Child Psychology Research Methods PDF

Child Psychology result of changes in the independent variable ○ Operational definition - stated solely in terms of the Research Methods...

Child Psychology result of changes in the independent variable ○ Operational definition - stated solely in terms of the Research Methods operations used to measure a phenomenon. Quantitative Research deals with objectively measurable, Time Span of Research numerical data. It is based on the scientific method: One goal of developmental research is to study change over Identification of a problem time. Formulation of hypotheses Cross sectional (individuals of different ages are assessed at Collection of data one point in time) Statistical analysis of data Longitudinal (researchers study the same person or group of Formation of tentative conclusions people over time, sometimes years apart) Dissemination of findings Sequential (track people of different ages like cross sectional design, over time like longitudinal designs) Qualitative Research to cases on the how and why of behavior Conducting Ethical Research ( great depth & detail, less rigorous, subject to bias, small Informed Consent - all participants must know what their sample, less replicable). research participation will involve and what risks might develop. Sample is the smaller group within the population. ○ Confidentiality - research is responsible for keeping Should adequately represent the population under all of the data they gather on individuals completely study. confidential and when possible, completely Done through random selection - Selection of samples in such anonymous. a way that each person in a population has an equal and ○ Debriefing - after the study has been completed, independent chance of being chosen. participants should be informed of its purpose and the Methods for Collecting Data methods that were used. Self- report (quickest, asked about some aspect of life ○ Deception - the psychologist must ensure that the through a diary, visual reports, interviews). deception will not harm the participants and that the Naturalistic Observation (real life settings) participants will be debriefed as soon as possible after Laboratory Observation (controlled setting). the study is completed. Basic Research Designs Experimental Group consist of people who are to be exposed Three Principles in Resolving Ethical Dilemmas to the experimental manipulation of Beneficence - the obligation to maximize potential treatment. benefits to participants and to minimize potential Control Group - who are similar to the experimental group but harm. do not receive the treatment. Respect - participants should be autonomous about Double blind procedures - in which neither participants nor participating and those who have diminished experiments know who is receiving the treatment and who is autonomy should be protected. instead receiving an inert placebo. Justice - the inclusion of diverse groups together with ○ Independent variables - the experimenter has direct sensitivity to any special impact the research may have on control. them. ○ Dependent variable - may or may not change as a  Amniotic cavity/amniotic sac/amnion - is a fluid filled Prenatal Development membrane that encases the developing embryo, protecting it Prenatal development occurs in three stages of Gestation. and giving it room to move and grow. Gestation is a period between conception and birth. Umbilical cord - contains two arteries and one vein, and Gestational age is the age of an unborn baby, connects the baby to the placenta. usually dated from the first day of an expectant Placenta - allows oxygen, nourishment, and wastes to pass mother’s last menstrual cycle. between the mother and embryo. Development proceeds according to two fundamental The organs and major body systems develop rapidly in a principle: process known as Organogenesis. Cephalocaudal principle (head to toe) Proximodistal principle (inwards and outwards) Severely detective embryos usually are spontaneously aborted during the firsts trimester of pregnancy Stages of Prenatal Development: The Germinal Stage Spontaneous abortion or miscarriage is the expulsion from the Fertilization to two weeks uterus of an embryo or fetus that is unable to survive outside It includes the creation of the fertilized egg, called a zygote; the womb. cell division; and the attachment of the zygote to the uterine Stillborn - Death of fetus or Baby that is born without signs of wall. life Fertilization or conception takes place to create a single cell Stillbirth - Occurence called a zygote. The zygote the duplicates itself again and again by cell The Fetal Stage division (mitosis) The appearance of the first bone cells marks the beginning of While the fertilized ovum is dividing. It travels down through this stage. During this period, the fetus grows rapidly, and the fallopian tube to the uterus or womb (3-4 days) “finishing touches” continue to develop. Blastocyst implants itself into the wall of the uterus. But before Sex is detectable three months after conception. implantation, an embryonic disk is formed, and three layers of A mother can feel the fetus is more active, showing a cells