Methods of Studying Development
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Key Issues in Human
Development
1- Heredity and Environment
Heredity-oriented theories assume an
important role of underlying biological
structures. They point out that specific
genes may underlie development and
behavior.
Environmental explanations focus on the
individual’s experience pertaining to
thinking, health, and social factors
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Key Issues in Human
Development
• Heredity and environment interact, but
theorists still disagree over the relative
contributions of each and the manner of
their interaction.
• The position that the theorists take on this
question determines the direction and
nature of their research
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Key Issues in Human
Development
2- Maturation and Learning
Maturation refers to biological processes.
Learning refers to change over time related to
practice or experience.
When development is considered in terms of
maturation and learning, the emphasis is on
time.
Example: How is the biological event of
menopause affected by a woman’s lifestyle
(experience)?
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Key Issues in Human
Development
3- Critical Versus Sensitive Periods
Optimal periods during which certain types of
learning occur best
Readiness refers to reaching a maturational point
at which a specific behavior can be learned
Examples:
The effects of certain diseases during pregnancy
Acquiring a second language during an early age
The critical time span several hours after birth
during which goslings become bonded to the
mother (imprinting)
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What Makes Research Scientific?
1- Precision
2- Skepticism
3- Reliance on Empirical Evidence
4- The Principle of Falsifiability
5- Openness? Replication
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Science becomes dangerous only
when it imagines that it has
reached its goal.
(George Bernard Shaw)
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Issues in Data Collection
1- Sampling
Random Sampling
Representative Sample
2- Reliability
The degree of consistency with which a
test or scale measures something.
3- Validity
The extent to which a test or scale measures
what it is supposed to measure
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Methods of Studying
Development
Descriptive Methods
Experimental Methods
Approaches that
primarily involve the
observation and
description of
behavior
Approaches that go
beyond description
and attempt to
determine what
causes what in
development and
behavior
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Descriptive Approaches
1- Case Studies
2- Systematic Observation
3- Questionnaires and Surveys
4- Psychological Testing
5- Developmental Research Design
6- Correlation
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Case Study
Sometimes are called baby biographies
They involve extensive interviews with a
particular individual or a small group of
individuals
Drawbacks
1- The lack of standardization
2- Reliance on language
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Systematic Observation
Naturalistic Observation
Laboratory Observation
Occurs in a natural setting
such as studying apes in
the wild or people in bars
The psychologist has more
control
One shortcoming is that
the presence of
researchers and special
equipment may cause
subjects to behave
differently
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Questionnaires and Surveys
Interview that ask people directly about their
experiences, attitudes, or opinions
Drawbacks
The difficulty of getting a representative
sample
When dealing with volunteers, we may have
volunteer bias
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Psychological Tests
Sometimes called assessment
instruments
Are procedures used for measuring and
evaluating personality traits, emotional
states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, and
values
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Psychological Testing
Objective Tests
Projective Tests
Also called Inventories
Measure beliefs,
feelings, or behaviors
of which the individual
is aware
Have more reliability
and validity
Designed to tap
unconscious
feelings or motives
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Objective Tests
Inventories
• The Beck Depression Scale Inventory
• The Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale
• The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI)
• The Myers-Briggs Personality Scale
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Projective Tests
1- Association Techniques
The Rorschach Test
The Word Association Test
2- Completion Techniques
Sentence Completion Tests
Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study
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The Rorschach Projective Test
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Projective Tests
3- Construction Techniques
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
The Picture Projective Test (PPT)
4- Expression Techniques
The Draw-a-person Test
The House-tree-person Test
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Developmental Research
1- The Longitudinal Design
2- The Cross-Sectional Design
3- The Sequential-Cohort Design
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1- The Longitudinal Design
A group of individuals is studied repeatedly
at different points in the lifespan
Drawbacks:
a. Large investments in time and money
b. Some subjects drop out or die
c. Some subjects become testwise
d. Changes in individuals may be due to
the time of measurement rather than
development
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2- The Cross-Sectional Design
Compares individuals of different ages at
one point of time
Drawbacks:
a. It tells us more about age groups than
about development within the individuals
b. The cohorts differ not only in
chronological age but also in the time
period in which they were born
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3- The Sequential-Cohort Design
A mix of the two types of research
Example:
Studying a group of 4-year-olds, a group of
8-year-olds, and a group of 12-year-olds
each 2 years comparing them
longitudinally and cross-sectionally
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Correlational Studies
Examines the relationship between two
variables to determine whether they are
associated or correlated
When establishing a correlation between 2
variables that does not indicate causality
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Experimental Design
1- Experiments Focusing on Individuals
B. F. Skinner
Identify instances of behavior as they naturally
occur and establish a baseline rate
Supply contingencies (rewards and punishments)
and see if the behavior changes (behavior
modification)
The application of contingencies to behavior is
called conditioning
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Experimental Methods
2- Group Experimental Design
Example:
A study by Oden and Asher (1977).
The investigators wanted to determine what
effect coaching in social skills would have
on peer acceptance and the formation of
friendships in socially isolated children.
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Experimental Methods
They tell us about cause and effect
The investigator manipulates one set of
variables (independent variables) and
observes their influence on another set of
variables (dependent variables)
To establish causality, experimenters
compare different groups, experimental
groups and control groups.
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Experimental Methods
1- Internal Validity
What happened to the experimental group
actually caused the new behavior.
2- External Validity
The extent to which an experiment
corresponds to what happens in the real
world
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Experimental Design
Questions:
Who are the subjects?
What is the independent variable?
What is the variable that is going to change
because of manipulation?
What is the dependent variable?
If there were changes in behavior, what was the
causative agent?
Try to predict the outcome of the experiment.
Write one sentence
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Ethics in Research
1- Freedom from Harm
2- Informed Consent
3- Use of Deception
4- Maintenance of Privacy
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Design Your Own Research
1- You want to examine the effect of watching
violent movies on the behavior of children, what
design are you going to use, cross-sectional,
longitudinal, or sequential-cohort design?
2- What is your hypothesis?
3- How many groups are you going to have? Why?
4- What is the population you are going to
experiment on? How are you going to select
your sample?
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5- If you want to establish causality, what
technique are you going to use,
correlational, observational, case
studies, or experimental?
6- What is the methodology?
7- Where are you going to conduct the
experiment?
8- What are the dependent variables?
9- What are the independent variables?
10-Do you think your experiment has
internal and external validity? Why?
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