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100 Best Child Development Research Topics for 2023

If you need to write a research paper about child development, you probably already know that finding great child development research topics is a very difficult task. In fact, it can sometimes take you days to find a good topic to write an interesting essay on. Fortunately, we have a list of research topics in child development that will help you immensely. Remember, all our topics are free to use. You can use them as they are or reword them. To help as many students as possible, we are constantly updating the list. You can easily find fresh topics for 2022 right here.

Having Trouble Finding Topics in Child Development?

Of course, you can try to find topics in child development on various websites. The problem is that most of those topics are years old. Furthermore, most of those child development research paper topics have been used by students over and over again. Your professor is probably bored of reading the same essays every semester, don’t you think?

To make sure you get a top grade on your essay, you need to find original, highly interesting topics. You need research topics for child development that are relevant for the scientific community today. Just pick one of our topics and start writing your essay in minutes.

Easy Child Development Topics

If you are looking from some easy topics so that you don’t have to spend much time writing the essay, you might want to take a look at our awesome easy child development topics:

Describe 3 important child development theories
Define childhood development
Talk about the Vygotsky Theory.
What are childcare centers?
Are children more intelligent than adults?
Music and its benefits for child development.

Child Development Essay Topics for College

Of course, college students should pick topics that are more advanced than those picked by high school attendees. Take a look at some interesting child development essay topics for college students:

Child Abuse Prevention programs and how they work.
Discuss Children Services in relation to child development
How does a divorce affect the development of children?
Analyzing the moral development stages
Domestic violence effects on child development
Three best parenting styles and why they work
Special needs of differently-abled children

Controversial Topics Child Development

Child development is, of course, filled with controversial ideas, theories and practices. You may want to talk about some of them, so here are some controversial topics child development ideas:

The best parenting model.
Family conflict hinders proper child development.
Does obesity affect child development?
Does race affect child development?
Are siblings important at all?
Imaginary friends can be a problem.

Best Research Topics on Child Development

Nobody knows what your professor likes or dislikes better than you do. However, we believe the following list of ideas contains some of the best research topics on child development:

Coronavirus lockdown and its effects on children.
Peers’ influence on child development.
Children understand life through play.
A green environment and its effects on children.
Describe the 4 types of parenting.
Diet and its role on child development.
How important is his family for a small child?

ADHD Child Development Topics

ADHD is a disorder that affects a growing number of children worldwide. It goes without saying that picking one of our ADHD child development topics will surely surprise your professor:

What is Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
Discuss the main causes of ADHD.
Incidence rate of ADHD in small children.
The challenges of ADHD for parents.
Special needs of children suffering from ADHD.
In-depth analysis of therapy methods.
Can ADHD be cured in the 21st century?

Interesting Topics Related to Child Development

Are you looking for the most interesting topics related to child development? Here is the list of what our ENL writers consider to be the most intriguing things to talk about in 2022:

Games that stimulate child development
Does poverty affect the development of children?
Tech and its effects of child development.
Do imaginary friends play a role?
Child development and its effects on the person’s entire life
Why are children often more creative than adults?

Child Development Psychology Topics

But what if you want to talk about psychology? The good news is that we have several original child development psychology topics that you can choose from right now for free:

What are the five stages of psychological development?
An in-depth look at the mental development of children.
Improving mental growth: best practices.
Lack of attention and its effects.
Behavioral psychology of autistic children.
Society is changing the psychology of our children.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Difficult Child Development Topics for Research

Are you looking for a challenge? Do you want to test your ability to write a complex academic paper on a difficult subject? Just pick one of these difficult child development topics for research and start writing:

The coronavirus pandemic and its effects on child development.
Eliminating dyslexia with novel child development techniques.
Best way to develop your child’s language skills.
Eliminating autism with novel child development techniques.
The minimum time that you should spend with your child.
3 best games for child mental growth.

Current Topics in Child Development

Of course, your professor is most interested in new and exciting research. This is why it is generally a great idea to pick a current topic to write about. Here are some of the best current topics in child development:

COVID-19 anxiety in small children.
Advancements in children cognitive development.
Latest social development techniques.
The link between psychical and physical development
What are developmental milestones?
Solving behavioral issues correctly.
Link between play and social skills.
Best methods to cure autism in 2022. Check out more autism research topics .

Child Mental Health Development Paper Ideas

Interested in writing about the mental health development of children of all ages? We have some very good news for you. We have a list of child mental health development paper ideas you will find most intriguing:

The effects of divorce on small children
The effects of the death of a parent on small children
The effects of family violence on child development
The effects of substance abuse on children
The effects of mono parental families on small children
The effects of financial insecurity on children
The effects of sleep disorders on the development of a child

Child Development Project Topics

Are you looking for an original project idea? Our team managed to create a list of 100% original child development project topics just for you:

Talking and its effects on child development.
Analyze the impact of sports on child development.
Poor dieting and its negative effects.
Technology effects on small children.
Are books important for small children?
Positive social relations and their effect on toddlers.
Is Internet exposure recommended?

