2.1: Research Methods in Lifespan Development - What Will You Learn?

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In infant monkey being held by its mother - nursing.

Developmental psychologists expand our understanding of human development by asking questions of non-human animals - and humans of all ages. How do we ask questions of an infant monkey - or a newborn human? This image of an infant monkey nursing has been chosen as it relates to an important topic in development and a specific series of studies. The topic is attachment - the bond that forms between an infant and a caregiver. We'll discuss how attachment has been studied in animals (primarily, studies of contact comfort in infant monkeys like the one shown here), how the quality of the attachment is measured in children (using what we call the "strange situation"), and whether or not early attachment has been shown to relate to how we turn out later in life.

Photo by Malthi Baddela on Unsplash

After reading "Research Methods in Lifespan Development ", you should be able to:

Discuss the various methods used to study development across the lifespan, noting the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
Explain what conclusions can and can't be made when using correlational data.
Recognize the elements of an experiment.
Identify the challenges associated with conducting developmental research.

A woman in a labcoat examines something with a microscope.

Photo by Trust "Tru" Katsande on Unsplash