form from its ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. preference for a particular position in the womb. Likewise, a lanugo covers the body of the fetus. The Embryonic Stage At the sixth month, the fetus has a chance of surviving outside the womb, that is, it is viable. Begins after the implantation (2 to 8 weeks) During this During the seventh month, the fetus has fully developed reflex period, the rate of cell differentiation intensifies, support patterns, lanugo is gone. systems for cells form, and organs appear. In cell differentiation, the mass of cells is now called embryo. ○ Ectoderm (nervous system and brain, sensory Hazard to Prenatal Development receptors, and skin parts) The developing organism can be greatly affected by its prenatal environment, the mother’s body. ○ Mesoderm (circulatory system, bones, muscles, Teratogen is an environment agent, such as a virus, drug, or excretory system, and reproductive system) radiation, that can interfere with normal ○ Endoderm (digestive and respiratory systems) prenatal development. As the embryo’s three layers form, life support systems for embryos develop rapidly. The severity of the damage to an embryo or fetus and the type of defect depends on the dose, genetic susceptibility, and time  of exposure. Stage 1: Dilation of the cervix Prescription and nonprescription drugs can function as ○ Longest, lasting for about 12 to 24 hours. teratogens. ○ Uterine contractions are 15 to 20 minutes apart at the Psychoactive drugs such as caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, beginning cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. ○ Toward the end of the first stage, contractions occur Alcohol - fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). every 2 to 5 minutes Nicotine - sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS also known as ○ This stage lasts until the cervix is fully open (10 crib). centimeters, or about 4 inches) Incompatible blood types between the mother and father pose another risk to prenatal development. Stage 2: Descent and emergence of the baby Environmental hazards such as radiation, toxic wastes, and ○ Begins when the baby’s head starts to move through other chemical pollutants. the cervix and the birth canal. Maternal diseases and infections can produce defects in ○ Typically lasts up to an hour offspring by crossing the placenta barrier, or they can cause ○ Terminates when the baby completely emerges from damage during birth. the mother’s body. Stage 3: Expulsion of the placenta/ afterbirth Prenatal Care ○ The placenta and the remainder of the umbilical cord Ultrasound, amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, are expelled from the mother. embryoscopy, and preimplantation genetic diagnosis, umbilical cord sampling, and maternal blood tests can be used to The Newborn Baby determine whether an unborn baby is developing normally. Early, high quality prenatal care is essential for healthy The Neonatal Period: Size and development. It can lead to detection of defects and disorders Appearance and, especially if begun early and targeted to the needs of The neonatal period, the first 4 weeks of life, is a time of at-risk women, may help reduce maternal and infant death, transition from the uterus to an independent existence. low birthweight, and other birth complications. During the first few days, the neonate loses weight and regains it. The Birth Process They have distinctive features including a large head, a Birth normally occurs after a preparatory period of parturition. receding chin, and an area on their heads known as fontanels. Parturition is the act or process of giving birth. Some neonates are very hairy because of the lanugo during Typically begins 2 weeks before delivery. prenatal and almost all new babies are covered with vernix A woman may have felt false contractions known as Braxton caseosa (cheesy varnish). Hicks contractions, at times during the final months of pregnancy, or even as early as the second trimester, when the Body Systems and States of Arousal muscles of the uterus tighten for up to 2 minutes. After birth, all of the baby’s systems and functions must Real labor contractions are more frequent, rhythmic, and operate on their own. painful and they increase in frequency and intensity. During the first few days infants excrete meconium, a stringy, greenish-black waste matter formed in the fetal intestinal tract. Stages of Childbirth Three or four days after birth, about half of all babies develop  neonatal jaundice caused by the immaturity of the liver. Postmature is a fetus not yet born as of 2 weeks after the A newborn’s state of arousal is governed by periodic cycles of due date or 42 weeks after the mother’s last menstrual wakefulness, sleep and activity, which seem to be inborn and period. They tend to be long and thin. sleep takes up the major, but a diminishing, amount of a Babies who stay too long in the womb are at greater risk of neonate’s time. shoulder dystocia, meconium aspiration, low apgar scores, Newborns’ activity levels show stability and may be early brain damage, and death. indicators of temperament. ○ The baby’s greater size also complicates