Psychology Research Topics on Child Development

Researching the psychology of child development can be a very difficult thing to do. However, if you think you are up to the task, pick one of these great psychology research topics on child development:

Define the term “sociocultural theory”
The 4 stages of psychological development.
Analyzing the main psychological processes of children.
In-depth analysis of child psychology.
Does your children need to see a psychologist?
The science behind understanding child emotions.
Deviant behavior in small children.

Early Child Development Topics

Talking about infants and toddlers can be very interesting, especially if you manage to find a great topic. Choose one of these early child development topics and start writing your paper right away:

Stages of toddler mental development.
How much time should you spend with your small child?
The importance of socialization.
Games to play with your toddler.
Is play important for early child development?
Infant vs. toddler: the similarities.
When does the ego first appear?

Topics About the Stages of Childhood Development

Are you interested in talking about the various stages of childhood development? You are certainly in luck today. We have just added these topics about the stages of childhood development to our list:

What are the 5 stages of child development?
What defines a newborn?
Describe the transition between a newborn to an infant.
Child development stages: the toddler.
Preschool and school age children: key differences

Latest Child Development Paper Topics

It’s difficult to keep up with science, we know. Here are the latest child development paper topics you may want to write about:

Genetics effect on child development.
Social media effects on children.
Pollution effects on the development of children.
Social insecurity effects.
Good sleep and its benefits.
Preschool programs are improving emotional skills.
The science of childhood development.

Need More Child Development Topics for Papers?

But what if you want more than these interesting topics in child development? In case you need a list of original, well thought of topics, we have the perfect solution. Our experienced academic writers can put together a list of new child development topics for papers in no time. And the best part is that only you will get the new list. So, if you need dozens of child development research topics that nobody else thought of yet, you need our help. If you need a custom thesis , we can also help you. Don’t hesitate to get in touch, even during the night.

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40 creative child development research paper topics.

Child development research topics are not so common as compared to others types of writing ideas. As such, students seeking such prompts have to dig deeper to find one or two that would match their specifications. However, this task is not easy, and most students would give up way before they start. That is why we have developed a professional list of child development topics for high school and college students.

What Is A Child Development Research Paper?

It is a field that specializes in exploring how children grow and change in the course of childhood. It uses theories that center on child development, such as emotional, social, and cognitive growth. Child development is considered one of the wealthiest areas of study, with quite a low number of research papers done on it.

Studying child development is necessary as it has direct implications on the long-term state of the child in the end. Some of the aspects that child development will handle include school attainment, future opportunities, and the child’s earning potential. Therefore, it would be improper to avoid taking such a subject.

How To Write Child Development Papers

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty of such a paper, it is essential to understand the importance. A child development paper will help set the foundation for the children’s lifelong health, learning, and behavior. In other words, it will help shape our understanding of early childhood stages that will impact the child in the future.

Some of the areas of development in a child will include:

Social, personal and emotional development Physical development Literacy skills Understanding the world around them Communication and language

Therefore, if you want a top-rated child development research paper, start with these simple steps:

Conduct thorough research on various aspects of child development
Brainstorm with your friends, teachers, or experts
Understand the audience you are writing for
Make sure that the writing ideas are meaningful

You can identify world-class topics for a child development paper through:

Reputable online sources,
The UNICEF website
TV shows that involve children
Talks and symposiums on child development

Through these, you will come up with unique and researchable child development topics for papers.

Are you stuck right now on where to start? Below is a list of reputable writing ideas that will offset your paper. Give them a try and see the results!

Interesting Early Childhood Education Research Paper Topics

Stages that children pass through in their early years of development
Diseases that are common to children under five years old
Key cognitive aspects of early childhood development
The impact of the environmental factors in the development of a child
How television, videos, and games shape a child during his developmental years
How children develop ego and self-centeredness in their early years of growth
Why parents should always be by the side of their children during early years
The role of caregivers in child development at early stages

Early Childhood Education Research Paper Topics For College Students

How often should a mother be close to their children in their early years?
Factors that facilitate mental development for children
How noise-induced hearing loss affects children
Essential nutrients for premature children
The impact of social interaction during early years of a child
Discuss the various development aspects during the prenatal stage
The role of early childhood life in shaping their adult life
Why play is essential during the early stages of child development

Accessible Child Psychology Research Paper Topics

The implications of a child growing in a technology environment
How the coronavirus pandemic has shaped child psychology
The role of a psychologist in the early stages of child development
The implication of the COVID-19 lockdowns and quarantine on child psychology
Why attention is necessary for children in their early development stages
Effective monitors for the psychological development of children
The role of music in child psychology development
The effects of birth disorders in child psychological development

Hot Research Topics On Child Development

The impact of bullying on child development
How to analyze behavioral child development aspects
The significant role of proper nutrition in child development
How to identify genius children from birth
How to explain the connection between a mother and a child
The impact of genes in the development of a child
How a particular community will affect a child’s development
The implication of celebrating birthdays on child development

First-Class Research Topics On Children

How to deal with childhood trauma
The effects of single families on child development
At what stage should parents start teaching core skills to their children?
The role of family doctors in child development
Toxic events that may impact a child’s development
Implications of divorce on children
How low income affects children development
Effects of graphic violence through animations on child development

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315 Child Development Research Topics & Essay Examples

