Exam 1: A: The Science of Child Development

In an experiment, the researcher manipulates the dependent variable and measures the independent variable.

Naturalistic observation involves observing children's behaviour in carefully controlled conditions.

A correlation coefficient of .85 indicates that two variables are positively related (e.g., children who watch many violent TV shows are more aggressive).

The null hypothesis states that a child has no knowledge of what the experimenter is expecting.

A quasi-experimental design involves random assignment of participants into groups.

Children's names should be linked with their data so that they are easy to identify.

Meta-analysis is a tool that allows researchers to synthesize the results of many studies in order to estimate relations between variables.

A strength of field experiments is that the results are more likely to be representative of behaviour in real-world settings than results obtained in a laboratory.

One strength of longitudinal studies is that they allow researchers to chart an individual's development.

Research participants do not need to be told if deception is part of an experiment.

Children are not legally capable of giving informed consent to participate in research, therefore their parents or guardians must be asked for consent as well.

A strength of correlational research is that investigators can examine relationships between variables as they exist naturally in the world.

Joseph is interested in studying political attitudes of Canadian adolescents. He collects information from 500 high school students in Toronto. These students are the population he is interested in.

A researcher wanted to study the growth rates of infants in Canada. He collects information from 120 infants at a very expensive day care centre in a wealthy neighbourhood in Vancouver. This constitutes a representative sample of the population he is interested in.