1. Developmental Psychology Research Methods Lab 1

2. Research Strategy Select research method (test, questionnaire, interview, observation) Decide on research design (overall plan that permits the best test of research idea) Evaluate procedure for any possible harm to participants

3. Different Aims; Different Methods  Basic Research e.g., How do infants acquire language?  Applied Research e.g., Do bilingual environments affect language development?  Action Research e.g., Are outcomes from bilingual schooling positive enough to continue funding?

4. Hypothesis Research can: Test a prediction of one theory against that of another Test a prediction of one theory Start with a research question, if there is no theory A prediction often drawn from a theory.

5. Systematic Observation Naturalistic Observation  In the “field,” or natural environment, where behavior happens  Observation in a day-care about children’s responses to peers’ distress + direct observation of everyday behaviour - not all children have the same opportunity to display a particular behaviour in everyday life Structured Observations  Laboratory situation set up to evoke behaviour of interest  All participants have equal chance to display behaviour + permit greater control over the research situation + method is especially useful for studying behaviour that investigators rarely have an opportunity to see in everyday life (e.g. relationships) - Participants may behave in the laboratory differently as they do in their natural environment

6. Collecting Systematic Observations Event Sampling  Observer records all instances of a particular behaviour during a specific time period. Time Sampling  Observer records whether certain behaviours occur during a sample of short time intervals.

7. Limitations of Systematic Observation  Observer Influence Participants may react in unnatural ways Can be minimized  Observer Bias Observers record what they expect, rather than what really happens.  Observed Behaviour Conveys little about the reasoning that underlies the observed behaviour

8. Interviews Clinical Interview  Flexible, conversational style  Probes for participant’s point of view Structured Interview  Each participant is asked same questions in same way  May use questionnaires, get answers from groups Self-reports ask research participants to provide information on their perceptions, thoughts, abilities, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, and past experiences

9. Limitations of Clinical Interviews  Accuracy of participants’ expressions Wish to please the interviewer Trouble recalling exactly Difficulty articulating answers  Distortions in participants’ Recall Judgments  Flexibility may make responses too varied

10. Psychophysiological Methods  Methods to uncover the biological bases of perceptual, cognitive, and emotional responses  Measure the relationship between physiological processes and behaviour  Help to infer perceptions, thoughts, and emotions of infants and young children  Measures of autonomic nervous system activity Heart rate (infant staring at a stimulus – heart rate is stable; processing the stimulus – heart rate slows; experiencing distress – heart rate rises) blood pressure Respiration Pupils stress hormones

11. Methods of Measuring Brain Functioning  Electroencephalogram (EEG) Detect changes in electrical activity in the cerebral cortex, which plays a central role in complex mental functions, including attention, perception, memory, language, planning, and problem solving Brain-wave patterns are examined for stability and organization  Event-related potentials (ERPs) Detect the general location of cortical activity as a child processes a particular stimulus Often used to study preverbal infants, impact of experience on development of brain regions, and atypical brain functioning in children at risk for learning or emotional problems

12. Methods of Measuring Brain Functioning (Neuroimaging techniques)  Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Detects increases in blood flow and oxygen metabolism throughout the brain magnetically Yields 3D-computerized pictures of the entire brain and its active areas Provides most precise information about which brain regions are specialized for certain capacities and about abnormalities in brain functioning  Positron emission tomography (PET) Depends on X-ray photography, which requires the injection of a radioactive substance

13. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

14. Near-infrared optical topography (NIROT)  NIROT is limited to examining the functioning of the cerebral cortex.  Infrared light is beamed at regions of the cerebral cortex to measure blood flow and oxygen metabolism while the child attends to a stimulus.  Can be used on very young babies as they sit on their parent’s lap.

15. Psychophysiological Methods  Are powerful tools for uncovering relationships between the brain and psychological development but have some limitations Even though a stimulus produces a consistent pattern of brain activity, the researcher cannot be certain that an infant has processed the stimulus in a certain way Many factors can influence a physiological response Children often do not perform as well as they do outside or without apparatus Children’s fearful reaction to the equipment affects physiological measures

16. Clinical/Case Study Method  Brings together a wide range of information on one child Interviews Observations Test scores Psychophysiological measures

17. Ethnography and the Study of Culture  Descriptive, qualitative technique  Goal is to understand a culture or social group  Participant Observation Researcher lives in community for months or years  Benefits and Drawbacks of using Standardized tests