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African American Girl Development Psychology essay sample: Understanding the developmental processes and psychology associated with child development is crucial in elaborating the needs of children at different stages of life.
Cognitive Abilities Development of Children Psychology essay sample: The role of parents during the young stages of children has significant implications on the development of cognitive abilities and social structures.
Child Development and Learning - Developmental Psychology Psychology essay sample: This is a summary of 3 articles that go on the topics of human intellectual development, early childhood programs and developmentally appropriate academics.
Infancy and Early Childhood Development - Psychology Psychology essay sample: Infancy refers to the period when a human being is aged between 1 and 12 months. Infancy is marked by rapid physical growth, which aids an infant’s new abilities.
Children' Playing Concept - Psychology Psychology essay sample: Playing makes children active. It makes children engage their whole bodies and explore their surroundings with all senses.
Children Behavior Changes Psychology essay sample: This paper improves the understanding on family dynamics that help in understanding the model of transition and child adjustment.
The Effects of Nurseries on the Children Development Psychology essay sample: This study explores the effects of nurseries on the development of children between two and three years old. The quantitative research design was used to answer the research questions.
Personality: Attachment Theory Psychology essay sample: This paper is a comprehensive research on the developmental theory of personality specifically the attachment theory. Attachment theory is the common theory about infant and mother relationship.
How Television Can Affect Children in a Positive Way? Psychology essay sample: Many suppose that rather than watching television, children ought to focus on essential issues like studying, sports, and other activities that help in physical and intellectual growth.
Middle Childhood Cognitive Development and Learning Psychology essay sample: Explanations of the normal growth have been postulated by many theorists. Growth and development in early life is usually described in three main stages.
Infant Cognitive Development Stages Psychology essay sample: Each of four stages introduced by Piaget is characterized by the changes in the development of intellect and the mechanisms of cognition.
Educative Toys' Role in Child Development Psychology essay sample: The purpose of the study is to affirm the hypothesis that educative toys enhance child development and education. The toys should be given to children according to their age and grade.
Psychology: Middle Childhood Development Psychology essay sample: This paper focuses on highlighting some of the hereditary and environmental factors that affect physical, cognitive, and social development in the middle childhood stage.
Peers' and Parents' Role in Child's Development Psychology essay sample: This paper provides detailed information on the influence of parents, peers, and other people in the development of a child process.
Young Children’s Play and Environment Psychology essay sample: The essay proves that whereas children’s play in early childhood is free and innocent, it`s influenced by some factors that not only define and shape it but also make it complex.
Children and Adolescent Development Process Psychology essay sample: The case studies presented are for children or adolescents in school, who develop problems and need intervention. This analysis will integrate case studies and use scholarly research.
Child Observation with Piaget's and Freud's Development Theories Psychology essay sample: Jean Piaget developed his cognitive-developmental theory based on the idea that children actively construct knowledge as they explore and manipulate the world around them.
Child's Behavior and Developmental Stage Psychology essay sample: The behavior of children at any developmental stage is similar across cultures. The paper analyzes the behavior and the developmental stage of a 9-years child.
Pets for Children: Developmental Psychology Study Psychology essay sample: The study of the characteristics of child development is the area of psychology that provides for assessing various aspects, including cognitive, socio-emotional factors.
Child Development: Ages One Through Three Psychology essay sample: Babies need high amounts of glucose in order for their brains to properly develop as well as fat in order to help stimulate proper growth and development.
Childhood Stages and Development Psychology essay sample: The dynamic systems theory of motor development states that a child’s maturation is tied to the development of gross and fine motor skills.
Why Play Is Essential in Cognitive Development Psychology essay sample: The paper is aimed to prove that playing is not an inconsequential activity for children cause it has a pivotal role in their cognitive development.
Growth and Development as a Journey Children Go Through Psychology essay sample: Developmental researchers have unearthed a wealth of information on how human beings go through the life span in terms of various developmental aspects
How Does Autism Affect the Emotional Development of Children? Psychology essay sample: Discussion of emotional characteristics of autistic children, range of autistic emotional development, supporting emotional development autistic children, treatments.
Autism and Emotional Development of Children Psychology essay sample: Parents are considered as the prime carers and educators of their children as well as the major providers of special, love, care, and attention that is normally given to autistic people.
Human Cognitive Development Psychology essay sample: Human cognitive development was described in a number of theories, and one of the major contemporary issues in developmental psychology is sociocultural influences on the progress of human mind through the life span.
Child Development: The Attachment Theory Psychology essay sample: The process of child development starts with infant-mother interrelation being the background of human inner world formation.
Theory of Attachment In Adult Psychology essay sample: Attachment development is a behavioral control system that is formed over time when affective, cognitive, and learning abilities are affected by the attachment to a caregiver.
Importance of Outdoor Play on Development of Children Psychology essay sample: The research study examines the importance of outdoor play on process of learning, physical improvement, cooperative ability and many other aspects of the child’s development.
