Exploring Developmental Psychology Understanding Theory and Methods

includes index and biblioraphy

1. The Nature of Development .................1 Transformational and Variational Change ...............2 A developmental Systems perspective .............3 The epigenetic landscape and Beyond ..............4 Are there stages in Development ........8 Linear and non-Linear Change ..........9 Information processing approaches ............10 Training studies ...........14 Variation across tasks ..........15 Investigating developmental change......16 2. Exploring development .......18 Task Simplification ......18 Reliability and Validity ..........20 Longitudinal Designs and Individual Differences .....23 The Microgenetic Method........24 Ethical Issues in Developmental Psychology Research.......26 Evaluating research Studies .........27 3. Observational Method and Questionnaires ......29 Observing Behaviour ........29 Field Observation ..........30 Observation in a Controlled Environment .......31 Longitudinal Observation in a Controlled Environment ............51 4. Experimental Research with infants and Toddlers .....113 The habituation /dishabituation paradigm ........114 Intermodal Preferential Looking ..........125 Visual Fixations to Targents ........146 5. Experimental Studies of Older Children ........179 Cross Sectional Studies ...........179 6. Exploring Atypical Development ........250