---
UoM: PSYC10211 Introduction to Developmental Psychology
---

## 1. Naturalistic Observation

Naturalistic observation is a research method where researchers observe and record behavior in natural settings without any intervention or manipulation.

**Strengths:**
- **Good ecological validity** - Observations occur in real-world settings
- **Similar to "real-life"** - Behavior is studied in its natural context
- **Can be used to study a range of behavior** - Versatile method applicable to various behaviors and settings

**Limitations:**
- **Hard to identify causal relationships** - With so many variables present, it's difficult to determine which ones specifically influence the behavior of interest
- **Painstaking to administer** - Many behaviors occur only occasionally in everyday environments, reducing researchers' opportunities to study them through this method
## 2. Interviews

**Strengths:**
- **Allows full focus on the individual's behavioral pattern** - Provides in-depth understanding of individual cases
- **Follow-up questions can clarify earlier responses** - Enables deeper exploration and clarification of ambiguous responses
  - *Example:*
    - Experimenter: When Freddy said "Oh great!", did he mean it was nice or nasty?
    - Child: Nasty.
    - Experimenter: How do you know that?

**Limitations:**
- **Can be difficult to generalize beyond the individual case** - Findings may not be representative of broader populations
- **Can be difficult to generate a causal argument** - Limited ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships
- **Accuracy concerns** - Potential issues with recall bias, social desirability bias, or misinterpretation of responses

## 3. Experiments

The experimental method involves systematically changing one or more factors (independent variables) to determine whether these changes affect one or more other factors (dependent variables).

**Strengths:**
- **Can directly test relationships between variables** - Allows researchers to establish cause-and-effect relationships
- **Experimental control is relatively easy** - Researchers can manipulate independent variables and control extraneous variables
- **High internal validity** - Ensures that nothing besides the independent variable can affect the dependent variable
- **Random assignment** - Participants have equal chance of being exposed to each level of the independent variables 

**Limitations:**
- **"Artificial" technique** - May lack ecological validity unless using naturalistic experiments
- **Sometimes not possible due to ethical issues** - Certain manipulations may be unethical to implement
- **Practical constraints** - Some research questions cannot be tested experimentally
- **External validity concerns** - Results may not generalize to other situations and people