Cognitive Development Theories in Personal Example Psychology essay sample: Cognitive theories analyze the qualitative and quantitative mental capabilities that occur during cognitive development that are divided into four stages.
Play for Young Children Types and Values Psychology essay sample: This research paper will discuss the various types and values of play for young children and how they help in impacting positive values in the children.
Development of the Cognitive Process Psychology essay sample: The process of cognitive development involves various changes in the thinking process, which begin at infancy and improve progressively as an individual develops.
Human Growth and Development Psychology essay sample: This paper seeks to determine the number of principles that briefly characterize human Growth and development.
Psychology. Ecological System Theory Psychology essay sample: Literature in early childhood is on the increasing end due to the early experiences and recognition of theories supporting human development.
How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime Psychology essay sample: Being a teacher requires a specific set of communication skills, and improving these skills could positively affect parent-teacher relationships.
Impact of Early Childhood Experience on the Development of the Personality Psychology essay sample: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of impact of early childhood on the life of a human and compare it to other youthful stages.
Professional Preparation: Promoting Child Development Psychology essay sample: The purpose of the present paper is to identify and explore one of the NAEYC early childhood professional preparation standards to enhance one’s knowledge in the field.
Childhood to Adulthood Developmental Analysis : Personal Experiences Psychology essay sample: In today's technology world, it takes longer for youths to gain adequate training, get employment, and become financially independent.
On the Formation of Prosocial Behavior in Children Psychology essay sample: This article discusses the importance of the environment in shaping prosocial behavior and the impact of the environment on interactions between children.
Physical Education Impact on Child Development Psychology essay sample: Inadequate physical activity hampers psychosocial health in children and elevates the risk of cardiometabolic disorders.
Preschool Program for Children from Birth to Eighteen Months Psychology essay sample: The main thing that infants demand during the period from birth to eighteen months is the adult's attention for emotional, social, and cognitive development.
Usage-Based Approach to Determine the Theory of Mind in Infants Psychology essay sample: Theory of mind (ToM) is the psychological explanation of the intellectual abilities that facilitate the understanding that other people have desires, plans, beliefs, and hopes.
Behavior Problems of Middle Childhood by Peterson Psychology essay sample: This document is intended to provide a critical review of a journal article, Behavior problems of middle childhood, authored by Donald Peterson of the University of Illinois.
Day Care and Child Mental Health/Cognitive Functioning Psychology essay sample: The study partially supported the hypothesis that early parental employment has a positive effect on children's development by increasing family income.
The Child Growth and Development Psychology essay sample: Children play an active role in such areas as self-understanding and self-efficacy. Childhood experiences have a significant impact on mental and social development.
Children Are Not Born With Prejudices - They Learn Them Psychology essay sample: Children tend to mimic the behavior, habits, and communication models from their caregivers, which consequently shape the child’s personal beliefs and character.
Middle and Late Childhood Developmental Needs Psychology essay sample: A child's mental, behavioral, and social developmental outcomes, as well as physical health, are determined by socioeconomic circumstances.
Early Childhood Sleep: Its Types and Consistent Routine Psychology essay sample: Sleep in early childhood begins the process of remodeling learned memories, which may be sufficient to provide short-term benefits in regulating mood and emotions.
Resilience After Trauma: From Surviving to Thriving Psychology essay sample: Resilience may be seen as minimized anguish from a stressful situation and the ability to manage a stressful ordeal with a lowered impact on a person's daily life and development.
How Culture Influences a Child’s Development Psychology essay sample: The goal of this paper is to analyze the role of culture as one of the main sources of influence on a child’s early development.
Classical Music in Children’s Development and Behavior Psychology essay sample: Western classical music, often referred to as simply classical music, is often considered highly beneficial to children’s education and associated with a variety of advantages.
The Impact of Dyslexia on Child Development Psychology essay sample: A society that views a person who has dyslexia as ordinary will also encourage the person to see themselves the same way.
Personal and Social Development of Children Psychology essay sample: Bringing up children and fostering their personal and social development is a complicated process requiring significant efforts from their parents and caregivers.
How Stress Affects Child Brain Development Psychology essay sample: Stress is an unavoidable and important part of any child’s life. Depending on how significant it is it can have a positive or negative effect on the child’s development.
Developmental Psychology: Early Childhood and Infancy Stages Psychology essay sample: The essay concerns the two stages of child and adolescent psychological development, considering the value of play, attachment, and bonding during these years.
Physical and Cognitive Development of Early Childhood Psychology essay sample: Before the age of six, the brain's growth continues, the development of the frontal lobes, which allows children to acquire the ability to control attention by school age.
Developmental Assessment of School-Aged Children Psychology essay sample: This essay discusses the physical assessment of school-aged children and typical developmental stages for children of this age.
Human Development: Preschool Children Psychology essay sample: The rate of development during the preschool years is contingent on both hereditary and environmental factors.
Analysis of Go-Go Caterpillar and Its Influence on Development Psychology essay sample: Go Caterpillar is a toy designed for toddlers aged from 9 months to approximately three years. The toy is not gender-specific, so it is equally suitable for girls and boys.
