research Flashcards
normal development
average (common) development.
What most children would experience
How do scientists find out what is normal?
by tracking changes in large numbers of individuals and applying research methods.
average (psych def)
(psych) most representative.
Are all students of average height?
No, 50% will be taller and 50% will be smaller.
Studies of normal development help us …
predict how change and development will occur.
Why do scientists use different norms for boys and girls?
males and females develop at different rates and have different averages ( height, weight etc ).
norms
lists of what is average
longitudinal research
follow a group through their lifespan
cross-sectional research
groups of people of different ages on the same date.
e.g. may 2020 3yr 6 yr and 9 yr olds.
what are two ways scientists study normal development?
longitudinal and cross-sectional
The tv show “7 UP” follows a group of English children through their lives by checking in on them every 7 years. What type of research is this?
longitudinal
What problems are there with the longitudinal method?
4
- takes a long time
- people hard to keep track of. - many drop outs.
- People in the group will get “test-wise” and get better at the test with practice.
- expensive
test-wise
when a person gets better at a test because they have done it before.
Why do scientists take special care to match characteristics like health, socioeconomic (class) status?
so they know that the difference in scores is due to the IV (age) not other factors.
e.g. well off children may learn to read earlier than others because they have lots of books at home.
cohort
group of children of same age in a cross-sectional expt.
e.g. all the 3 year olds.