Research Program Steps and Designs

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Strengths and weaknesses of research designs

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Identifying and evaluating the pros and cons of various research designs.

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Strengths and weaknesses of lab studies, self-report, and observational methods

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Comparing and analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of lab studies, self-report, and observational methods.

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Developmental Psychology

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Study of how people stay consistent and change over time.

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Cognitive Development

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Study of thinking, knowing, reasoning, and processing. Key areas include object representation, visual and auditory processing, language, categorization, memory, executive function, and academic skills.

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Longitudinal designs

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Follows individuals over a period of time; observes changes/continuities at regular intervals. Usually completed within-subjects, but there are exceptions.

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Images showing a sample of 30 children at ages 1, 2, and 3, measuring spatial play over time.

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Illustrates the concept of longitudinal designs by tracking the same group of children over three years to observe changes in spatial play.

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Longitudinal Pros

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- Captures development within individuals (intraindividual) - Allows us to unpack how development happens

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Longitudinal Design Cons

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- Time consuming, expensive, more difficult - Tests/measurements may become obsolete/outdated - Attrition - Repeated testing - Age cannot be disentangled from time (e.g., 5-year-olds tested in 2014 and 15-year-olds tested in 2024)

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Cross-sectional designs

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Compares individuals of different ages on a behavior, ability, or characteristic; all studied at the same time.

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Between-subjects

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A type of research design where different groups are compared.