Child Birth and Development in Infancy Psychology essay sample: Physical and cognitive development in such an essential period of human life as infancy is critical to the quality of people’s lives.
Child Language Development Discussion Psychology essay sample: Language development is a course during which a child learns to communicate and understand speech during childhood.
The Analysis of the School-Aged Children’ Needs Psychology essay sample: School-aged children lack the knowledge about bodies and have limited capacity to evaluate the serious consequences of a particular illness or injury.
Developmental Psychology: The Developement of Logical Thinking at the Age of Six and Fourteen Psychology essay sample: In the paper, the author outlines the experience of trying to learn a complex physics concept at the age of six and fourteen that illustrates the development of logical thinking.
Developmental Theories for Children Psychology essay sample: Stages of development are useful in monitoring and measuring the growth of a child. This discussion aims at evaluating the best technique useful for children aged seven years.
Adolescent Risk Behaviors. Child Development Influences Psychology essay sample: Adolescence is one of the most challenging periods in the life of every individual because they go though in an understanding of life, establishing a personality.
Child Development Theories Psychology essay sample: The paper has discussed a case of a 4-year old Melissa, who is at risk due to her developmental stage, using Erikson’s and Piaget’s theories.
Development in Early Childhood and Early Adulthood Psychology essay sample: This paper aims to highlight social, emotional, physical and cognitive development in early childhood and early adulthood, as well as trends and theories of development.
Infancy to Late Childhood Development Psychology essay sample: This paper aims at reviewing information regarding the growth and development of children between birth and 11 years of age, from infancy to late childhood.
Developmental Assessment and the School-Aged Child Psychology essay sample: When conducting a medical assessment of a school-aged child, a medical professional must evaluate their cognitive, physical, social, language, and learning development.
Cognitive Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood Psychology essay sample: The cognitive development of infants and toddlers is associated with the acquisition of basic knowledge and skills that enables the child to become comparatively independent.
Play in the Lives of Young Children Psychology essay sample: Childhood games are fundamental activities that support young ones' cognitive, emotional, physical, and social development.
Infant Physical and Cognitive Development Psychology essay sample: The cognitive and physical development of infants has been an object of research since the XX century. Its conventions were set by Jean Piaget.
Teaching a Child Table Manners Through Operant Conditioning Psychology essay sample: When teaching table manners, parents should give praise to children right away instead of waiting for them to exhibit the behaviors that are expected from them.
The 10-Month-Old Child: Developmental Information Psychology essay sample: This paper discusses the observations made from the video by reviewing existing literature on developmental skills among 10 months old infants.
The Formation and Development of Empathy in Children Psychology essay sample: The paper is relevant for the research as it contains resources that will help to explain the formation and factors that influence the development of a child’s empathy.
Biopsychosocial Analysis: Behavior and Social Environment Psychology essay sample: The development of a child through various milestones is dependent on various biological, psychological, and social factors.
The Early Childhood Stage Psychology essay sample: The early childhood stage is important because it determines the effectiveness in cognitive, social, and emotional development in a child.
Naturalistic Observation of Children's Behavior Psychology essay sample: To receive more evidences related to the behavior of children, it is important to observe the definite age groups in the situation and surroundings which are typical and familiar for them.
Managing Behaviour in Young Children Psychology essay sample: The paper discusses what tools and techniques are likely or unlikely to work in a particular case study. The strategy focuses on the family and interventions.
The Factors of the Child’s Healthy Development Psychology essay sample: Social and emotional development cannot exist within the framework of the healthy functioning of an individual from a young age.
Mental Health: Case Study of S. Psychology essay sample: This paper is devoted to the case of a woman I know personally. S. is a 31-year-old single mother with a family history of anxiety disorders.
Infant Temperament: A Longitudinal Study Psychology essay sample: The New York Longitudinal Study data reveals an impressive level of stability in temperament both within and between periods of childhood.
Connection Between Screen Time and Child Development Psychology essay sample: Toddlers who spend a considerable amount of time in front of screens demonstrate “poorer performance on developmental screening tests later in childhood”.
Child Development Psychology: Pregnancy Trimesters Psychology essay sample: During prenatal development, all three trimesters are very important and any kind of psychological or medical condition the mother undergoes, the child is equally affected.
Child Development Overview Psychology essay sample: This paper details the varied factors that impact child development, including the environment, cultural differences, attachment styles, and development stages.
Developmental Milestones in Infants and Toddlers Psychology essay sample: Concerning physical activity, a child should be able to keep his head at the age of two months and move across the bed at the age of six months.
Stages of Cognitive Development in Children Psychology essay sample: This paper explains the five stages of cognitive development which begin in infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, early adolescence, and ends with late adolescence.
Growth and Development of the School-Age Child Psychology essay sample: The school-age children are aware of the human body, and they begin acceptation their own through the changes it experiences.
Child Care and Behavior Concerns Psychology essay sample: Early child care interaction is also associated with increased exposure to peers at a young age and potential effects on early peer qualifications.
Child Growth and Development: Attachment Theories Psychology essay sample: Since growth and development are a broad and rich subject, several theorists have come together to help understand why and how people learn, grow, and act.
