Research in Developmental Psychology
1. Research Method
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