psych paper 3

Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development (1974)

Studies how children learn with and without supervision. It suggests, children develop through close proximity with a more knowledgeable one.

Strength 1

Practical application- classrooms

Allows children to learn according to their understanding

Strength 2

Brown and Palincsar (1989)

Vygotskian approach with reciprocal teaching methods in their successful program to teach reading strategies.

Weakness 1

May not apply to all types of learning as it focuses on verbal communication. Does not explore how children learn through observation.

Weakness 2

Vague explanation of internalization, though a huge part of his theory.

Weakness of using Standard Deviation

Easy to make errors in calculations, compared to the range.

Strength of Standard Deviation

Takes all data into account, more precise answer.

Improvement of study for validity

could use wider sample to increase population validity.

Improvement for ethics

anything to do with informed consent, protection of participants, right to withdraw, confidentiality

Improvement for reliability

other researchers gathering info to compare results

Random sampling technique

gathering names, picking how many researcher wants

Bowlby (1944)

Aimed to investigate the long term effects separation from mother would have on infant.

Bowlby Strength 1

clinical test gathering qualitative date so results are accurate and detailed, ecologogical validity, highlights importance of prevention of mother-child separation, empirical research,

Bowlby Weakness

researcher bias, low theoretical validity, children moved a lot, oversimplified (micheal rutner), low reliability (recalling childhood is tough), does not establish cause and effect

Bowlby improvement

control group without emotional disturbances, for clear point of comparison.

Structured Observation

made different categories, then observed children and classified them

Structured Observation Weakness

hard to keep track on all participants and decode their actions into categories (subjective interpretation)

Van iJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)

cross cultural (meta analysis) research on SSP, to investigate difference in cultures attachments

Van iJzendoorn and Kroonenberg Strength

1990 sample, generalisable

Van iJzendoorn and Kroonenberg Weakness

cultural bias, mostly western countries

Van iJzendoorn and Kroonenberg Improvement

more diverse sample

Erikson Weakness

can be subjective, no scientific way to objectively measure development, not credible

Erikson Strength

follows birth till death, unlike freud. detailed description of all stages

Cross- sectional research method

gathering specific ages and observing them

Cross-sectional research weakness

participant differences can play a part in results = participant variables

Meta analysis strength

larger amount of data

Meta analysis weakness

file drawer problem

piaget strength

application in school

piaget weakness

ignores variations in development

clinical interview procedure

asking questions (open-ended or close-ended)

clinical interview strength

gathers detailed answers if open ended

clinical interview weakness

close ended questions may not be the full answer