Socioemotional Development in Infancy Psychology essay sample: The psychological formation of infants is based on interaction with others, relationships, awareness of their feelings. This paper discusses socioemotional development in infancy.
Development of the Brain at Early Childhood Psychology essay sample: In conclusion, brain development starts after conception and continues after birth. Both biological and environmental factors influence the development of the brain.
Fundamental of Psychology: Attachment Theory Psychology essay sample: The concept behind attachment theory is that a child needs to develop a strong bond with at least one primary caregiver.
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory and Its Impact on Human Life Psychology essay sample: This paper aims at analyzing Bowlby’s attachment theory and its application in childhood, adulthood, romantic life, and the choice of parenting styles.
Interview and Observation: A Case Study on Child Development Psychology essay sample: Teddy is the patient that this case targets to study. Teddy is eight years old, he has been developing physically at a regular rate, and he does not have known physical health issues
John Watson and Child Behaviorism Psychology essay sample: To prove this point, Watson turned to studying the behavior of infants and came to the conclusion that children are capable of producing a small number of simple reactions.
Child’s Living Conditions and Attachment Development Psychology essay sample: The paper states that the experience of raising a child in an orphanage can cause atypical behavior in situations of social interaction.
Aspects of Child Development Psychology essay sample: The development of the child is influenced by external factors including the neighbors and their actions, and the personality characteristics of the child.
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory Points Psychology essay sample: John Bowlby, a psychoanalyst born in 1907 believed that behavioral and mental health problems were a result of a person's early childhood.
Child Observation Assessment: Development Psychology essay sample: The interview was with the caregiver, who said that Laura is an extremely playful and jovial girl, who cries only when she is wet or hungry.
Cognitive Development During Childhood Psychology essay sample: The cognitive development of children is a key aspect of their growth, especially in their formative years. Children are born with cognitive abilities.
Children’s Oral Language Development (Preschool) Psychology essay sample: The infant’s speech develops faster and better when adults talk to them a lot, not just talk, but specifically communicate.
Cognitive Development in Early and Middle Childhood Psychology essay sample: The Early Childhood stage of development lasts from 3 to 5 years. During this period, children are already ready to master complex skills, such as riding a two-wheeled bicycle
How Childhood Development Stages Affect Adult Life Psychology essay sample: While upbringing ordeals one undergoes when growing up characterize the childhood memories, they play an important role in the later lives.
Overcoming Separation Anxiety in Children Psychology essay sample: Most children quickly stop experiencing separation stress, but if this is not the case, the caregiver can support the parent by explaining how to behave with the child.
Child Psychology: Children's Behavior and Communication Style Psychology essay sample: The methods allow for identifying a child's communication style. This helps in finding a specific approach for each kid and indicating their weak spots.
Child Development and Environmental Influences Psychology essay sample: This paper is an annotated bibliography that aims to conduct an analysis of the child development theme from several sources.
Family Survey for Development of Children Psychology essay sample: This paper contains a letter with the family survey that was created with a request for family support in the understanding and development of children.
Personal Development From Childhood Through Present Age Psychology essay sample: The personal development of an individual occurs throughout life. Personality is one of those phenomena that is rarely interpreted in the same way by two different authors.
Children’s Books in Various Therapies Psychology essay sample: The paper discusses children's books in therapy. It includes Adlerian Play Therapy, Jungian Analytical Play Therapy, Psychodynamic Play Therapy, etc.
Observed Behaviors of 10-Year Old Children and Supporting Theories Psychology essay sample: This paper explains Erikson’s psychosocial, Freud’s psychosexual, Piaget’s cognitive developmental theories, Bandura’s social learning, Kohlberg’s moral development perspectives.
Developmental Psychology in Parenting Psychology essay sample: The paper describes attachment parenting, supportive education items, and governmental and non-governmental transformative intervention in parenting.
Effects of Socioeconomic Inequalities on Child Health and Wellness Psychology essay sample: Socioeconomic inequalities have a significant impact on the children’s cognitive and social-emotional behavior, as well as health outcomes.
The Relationship Between Income and Childhood Brain Development Psychology essay sample: Dr. Noble's talk on the connection between income and cognitive development is scientifically accurate and proven.
Child Development Assessment Tools Psychology essay sample: To clarify the ideas about the development of children, I also included a conversation as a more effective method that revealed the individual characteristics of each kid.
Development. “Baby Milestones: 24–36 Months” Psychology essay sample: The investigation of behavior in this essay will provide an analysis of the development and behavior of a two to a three-year-old child based on the video “Baby Milestones”.
Piaget’s Work and Legacy in Child Development Psychology essay sample: Piaget has been very influential and effective on the topic of understanding childhood development. His researched the differences that occur in child development.
Pretend Play Importance for the Child’s Development Psychology essay sample: Pretend play is immeasurably significant for a child's development; it has a positive impact on learners' literacy, mathematical thinking, and language and scientific skills.
Colour Psychology and its Effects on the Early Years’ Learning Environment Psychology essay sample: Colour can affect a child’s perception of the environment, and this process can alter the development of personality, which includes mental development.
Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s Theories in Childhood Quantitative Cognitive Development Psychology essay sample: Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget largely contributed to developmental psychology and education, notably exploring children's learning styles and mental abilities.
Developmental Analysis: Personal Introduction of Childhood – Adolescence Psychology essay sample: This paper presents a personal introduction of childhood – adolescence, and theoretical perspectives of development (Freud’s, Erikson’s, Piaget’s theories).
Jean Piaget’s Infant Development Theory Psychology essay sample: The author of the paper agrees with Jean Piaget's theory of intellectual development since it focuses on cognitive processes throughout a particular period.
Importance of Play in Child’s Development Psychology essay sample: During the game process, a child’s will, emotions, cognitive processes, and interests interact and cooperate, as a result, positive changes in the personality of the child emerge.
Stages of Child Development Psychology essay sample: Egocentrism - the inability or unwillingness of a person to look at what is happening from the point of view of other people, to put himself in the place of another person.
Children’s Development Process Psychology essay sample: Parents, guardians, and professionals should incorporate children's observation programs for facilitating and enhancing children's development.
Initiative and Guilt Stage of Child’s Psychological Development Psychology essay sample: Initiative and guilt are the third stage of psychological development which happens between the ages of three to five in the child's life.
A Child's Development and Its Basic Elements Psychology essay sample: The issue of the development of a child is relevant and vital nowadays. There is a necessity to figure out all the basic elements of the process.
Jean Piaget’s Approach and Theory of Cognitive Development Psychology essay sample: Jean Piaget, is mostly famous for his multiple innovative theories and ideas on the development of cognitive functions of children in the process of growing.
How a Person Develops and the Factors That Influence the Growth Psychology essay sample: Child development is the individual progress from dependency to independence between birth and adolescence, which entails emotional and psychological changes.
Child Temperament and Life-Span Development Psychology essay sample: Temperament is a psychological term that refers to the combination of behaviors and attitudes an individual demonstrates.
Freud’s and Vygotsky's Theories of Child Development Psychology essay sample: The subject of psychoanalytic theory is human emotions and interpersonal relationships. This paper analyzes Sigmund Freud’s theory and Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory.
Temperament and Behavior in Young Children Psychology essay sample: Various factors regarding temperament and behavior in young children can affect their academic performance at an early age.
Formal Operational Stage of Cognitive Development of Children Psychology essay sample: As outlined by Jean Piaget, the formal operational stage of cognitive development considers children from the age of 12 years and above.
Analysis of Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development Psychology essay sample: Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality and development states that body parts are sensitive to sexual or erotic stimulation during the childhood development phases.
Parental Stresses and Child’s Emotional Development Psychology essay sample: Raising a child as a head of a single-parent family is associated with various challenges. Firstly, a single-parent family may be struggling to afford even the basic needs.
Personal Development Due to Erikson’s Scale Psychology essay sample: Erikson’s theory of people’s psychosocial development is helpful for psychology. It helps doctors cope with their patient’s mental health issues.
Benefits of Educational Sensory Toys for Children Psychology essay sample: Educational toys assist children in attaining problem-solving skills even at a young age, which is suitable for their development.
Why Parents Matter More Than Peers in Children’s Development Psychology essay sample: This paper argues that parents' impact on their children's life surpasses peers' influence and cannot be overlooked when education issues are concerned.
Lack of Physical Development in Preschool Children Psychology essay sample: Physical development is an important aspect of growth in children and has been determined to enhance their social and language development.
The Influence of Parents on the Psychoemotional Development of Children Psychology essay sample: In the context of the influence of parents on the psychoemotional development of children, such aspects as parenting style, emotion regulation, and parental distress.
Insecure-Avoidant Attachment Style in Childhood Psychology essay sample: Childhood plays a critical role in developing personality. This paper aims to present the case of a child with an insecure-avoidant attachment style.
Child’s Development Analysis and Potential Interventions Psychology essay sample: In the case of the child described in the paper, there was a normal transition – she started studying in kindergarten and a non-normal one – she experienced her parents' divorce.
Mother’s Influence on Child’s Development Psychology essay sample: Undoubtedly, each individual has their own sources that contribute to a certain degree of intensity to the formation of a person as an individual, man or woman.
Child Maltreatment Factor of Personality Formation Psychology essay sample: This research aims to analyze the external factors involved in developing personality formation, particularly race and ethnicity.
Childhood: The Social and Cultural Concept Psychology essay sample: Childhood is neither timeless nor universal: it is not determined only by age or biological and psychological factors.
Child's Language and Literacy: The Role of Parents Psychology essay sample: Parents are children’s first teachers because they are primarily responsible for developing children’s basic literacy and language skills.
Speech Delay in a 32 Months-Old Child Psychology essay sample: Speech delay among 32 months-old children is a phenomenon that can sometimes occur in the early phases of development due to many reasons.
How Can Attachment Styles Influence Children's Development Psychology essay sample: From a psychological standpoint, it is thought that the child's attachment style has a substantial impact on his or her development.
Nature and Nurture Theories of Child Development Psychology essay sample: The paper discusses the nature and nurture theories debate. They relate to two different perceptions or approaches to child development.
