Question 1

Which of the following statements about debriefing is true?

Accepted Answer

Young children often lack the cognitive skills to understand the reasons for deceptive procedures, making it important to carefully consider how debriefing is conducted with them.

Question 2

Research that combines a(n) __________ strategy with a __________ approach, with the aim of augmenting development, is becoming increasingly common because it permits both correlational and causal inferences.

Accepted Answer

This combination of an experimental strategy with a longitudinal approach allows for the manipulation of variables and the observation of their effects over time, which can provide both correlational and causal inferences, making it a popular choice in developmental research.

Question 3

One limitation of microgenetic studies is that

Accepted Answer

Microgenetic studies are intensive and require frequent observations over a short period, making them difficult to carry out due to the need for detailed and continuous data collection.

Question 4

An investigator wanted to speak candidly with high school students about their use of substances. He felt that the students would be more honest if their parents were unaware that they were participating in the study. If the investigator chooses to interview the students without their parents' knowledge, he will violate which of the following children's research rights?

Accepted Answer

The violation would be of the children's right to informed consent. Without the knowledge and consent of the parents, the students are not able to make an informed decision about whether or not they want to participate in the study.

Question 5

To examine whether participants' popularity was stable or changed across the years, Dr. Cotter followed a group of children from ages 5 to 18 years. This is an example of a __________ design.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a longitudinal design, which involves following a group of individuals over an extended period of time to examine changes in behavior or development. In this case, the researcher is interested in whether participants' popularity changes as they age, so following them from ages 5 to 18 years allows for a long-term examination of this variable.

Question 6

In an effort to overcome some of the limitations of traditional developmental designs, Dr. Francisco conducted several similar cross-sectional studies at varying times. Dr. Francisco used the __________ design.

Accepted Answer

Dr. Francisco used a sequential design, which involves conducting multiple cross-sectional studies at different time points to examine developmental changes. This design allows for the examination of both age differences and age changes, while avoiding some of the limitations of longitudinal designs (e.g. attrition, practice effects, and cohort effects).

Question 7

Dr. Stamina's longitudinal study on Native American personality styles was criticized because he failed to enlist participants who adequately represented the Native American population. This limitation is known as

Accepted Answer

Biased sampling occurs when the sample used in a study is not representative of the population being studied. This was the issue with Dr. Stamina's study, as he did not enlist participants who adequately represented the Native American population. Cohort effects refer to differences between age groups, selective attrition refers to participants dropping out of a study over time, and practice effects refer to the improvement participants may experience simply from repeated exposure to a task. None of these are applicable to the limitation in Dr. Stamina's study.

Question 8

Bernadette, a participant in a longitudinal study, became quite familiar with the test over time and, as a result, her performance improved. This limitation of longitudinal research is known as

Accepted Answer

Practice effects refer to the improvement in performance of participants in a study due to familiarity with the test or task over time. This is a limitation of longitudinal research because it can affect the accuracy and generalizability of the results. The other options, biased sampling, random assignment, and cohort effects, are not directly related to this limitation.

Question 9

The ultimate responsibility for the ethical integrity of research with children lies with the

Accepted Answer

The ultimate responsibility for the ethical integrity of research involving children lies with the investigator, as they design, conduct, and report the research. While IRBs, parents, and other entities play significant roles in protecting child participants, the primary ethical responsibility rests with the investigator.

Question 10

One strength of longitudinal studies is that investigators can

Accepted Answer

Longitudinal studies allow researchers to track participants over time, which enables the examination of relationships between early and later events and behaviors. This can help to establish cause-and-effect relationships and provide a deeper understanding of development and change.

Question 11

Using the __________ design, researchers observe how developmental change occurs.

Accepted Answer

The microgenetic design involves observing participants over a short period of time while a change is occurring, allowing researchers to see the process of developmental change in detail.

Question 12

A researcher studying the effects of a certain pain reliever on children with chronic pain gave one group of children the pain medication and gave a placebo (or sugar pill) to another group of children. After the results were recorded, the placebo group did not receive real pain medication. This violates which of the following children's research rights?

Accepted Answer

The violation pertains to the right to beneficial treatments. In research, especially involving vulnerable populations like children, it's crucial that participants are not denied access to treatments that could potentially benefit them. In this scenario, the children in the placebo group were denied the real pain medication, which could have alleviated their chronic pain, thus violating their right to receive beneficial treatments.

Question 13

One advantage of the sequential design is that

Accepted Answer

Sequential design allows researchers to identify cohort effects by comparing individuals of the same age from different birth years, distinguishing it from other designs that might not control for these differences as effectively.

Question 14

A disadvantage of cross-sectional research is that

Accepted Answer

Cross-sectional research is limited in that it does not provide evidence about change at the individual level as it only provides a snapshot of a particular population at one point in time. Longitudinal research is better suited for examining individual change over time.

Question 15

Dr. Kirk wants to study sibling relationships at differing ages. Dr. Kirk has children with one or more siblings in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 complete his questionnaire. This is an example of a __________ study.

Accepted Answer

This is a cross-sectional study because Dr. Kirk is studying different age groups (grades 3, 6, 9, and 12) at one point in time.

Question 16

Cohort effects occur when

Accepted Answer

Cohort effects occur when individuals who are born at the same time experience particular cultural and historical conditions that shape their attitudes, behaviors, and perspectives. These effects may influence the outcomes of longitudinal studies that track the development of individuals over time, as different generations may have different experiences and beliefs that affect their responses to research measures. Thus, cohort effects are a type of bias that researchers need to consider when designing and interpreting longitudinal studies.

Question 17

Because participants are measured only once in the cross-sectional design, researchers need not be concerned about such difficulties as __________ and __________.

Accepted Answer

In a cross-sectional design, participants are measured at one point in time, so there is no concern about participant dropout or practice effects, which are issues in longitudinal studies where participants are measured multiple times.

Question 18

Longitudinal research can identify common patterns as well as individual differences in development because the investigator

Accepted Answer

Longitudinal research involves tracking the performance of each person over time, allowing for the identification of both common patterns and individual differences in development. Options A, B, and D do not involve tracking individual development over time.

Question 19

The most widely discussed threat to the accuracy of longitudinal findings is

Accepted Answer

Cohort effects are the most widely discussed threat to the accuracy of longitudinal findings. This refers to the impact of being born in a particular time period or generation, which can influence experiences, behaviors, and attitudes across the lifespan. Cohort effects can create bias in longitudinal studies, as differences observed over time may be due to the characteristics of the cohorts being studied rather than true developmental changes. Practice effects (A) refer to improvements in performance due to repeated testing, selective attrition (C) refers to the loss of participants from a study that is not random and may lead to biased results, and biased sampling (D) refers to the non-random selection of participants, which can also lead to biased results.

Question 20

Professor Story is interested in studying the strategies children use to acquire new knowledge in reading. The best design for Professor Story to use would be the __________ design.

Accepted Answer

A microgenetic design is ideal for studying the process of learning and development over a short period of time, and in detail. In this case, it would allow Professor Story to closely observe the strategies children use to acquire new knowledge in reading over a short period of time, such as a few weeks or months, and to examine the ways in which these strategies change and evolve as the children develop their reading skills. A longitudinal design would be better suited for studying how reading skills develop over a longer period of time, such as several years, while a cross-sectional design would compare different groups of children at a single point in time. A sequential design involves a combination of both longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches, but may not provide the same level of detail and depth as a microgenetic design.

Quiz 1: History, Theory, and Research Strategies