labor and puts the mother at higher risk of cesarean delivery, Complications of Childbirth: Low Birth Weight perineal tears, and postpartum hemorrhage. Low birth weight is a major factor in infant mortality and can cause long term physical and cognitive problems. Infancy and Toddlerhood Low birth weight babies (LBW) neonates born weighing less Physical Development than 2,500 grams (5 pounds) at birth. ○ Cephalocaudal - Top to bottom Preterm (premature) infants are babies born before the 37th ○ Proximodistal - Inner to outer week of gestation, making them smaller than a full term infant. Growth Pattern Small for date (small for gestational age) infants are babies A child grows most dramatically during the first year of life; born at or around their due dates are smaller than would be growth is rapid but diminishing rate throughout the first 3 years expected (poor nutrition) Growth pattern is influence by genes and this genetic influence Very low birthweight babies have a less promising prognosis interacts with environmental influences (nutrition; than those who weigh more. breastfeeding) Risk factors or factors increasing the likelihood that a woman The Brain will have an underweight baby include: Central Nervous System - Brain & Spinal Cord 1. Demographic and socioeconomic factors (age, poor, At birth, newborn’s brain is about 25% of its adult weight unmarried, uneducated) By age of 6, it’s almost adult size 2. Medical factors predating the pregnancy (more than Brain growth occur in fits and starts called brain growth four children, short or thin, previously low birth, uti, spurts hypertension) Different parts of the brain grow more rapidly at different times 3. Prenatal behavioral and environmental factors Brain Stem - Responsible for basic bodily functions (nutrition, prenatal care, drugs, stress) (breathing, heart rate, body temp., sleep wake cycle) 4. Medical conditions associated with pregnancy Cerebellum - Maintains balance and motor coordination Two increasingly used interventions in the neonatal intensive care Cerebrum - Largest part of the brain and is divided into two unit (NICU) are: halves or hemispheres, each with specialization functions 1. Kangaroo Care which is an intervention involving extended through lateralization. skin to skin contact Two hemispheres joined by tough band of tissue called the 2. Gentle massage may foster growth, weight, gain, motor corpus callosum activity, alertness and behavioral organization The Brain and its Major Parts ○ Occipital Lobe - smallest lobe, vision Complications of Childbirth: ○ Parietal Lobe - Integrating sensory information from Postmaturity and Stillbirth the body  ○ Temporal Lobe - Interpret smells and sounds reflexes ○ Frontal Lobe - Involved with a variety of higher-order ○ The rooting reflex - built in reaction that occurs when processes infant’s cheek is sticked or the side of the mouth is Cerebral Cortex - Governs vision, hearing, and other sensory touched information ○ The sucking reflex - automatic sucking ○ Grows rapidly in the first few months after birth and is ○ The moro reflex - response to a sudden, intense noise martyred by age of 6 months or object placed in its mouth ○ The areas of frontal cortex responsible for abstract ○ The grasping reflex - when something touches the thought, mental associations, remembering, and infant’s palms deliberate motor responses grow very little during this ○ Locomotor reflex - Such as walking and swimming period and remain immature for several years reflexes, resemble voluntary movements that do not The brain growth spurt begins at about the third trimester of appear until months after the reflexes have gestation and continues at least the 4th year of life; important disappeared to the development of neurological functioning Brain Plasticity the brain is malleable or can be modified The Brain Cells through environmental experiences Neurons or Nerve Cells, sends and receives information ○ Allows learning ○ Glia or Glial Cells nourish and protect the neurons ○ Experiences can spur brain development ○ Two types of fiber: Axons (away) and Dendrites Early Sensory Capacities (toward) Touch first sense to develop, it is the most mature sensory ○ Axons send signals and dendrites receives incoming system messages from them through synapses (tiny gaps) Smell and Taste begin to develop in the womb; newborns which are bridged with the help of chemicals learn tastes prenatally through the amniotic fluid and in breast (neurotransmitters) released by neurons milk after birth Integration - Process by which neurons coordinate the During last 2 months of pregnancy, fetus can already hear activities of muscle groups sounds and auditory discrimination develops rapidly after birth Differentiation - Process by which cells acquire specialized ○ Loudness - Infants cannot hear soft sounds structures and functions ○ Pitch - Infants are less sensitive to low-pitched sounds Cell Death - In brain development, normal elimination of ○ Localization - Even newborns can determine the excess brain cells to achieve more efficient functioning general location from which a sound is coming, but by Myelination - Process of coating neural pathways with a age