Conducting Research in Developmental Psychology
A Topical Guide for Research Methods Utilized Across the Lifespan

This comprehensive guide offers a rich introduction to research methods, experimental design and data analysis techniques in developmental science, emphasizing the importance of an understanding of this area of psychology for any student or researcher interested in examining development across the lifespan.

The expert contributors enhance the reader?s knowledge base, understanding of methods, and critical thinking skills in their area of study. They cover development from the prenatal period to adolescence and old age, and explore key topics including the history of developmental research, ethics, animal models, physiological measures, eye-tracking, and computational and robotics models. They accessibly explore research measures and design in topics including gender identity development, the influence of neighborhoods, mother-infant attachment relationships, peer relationships in childhood, prosocial and moral development patterns, developmental psychopathology and social policy, and the examination of memory across the lifespan. Each chapter ends with a summary of innovations in the field over the last ten years, giving students and interested researchers a thorough overview of the field and an idea of what more is to come.

Conducting Research in Developmental Psychology is essential reading for upper-level undergraduate or graduate students seeking to understand a new area of developmental science, developmental psychology, and human development. It will also be of interest to junior researchers who would like to enhance their knowledge base in a particular area of developmental science, human development, education, biomedical science, or nursing.

Preface

List of Contributors

1. A Century of Research in Child Development: The Emergence of a New Science

John W. Hagen, Carly A. Lasagna, and Sherri E. Packett

2. Overimitation across Development: The Influence of Individual and Contextual Factors

Bruce Rawlings, Natália Dutra, Cameron Turner, and Emma Flynn

3. Ethics in Developmental Research

Diana J. Meter and Marion K. Underwood

4. Prenatal Animal Models of Behavioral Development

Gale A. Kleven and Seanceray A. Bellinger

5. Physiological and Behavioral Research Methods across Prenatal and Infant Periods

Nancy Aaron Jones and Krystal D. Mize

6. Studying Perceptual Development in Infancy

Fabrice Damon, Nicholas J. Minar, And Anne Hillairet De Boisferon

7. Studying Children’s Verb Learning across Development

Jane B. Childers, Sneh Lalani, Blaire Porter, Sophia Arriazola, Priscilla Tovar-Perez, and Bibiana Cutilletta

8. Developmental Robotics for Language Learning

Angelo Cangelosi and Matthew Schlesinger

9. Attachment Theory and Research in a Developmental Framework

Patricia Crittenden and Susan Spieker

10. Social Ecological Influences: The Role of Residential Neighborhoods in the Development of Children and Youth

Margaret O’brien Caughy*

11. Measuring Peer Relationships During Childhood: Exploring the Benefits of Using Peer Nominations

Christopher D. Aults

12. Gender Identity Development

Madhavi Menon and Sara M. Gorman

13. Methodological Issues in Cross-Cultural Research on Prosocial and Moral Development

Gustavo Carlo and Sahitya Maiya

14. Translational Science: Developmental Psychopathology and Social Policy

Ross A. Thompson

15. Methodological Considerations in Collaborative Memory and Aging Research

Michelle L. Meade, Summer R. Whillock, and Katherine M. Hart

Index

*Dr. Tammy Leonard contributed the activities/supplemental materials that are a part of this chapter and included on the Taylor and Francis website.

Nancy Aaron Jones, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, the FAU Brain Institute and the Center for Complex Systems, Florida Atlantic University, US. Her research focuses on the integration of infant brain and emotional development in the family system, particularly in the context of maternal mood disorders.

Melannie Platt, Ph.D., is a researcher and instructor at Florida Atlantic University, US. Her main research interests include emotional development, social and emotional learning, and relationships in early childhood.

Krystal D. Mize, Ph.D., is an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience at Florida Atlantic University, US. Her primary interest is in the correlates and determinants of non-optimal and optimal emotional and social development across the lifespan.

Jillian Hardin, Ph.D., is a psychology researcher and adjunct instructor at Florida Atlantic University, US. Her main research interest is how early experiential factors influence bio-behavioral development and later functioning.