Developmental Psychology Psych 350 Professor McDermott Welcome Scholars Today s class topic Research Methods Research Methods Key Points There are multiple methods of data collection suitable for studying development Children do not have the same capacities as adults thus we must be careful in how go about studying their development Because children are not the same as adults getting a grasp of their level of understanding research participation can be complicated Methods of Collecting Data Example Studying attachment 1 Case Studies Freud 2 Naturalistic Observations Bowlby 3 Structured Observations Ainsworth 4 Cross cultural studies Ainsworth 5 Correlational studies Ainsworth 6 Longitudinal studies Sroufe 7 Experiments Research with Children Can children give informed consent Informed consent voluntary agreement of an individual to participate in research after being given a description of study details Sufficient knowledge of the study Understand risks benefits Assent expressed willingness to participate in a study from a child or person may not understand all the details but has a global understanding of the proposed research Assent Informed Consent in Children Abramovitch colleagues 1991 Children 5 to 12 years of age were given typical study information Participation was voluntary Stop at any time Results would be confidential Assent Informed Consent in Children Abramovitch colleagues 1991 Prior to starting the study kids were interviewed about their understanding of the consent information Few children under 12 years old understood the meaning of confidentiality Despite what researcher said many believed their results would be available to others especially parents Many children believed there would be negative consequences if they discontinued participation What are the implications for the field of developmental psychology Or beyond psychology consent to medical treatment or testify in legal cases How do we know when they are telling the truth Tawlar Experiments Children 7 10 years old rehearsed stories with their parents both lies truth Random stories chosen and shown to adults Some with little detail some with alot Who could pick out the lies Tawlar Experiments No one Biases revealed Girls are thought to be more truthful than boys Older kids are believed more than younger kids BUT in fact older kids lie more than younger ones Introverts are thought to be less trustworthy but they lie less Detecting Lies In adults there are cues that are helpful to identifying liars Voice pitch Pupil dilation Eye tracking Lack of sensory details in their stories Chronological story telling NOT HELPFUL IN KIDS NORMAL VARIATIONS IN THESE CUES Tawlar Experiments Even trained experts police offices customs officials only score at chance on Tawlar s experiments of detecting lies in children EVEN PARENTS DON T DO GREAT even when predicting whether their own child will lie The Peeking Game Guess three times what the toy is and you ll win a prize First two easy then trick them with the third and give them time to peek Only 30 of 3year olds peek on this game but 80 of four year olds do Why do we need to be careful in assent consent with children and research if four year olds already know how to lie Have a good weekend
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