of 8 months of age, they are more proficient substance called myelin that enables faster communication Hearing is key to language development, between cells hearing impairments should be identified as ○ Continues to occur rapidly throughout infancy, early as possible accelerating at 12 to 16 months, and then slowing Vision is the least developed sense at birth again from 2 to 5 weeks of age ○ Newborns cannot see small things that are far away The Brain and Reflex Behavior because their vision is estimated to be 20/240. They Reflex Behavior - Automatic, involuntary innate responses; reach an average vision of 40/60 by 6 months and their survival mechanisms visual acuity becomes 20/20 level by 8 months Reflex behaviors related to instinctive needs for survival or ○ Perceptual Constancy - Allow infants to perceive their may support connection to the caregiver are called primitive  world as stable. Sensory stimulation may change, but The Denver Developmental Screening Test - Used to chart the perception of the physical world remains constant. progress between ages 1 month and 6 years and to identify ○ Size Constancy - Recognition of an object remains the children who are not developing normally same even though the retinal image of the object ○ It measures gross motor skills and fine motor skills changes as you move toward or away from the object ○ It also assess language development and personality ○ Shape Constancy - Recognition that an object and social development remains the same shape even though its orientation to Head Control at birth, most infants can turn their heads from us changes side to side while lying on their backs ○ Perception of Occluded Objects - Ability to perceive ○ Within the first 2 to 3 months, they lift their hands an object as complete despite being partly occluded by higher and higher; sometimes to the point where they other objects that are in front of them lose their balance and roll over on their backs In the first 2 months of postnatal development, ○ By 4 months, almost all infants can keep their heads infants don’t perceive occluded objects as erect while being held or supported in a sitting position complete; instead, they perceive only what is Hand Control Babies are born with a grasping reflex visible ○ About 3 and a half month, moderate size then they Beginning at about 2 months of age, infants begin to grasp objects with one hand and transfer to develop the ability to perceive that occluded the other hand, can hold small objects but can not pick objects are whole up Infants develop the ability to track briefly ○ Between 7-11 months, their hands become coordinated occluded moving objects at about 3-5 months of enough yo use the pincer grasp age ○ By 15 months, the average baby can build a tower of Faces are possibly the most important visual two cubes stimuli in children’s social environment, and it is ○ A few months after the 3rd birthday, the average important that they extract key information from toddler can copy a circle other’s faces ○ By holding onto a helping hand or piece of furniture, Early screening is essential to detect problems the average baby can stand at a little past the age of 7 that interfere with visions, infants should be months. The average baby can let go and stand alone examined by 6 months for visual fixation well at about 11 and a half months. preference, ocular alignment, and signs of eye ○ All these developments lead up to the major motor disease. Formal vision screening should begin achievement of infancy; walking by age of 3. ○ Within a few weeks, shortly after the first birthday, the Motor Development average child is walking fairly well and thus achieves Is marked by sense of milestones: achievements that develop the status of toddler systematically, each newly mastered ability prepares a baby to ○ During the 2nd year, children begin to climb stairs one tackle the next at a time, as well as run and jump\ Systems of Action Increasingly complex combinations of ○ By age 3 and a half, most children can balance briefly motor skills, which permit a wider or more precise range of on one food and begin to hop movement and more control of the environment (e.g: an infant Motor Development and Perception learning to walk) SensoryPerception enables to infants to learn about  themselves and their environment so they can make better judgments about how to navigate in it Motor experience, together with an awareness of their changing bodies, sharpens and modifies their perceptual understanding of what is likely to happen if they move in a certain way Visual Guidance use of the eyes to guide the movement of the hands or other parts of the body Researchers realized that young infants could locate unseen objects by sound and could locate objects in the dark and by using their memory of the object’s location, even if the object was moving At 6 months of age, infants could successfully reach for objects in the dark faster than they could in the light Depth Perception the ability to perceive objects and surfaces three-dimensionally; kinetic cues Haptic Perception the ability to acquire information about properties of objects, such as size, weight, and texture by handling them