PSYC 4220 1st Edition Lecture 2 Outline of Last Lecture I Development II Lifespan III Goals of Developmental Research IV History of Developmental Research V Ways to Collect Research Outline of Current Lecture I II III Ways Developmental Researchers Collect Data Pros of different methodologies Cons of different methodologies Current Lecture Ways Developmental Researchers Collect Data Naturalist observation observe behaviors in everyday life Pros Can be used with non verbal people Observe behaviors in natural context Cons infrequent or socially unacceptable behaviors hard to catch i e catch a child lying people may act differently when being observed in order to avoid these cons they might do a hidden observation ethnography researcher lives and interacts with people in a culture then provides detailed description Pros provides very detailed look at a particular culture Cons Subjective Not applicable to people outside of culture being studied Expensive time consuming Structured laboratory observation observe participants in lab under carefully created conditions Pros Easier to study infrequent behaviors Situation is the same for all participant allowing you to compare them Cons Pros Better able to determine causes of behavior Not as realistic so harder to generalize to real world Psychological methods examine relationship between physiological responses and behavior Heart rate very sensitive to emotional responses EEG electroencephalogram measures brain wave activity by attaching electrodes to the scalp fMRI using powerful magnetic field produces detailed 3D image of brain very useful for infants toddlers who can not verbally report emotional cognitive experiences can allow direct look at how brain functions reacts develops Cons hard to interpret exactly what physiological changes mean Developmental Research Designs cross sectional design children indifferent age groups measured at same time compare the memory of a group of 7 year olds 9 year olds and 11 year olds Pro relatively fast and inexpensive to conduct Cons ex changes in opinions on attitude on sex as you age cohort effects effect of being born in one particular historical cohort group of people born at same time exposed to similar cultural historical contexts while growing up no information about development of individual participants Longitudinal design Same group of participants measured at different ages Test childs memory when theya re 7 9 11 Pros Can study development of individual participants Can examine relationships between early and later behavior No concern about cohort effects Cons Cross generational problem hard to generalize to groups not part of that cohort Expensive time consuming Initial questions measures may become uninteresting inadequate Sequential design combine cross sectional and longitudinal approaches Follows 2 or more cohorts for short longitudinal period Age when testing began 2nd test 2 years later 3rd test 4 years later 7 9 11 9 11 13 11 13 15 Pros Can separate effects due to development cohort effects and reduce cross generational problem Cons More costly and time consuming than cross sectional design Can be very complex Microgenetic design using participant at the edge of developmental milestone repeatedly expose them to conditions that will prompt milestone to occur Pros Allows researchers to study the moment change occurs Gives better understanding of how and why major developmental changes happen Cons Costly complicated time consuming May have effects from repeated testing May not give accurate pictures of development Changes may happen earlier than usual