not common

Question 32

Plato

Answer 32

Self control and discipline as most important in education
Children have innate knowledge (e.g. know what an animal is from birth)
Careful upbringing important otherwise basic nature would lead to children becoming unruly (particularly boys)

Question 33

Aristotle

Answer 33

Discipline and fitting child rearing to needs of the child
All knowledge comes from experience
Mind of infant is like blackboard with nothing written on it

Question 34

John Locke

Answer 34

Children as blank slate, written on by nurturing of caregivers/society
Most important goal of child rearing is growth of character
Parents must set good examples and avoid indulging children
Authority can be relaxed as children age (good behaviour)

Question 35

Jean-Jaques Rousseau

Answer 35

Parents and society should give children maximum freedom from the beginning
Children learn from spontaneous interactions (not through instruction)
No formal education until the age of reason (12)

Question 36

Themes of Development

Answer 36

Nature & Nurture
The active child
Continuity/discontinuity
Mechanisms of change
Sociocultural context
Individual differences
Research & children’s welfare

Question 37

Nature

Answer 37

Biological endowment, the genes we receive from parents
Genetic inheritance influences our makeup

Question 38

Nurture

Answer 38

Wide range of environments, both physical and social, that influence our development

Question 39

Genome

Answer 39

Each person’s complete set of hereditary information
Genome influences behaviours and experiences, and is also influenced by behaviours and experiences
Some proteins regulate gene expression and can turn gene activity on or off

Question 40

Epigenetics

Answer 40

study of stable changes in gene expression mediated by the environment

Question 41

Methylation

Answer 41

Biochemical process that reduces expression of a variety of genes, involved in regulating reactions to stress
Stress of mothers during child’s infancy related to amount of methylation in children’s genomes years later

Question 42

The Active Child

Answer 42

Infants shape their development through selective attention
E.g. pay more attention to things that move or make noise
Preference helps them learn about important aspects of the world (e.g. faces, moving objects)
Crib-speech when children are alone and learning to talk helps them practice language
Children learn through play with others and alone

Question 43

Continuity/Discontinuity

Answer 43

Continuity:
Development as continuous process of small changes (like a tree growing)
Children behave in accord with one stage on one task but with a different stage on other tasks

Discontinuity:
Development as series of occasional, sudden, discontinuous changes (caterpillar to butterfly)
Children of different ages qualitatively different
Stage theories: development occurs in progression of distinct age related stages
Cognitive development: development of thinking and reasoning (Jean Piaget)

Question 44

Mechanisms of Change

Answer 44

Developmental mechanisms can be behavioural, neural, or genetic
Effortful attention is mechanism of developmental change and involves role of brain activity, genes, and learning experiences
E.g. sleep mechanism for improving memory in young children/infants

Question 45

Sociocultural Context

Answer 45

Physical, social, cultural, economic, and historical circumstances a child grows up in
Cross cultural comparisons reveal practices that are rare/nonexistant in one culture are common in others
E.g. in North America children move into another room to sleep in crib alone by 6m
In Italy, Japan, South Korea, etc young children sleep in same bed as mother for first few years, often remain in same room later

Question 46

Individual Differences

Answer 46

Four factors lead children to turn out different from others in family
-Genetic differences
-Differences in treatment by parents and others (E.g. give more sensitive care to easygoing children)
-Differences in reactions to similar experiences (E.g. siblings react differently to family events)
-Different choices of environments

Question 47

Research & Children’s Welfare

Answer 47

Research benefits children of the future
Research spurs educational innovations