What methods do we use to study child developmentt?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Researchers use various methods to gather information. From observation, researchers may generate theories about why development might occur in certain ways. Hypotheses may be generated that are specific testable predictions that can then be used to formulate experiments and conduct research. People may be studied using naturalistic observation. You might, for example, watch children at a daycare center and document gender differences in amount and type of aggressive behaviors. Experiments may be conducted if ethical and not harmful to children. Individuals may be randomly assigned to groups and comparisons made. Let's say you have the hypothesis that giving rewards for good behavior will increase those behaviors. You randomly assign 10 children to a "reward" group (the experimental group) and 10 to a "non-reward" group (the control group). You complete the first phase of the study by comparing the number of positive behaviors elicited by each child (this establishes that your groups are comparable in the number of positive behaviors elicited prior to the second phase of the study). During the second phase of the study, you reward the positive behaviors of the children in the reward group and not in the control group. During the third phase of the study, you count the number of positive behaviors elicited by the children in each group and then make comparisons. If the children in the reward group are engaging in more positive behaviors than those in the control group, you might conclude that this is due to the presence of the reward in one group and the absence of reward in the other group.