18. Reliability and Validity Reliability  Consistency, repeatability of a measure Inter-rater Different observer have to agree on what they see Test-retest Same measurement on separate occasions Validity  How accurately the measure captures the characteristics the researcher is trying to study Internal validity: study conditions External validity: generalizability  After choosing research methods, it has to be ensured that the procedures provide trustworthy information

19. Developmental Psychology Research Designs Lab 2

20. General Research Designs Correlational Design  Researchers gather information on individuals, generally in natural life circumstances, and make no effort to alter their experiences  Then they look at relationships between participants’ characteristics and their behaviour or development + examining relationships between variables - no conclusion on cause and effect

21. Correlation Coefficients Magnitude  Size of the number between 0 and 1  Closer to one (positive or negative) is a stronger relationship Direction  Indicated by + or - sign  Positive (+): as one variable increases, so does the other  Negative (-): as one variable increase, the other decreases

22. Correlations

23. Examples of Correlation Coefficients

24. General Research Designs Experimental Design  Researchers assign participants to two or more treatment conditions  Events and behaviours are divided into independent and dependent variables + permits inferences about cause and effect

25. Independent and Dependent Variables Independent  Experimenter changes, or manipulates  Expected to cause changes in another variable Dependent  Experimenter measures, but does not manipulate  Expected to be influenced by the independent variable

26. An Example of a Laboratory Experiment  The way angry encounters end (independent variable) affects children’s emotional reaction (dependent variable)  Unresolved anger condition vs. resolved anger condition  Anxious facial expressions, freezing in place, seeking of closeness to their mothers  Anger resolution can reduce the stressful impact of adult conflict on children

27. Modified Experiments Field Experiment  Use rare opportunities for random assignment in natural settings Natural Experiment  Quasi-experiment  Compare differences in treatment that already exist  Conditions that cannot be experimentally manipulated for ethical reasons (child maltreatment, premature birth)  Groups chosen to match characteristics as much as possible

28. An Example of a Natural Experiment  Maltreated and non-maltreated 8- to 12-year-olds were enrolled in the same summer camp  Were observed and questioned under similar social conditions  Maltreated children showed more disruptive and aggressive behavoiur and were less cooperative !Natural experiments cannot achieve the precision and rigour of true experimental research!

29. Designs for Studying Development  Looking for information about the way participants change over time  Extend correlational and experimental approaches to include measurements at different ages Longitudinal designs Cross-sectional designs Sequential designs Microgenetic designs

30. Designs for Studying Development Longitudinal Same participants studied repeatedly at different ages Cross- sectional People differing in age are all studied at the same time Sequential Same groups of different-aged people studied repeatedly as they change ages Microgenetic Same participant studied repeatedly over a short period as they master a task

31. Longitudinal Design: Advantage  Permits study of common patterns and individual differences in development and relationships between early and later events and behaviours.

32. Longitudinal Design: Problems  Biased sampling The failure to enlist participants who represent the population of interest  Selective attrition Participants may drop out for other reasons; the ones who remain are likely to differ in important ways from the ones who do not continue  Practice effects Performance may improve as a result of repeated testing; better testing skills, increased familiarity with the test (no developmental factors)  Cohort effects Children developing in the same time period who are influenced by particular cultural and historical conditions; Results based on one cohort may not apply to children developing at other times

33. Cross-Sectional Design Advantages  Efficient  Not plagued by selective attrition, practice effects, or theoretical and methodological changes in the field Problems  Does not permit study of individual developmental trends  Age difference may be distorted because of cohort effects

34. Sequential Design: Advantages and Problems  When the design includes longitudinal sequences, permits both longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisons  Reveals cohort effects  Permits tracking of age-related changes more effectively than the longitudinal design  May have the same problems as the longitudinal and cross- sectional strategies, but the design itself helps identify difficulties

35. Example of a Sequential Design  3 cohorts (1985, 1986, 1987)  3 years longitudinal  Developmental trends across five years

36. Microgenetic Design  Longitudinal designs can describe changes over years, but cannot capture the processes that produce these changes  Microgenetic designs are an adaptation of the longitudinal approach present children with a novel task and follows their mastery over a series of closely spaced sessions Within this ‘microcosm’ of development, researchers observe how change occurs Especially useful for cognitive development (strategies children use to acquire new knowledge)

37. Ethical Treatment of Children in Research  Protection from harm Children have the right to be protected from physical and/or psychological harm  Informed consent Have the right to have explained to them all aspects of the research that may affect their willingness to participate  Privacy Right to delete their identity on all information collected  Knowledge of results Children have the right to be informed of the results of research  Beneficial treatments Children in control groups have the right to alternative beneficial treatments if they are available

38. The Case of Little Albert