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Research in Developmental Psychology

1. Specific Research Methods

1.1. Naturalistic Observation

Naturalistic observation is a research method where researchers observe and record behavior in natural settings without any intervention or manipulation.

Strengths:

  • Good ecological validity - Observations occur in real-world settings
  • Similar to "real-life" - Behavior is studied in its natural context
  • Can be used to study a range of behavior - Versatile method applicable to various behaviors and settings

Limitations:

  • Hard to identify causal relationships - With so many variables present, it's difficult to determine which ones specifically influence the behavior of interest
  • Painstaking to administer - Many behaviors occur only occasionally in everyday environments, reducing researchers' opportunities to study them through this method

1.2. Interviews

Strengths:

  • Allows full focus on the individual's behavioral pattern - Provides in-depth understanding of individual cases
  • Follow-up questions can clarify earlier responses - Enables deeper exploration and clarification of ambiguous responses
  • Example:
    • Experimenter: When Freddy said "Oh great!", did he mean it was nice or nasty?
    • Child: Nasty.
    • Experimenter: How do you know that?

Limitations:

  • Can be difficult to generalize beyond the individual case - Findings may not be representative of broader populations
  • Can be difficult to generate a causal argument - Limited ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships
  • Accuracy concerns - Potential issues with recall bias, social desirability bias, or misinterpretation of responses

1.3. Experiments

The experimental method involves systematically changing one or more factors (independent variables) to determine whether these changes affect one or more other factors (dependent variables).

Strengths:

  • Can directly test relationships between variables - Allows researchers to establish cause-and-effect relationships
  • Experimental control is relatively easy - Researchers can manipulate independent variables and control extraneous variables
  • High internal validity - Ensures that nothing besides the independent variable can affect the dependent variable
  • Random assignment - Participants have equal chance of being exposed to each level of the independent variables

Limitations:

  • "Artificial" technique - May lack ecological validity unless using naturalistic experiments
  • Sometimes not possible due to ethical issues - Certain manipulations may be unethical to implement
  • Practical constraints - Some research questions cannot be tested experimentally
  • External validity concerns - Results may not generalize to other situations and people

1.4. Naturalistic Experiments

Although experiments have the unique advantage of allowing researchers to draw conclusions about the causes of events, their ecological validity can be questionable.

This problem can be overcome by conducting naturalistic experiments, in which data are collected in everyday settings such as the home or in a special playroom at the testing lab.

Example:

  • Hood (1995), Cognitive Development, 10, 577-598
  • Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg57103Qrro

2. Designs for Examining Development

2.1. Comparison of Study Designs

Design Key Features Advantages Disadvantages
Cross-sectional Children of different ages are studied at the same time Yields useful data about differences among age groups
Quick and easy to administer		 Uninformative about stability of individual differences over time
Uninformative about similarities and differences in individual children's patterns of change
Longitudinal Children are examined repeatedly over a long period of time Indicates the degree of stability of individual differences over long periods
Reveals individual children's patterns of change over long periods		 Difficult to keep all participants in study
Repeatedly testing children can threaten external validity of study
Microgenetic Children are observed intensively over a relatively short time period while a change is occurring Intensive observation of changes while they are occurring can reveal process of change
Reveals individual change patterns over short periods in considerable detail		 Does not provide information about typical patterns of change over long periods
Does not reveal individual change patterns over long periods

2.2. Cross-sectional Designs

Children of different ages are compared on a given behavior or characteristic over a short period of time.

Characteristics:
- Quick and common
- Cannot determine causality

2.3. Longitudinal Designs

Used when children are studied twice or more over a long period of time.

Characteristics:

  • Rich data showing development within the same participants
  • Time-consuming and expensive

2.4. Micro-genetic Designs

In this approach, children who are thought to be on the verge of an important developmental change are provided with heightened exposure to the type of experience that is believed to produce the change and are studied intensely while their behavior is in transition.

Characteristics:

  • e.g., microgenetic study of Theory of Mind (Flynn, 2006)

3. Ethical Issues in Developmental Research

Researchers have a vital responsibility to:

  • Ensure the research does not harm the children physically or psychologically - Ensure the research does not harm the children physically or psychologically
  • Obtain informed consent from parents/guardians and the child - Obtain informed consent from parents/guardians and the child (if the child is old enough to understand)
  • Preserve the anonymity of the children who take part - Preserve the anonymity of the children who take part
  • Counteract any negative outcomes and correct any inaccurate impressions that arise during the study - Counteract any negative outcomes and correct any inaccurate impressions that arise during the study