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Child behavior research paper
Research methodologies for child development
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The Role of Methodology in Developmental Research
Developmental psychology may be defined as a branch psychology devoted
to understanding all changes that human beings, experience throughout
the lifespan (Berk. E. L 2003). Developmental psychology focuses
hugely on development in childhood, as major changes occur in
childhood, it is the scientific study of ‘how we grow and develop’,
(Davenport 1994). Developmental psychology aims to understand the
important aspects of cognition, socialisation, emotional development,
and personality development through childhood to adulthood.
‘Researchers are captivated by and want to understand the fascinating,
complex, and often surprising arrays of behaviours children display.’
(Bukatko and Daehler 2004).
It can be argued that methodology plays a significant role in
developmental psychology. Psychologists argue the importance of
methodology in developmental psychology; Bukatko and Daehler (2004),
claim that ‘collecting data about children is essential, and a
rewarding aspect of scientific developmental psychology, and being
well grounded in research technique is important’.
Thompson, (1996, p. 69) quotes; ‘To me research is discovery: an
odyssey of surprises, confirmations, and unexpected twists and turns
that contribute to the excitement of research career…The excitement of
a research career is that the story told by the data is always more
interesting and provocative than even the most thoughtful theories
allow, and this means that the scientist must be instructed by the
lessons revealed by unexpected research findings- while maintaining
humility about her or his capacity to predict ...
... middle of paper ...
...which all researchers must be familiar with, apply to all
adults in participation of research.
Critical analysis of the common methodology widely used within
developmental research, provides profound findings in developmental
psychology. The wide scope of interest in human behaviour and
patterns of change requires the necessity of research through such
methodological techniques. Every method focuses on a particular aspect
of developmental psychology, and is selected accordingly by
researchers. Much emphasise is placed on the use of methodology in
developmental psychology, and its critical essentiality.
References
An introduction to child development, 2nd ed G.C.Davenport. (1994)
Child Development, 6th ed, Laura E. Berk (2003)
Child Development, A Thematic Approach, 5th ed, Bukatko and Daehler.
(2004)
Slater, A., and Muir, D., (1998). The Blackwell Reader in Developmental Psychology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd.
All theories are research-based, and all investigation is centred on interacting with children and interviewing people involved in their lives, trying to understand the child’s view of the world. Childhood studies recognize that every child is different and socially constructed, influenced by external factors, such as cultural and social constituents.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be presented in a pyramid, featuring the most basic and necessary needs for survival in the bottom levels. The hierarchy of needs says that we must fulfil our needs in a particular order; the lowest level must be fulfilled first before being able to move up the pyramid.
1. "Psychoanalytic Theories of Development." Psychology - Complete Guide to Psychology for Students, Educators & Enthusiasts. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. .
Developmental theories are broken up into two perspectives; Life-course, and Latent Trait. These perspectives may answer questions on why juveniles have grown to lead a destructive life-style and why others grow out of their delinquency. Latent trait explains that some tendencies we are may be born with and how important it is to be there for our children. Our parenting skills do have a profound effect on how our children may lack self control or have an impulsive behavior.
The field of developmental psychology is always being questioned and therefore expanded. Thousands of renowned psychologists have contributed to this process, two of which being Erik Erikson and Lawrence Kohlberg. They both left a hand print on the large and expanding wall of psychology; however they dabbled in very different aspects of development. Their similarities and differences aid in the determination of which gave more to the field of developmental psychology and in doing so gave more to the institution of psychology as a whole.
Development is defined as the process of change, a pattern that occurs from birth throughout the lifespan of the individual (Keenan and Evans, 2009). In the UK it is usual to cover child development between birth and nineteen years. Development is often categorised into different areas of development; physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social. Smidt (2006) suggested that all areas of development are interrelated. Therefore development has to be approached with a holistic view; whilst looking at one area of development all areas of development need to be considered. "The holistic ideology values the whole child understanding the young child as an individual within the context of his or her family, community and culture” Wood (1998). With this in mind practitioners need to be aware of a child’s background. Children usually progress through a set pattern of stages, unless a child has additi...
Child Development is a well organised and user friendly pedagogical book. Santrock says, “This book is about children’s development – its universal features, its individual variations, its nature at the beginning of the twenty-first century.”
All of these behavioral/learning theorists have made huge progress in understanding the psychology of human development through a rigid set of principles, through research, observation, and behavior modification experiments. One may be put off by the unyielding denial of cognitive processes in behavior and the relationship to development. To be sure, many theories and theorists have made progress in bridging the gap between behavior and environment only theories, and cognitive theories. One should not lose sight that all of these major theorists have made valuable contributions to our views of human development, including these unwavering behaviorists.
To gain my secondary information I used such sources as the Internet, books and midwifery journals. My secondary information will consist of the benefits of breast-feeding for the mother and baby, the benefits of bottle-feeding for the mother and baby as well as statistics on breast-feeding. All information that I have gained for my secondary data is all reliable, because it has come from recommended sites, books and journals that have been approved from the Government or from hospitals and doctors themselves.
Shaffer, D., Kipp, K., Wood, E., & Willoughby, T. (2010). Developmental psychology childhood and adolescence. (3rd ed.). USA: Thomson Wadsworth
As part of my research methods assignment, I have been asked to carry out a reading to identify and discuss different research methods in two different research studies and provide a critical and literary review of the same articles. The first text is called “Women in the Boardroom: Symbols and Substance?” .This paper proposes if women and minorities add a valuable new perspective that results in an enhanced corporate performance. The second is called “Knife crime statistics”. This paper summarises the available statistics that relate to knife crime.
Wood, A. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2007). Child development: The world of psychology.
Child psychology, also known as child development, is the study of psychological growth of children; how these mechanisms develop from infancy to adolescence and why they deviate from one child to the next. Child development is associated with biological, psychological, and emotional diversity that occur in humans. Although there is a different advancement for each child, these developmental changes may be greatly determined by genetic factors and experience during prenatal life. The early years of a child’s life are very important for his or her health and development. Parents, health professionals, educators, and others can work together as partners to help children grow up to reach their full potential.
This research paper explains what developmental psychology is, how it is applicable and understand how it applies in the life. For this reason, the benefits of developmental psychology obtain the knowledge of human development. In addition, human development acquires several changes and processes in our bodies that will be known even through the years. Also, a developer persists that apart the life and how humans may become indifference aspects of human evolutionary development. Then, human development produces the different stages of various changes depending on a character.