Stages of Intellectual and Social Development Psychology essay sample: This work reviews the many stages of the intellectual and social development of people. It is important to understand the stages of development.
Development Through the Lifespan Psychology essay sample: Influences are felt already in early childhood, in the narrow family circle, and then among other children in kindergartens and schools.
Development of Emotions and Temperament During Infancy Psychology essay sample: The paper states that the development of emotions and temperament is a gradual process and depends on the level of development of children.
Researching of Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development Psychology essay sample: Each stage is age-specific and marked by major hallmarks that indicate the development of specific thought-processing abilities.
Parental and Psychotherapeutic Role in Development of Children With Autism Psychology essay sample: Parents have a significant role in developing and preparing an autistic child for future life, and in such cases, the work of a psychotherapist with the whole family is important.
Child Development Issue and Its Management Psychology essay sample: This paper is a case study of the development issues of a four-year-old Chinese child; essentially, the child acted more like a 2-year-old.
Cognitive Development During the First Three Years of Life Psychology essay sample: With the help of external orientation actions, the child correlates and compares the external properties of objects, highlighting permanent ones by the end of 3 years of life.
Cognitive and Psychosocial Development of a Child Psychology essay sample: In the case reviewed in the paper, the child has not formed the concept of ownership and politeness, which is not the norm for this age.
Children's Toys and Their Influence on Development Psychology essay sample: Educational toys tend to help children to develop problem-solving skills, understand the causes and impacts, and resolve conflicts.
The Real Impact Separated Siblings Have on Individual Child Development Psychology essay sample: Sibling relationships within families have received increased attention over the past few years, pointing to the potential protective role that these relationships can play.
Early Childhood Development: The Nurturing Care Psychology essay sample: The child’s changing cognitive and socio-emotional needs encourage regular nurturing-related adjustments initiated by both parents and child development professionals.
Aspects of Lifespan Development
Developmental Theories: Social Competence as a Young Child
Babies’ Early Language Development
Maria Montessori's View on Children's Education
“Exploring Lifespan Development”: Theories in the Textbook and Infant Development
Piaget’s Theory and Preoccupation Children
Effects of Kindergarten Activities on Cognitive Development
Divisive Politics and Child Development
Self-Regulation Abilities in Children
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
The Ways in Which Childhood Is Represented Within the U.K.
The Way Experience Affects the Development of the Baby’s Brain
A Unique Process of a Child’s Very Early Years
The Early Growth and Development Study
Infant's Lifespan Development: The Case Analysis
Skinner and Chomsky on Nature vs. Nurture
Cognitive Development in Children
Vygotsky's and Piaget's Views on Cognitive Development
Socioeconomic Status and Child’s Sharing Tendency
Aspects of Comprehensive Child Report
Toddler Observation and Piaget's Theory Application
The Process of Toddler Development
Piaget’s Development Stages Theory in Child Assessment
Erik Erikson’s and Sigmund Freud’s Psychological Theories Comparison
Problem-Solving Skill in Child Development
Arts and Play in Early Childhood Development
Child Development During COVID-19 Pandemic
Direct Assessment of Cognitive Development in Children
Toddler Observation and Assessment
Philosophy as a Driver of Proper Social Development
Human Development from Infancy to Death
Child’s Social and Emotional Development
Children’s Internet Use and Developmental Effects
Freud's Child Development Theory
Child Psychology: Peer and Parents Influence
Impact of Children’s Toys on Development
Parent Education and Family Life Education Fields
The Cognitive Development of a Children
My Virtual Child Examination of Child Development
Developmental Stages: The Early Childhood Developmental Stage
Developmental Stages from Piaget's Perspective
Language and Cognitive Developments in Infants
Products Promoting Infant Development
Middle Childhood Moral Dilemma Assignment
The Influence of the External Environment on Child Development
Children's Cognitive Development in Jean Piaget's Theory
Analyzing the Role of Developmental Factors in Two Families
Childhood Developmental Theories
Factors Affecting Child Development
Influences on Early Development
Children's Development Affected by Environment
Childhood Fame and Adulthood: Developmental Science
Attachment Theory and Developmental Psychology in Early Childhood
The Brain Development in Children
The Development of Siyasanda Discussion
The Infant and Toddler Development
Child Development and Social Learning Theories
Play, Social-Emotional Development and Theory of Mind: Three Important Aspects in Child Development
Child Development and Learning Gender Differences In-Play
Child Development and the Ecological Theory
Child Development and Education: Physical Exercise Human development refers to the process of growing to maturity. A child needs to have good physical activities, in order to develop to a healthy adult
The Psychological and Biological Changes of Child Development
Developmental Psychology and Child Development
Child Development and Learning Theories
Psychology and Self Esteem in Child Development.
Children’s Early Learning and Development The traditional approach to early childhood learning and development entails teachers’ typical use of themes to plan and generate the curriculum.
Personal Philosophy: Child Development and Teaching
Same-Sex Parenting and Child Development
Child Development and Maturation: Language and Cognitive
Relationship Between Paternal Absence and Child Development
Video Gaming Impact on Middle Childhood Development Previous studies found that playing computer games significantly affects a child’s cognitive development, but the results are contradictory.
Child Development and Maternal Depression
Parental Stress and Child Development
Mental Retardation and Child Development
Psychoanalytic Theory of Child Development and Social Learning
Infancy and Early Childhood Development This essay assesses different parenting styles and their impact on children in infancy and early childhood, and their impact on cognitive development.
Child Development and the Effects of Television Violence
Child Development and Sexual Behavior
Evolutionary Psychology and Child Development
Child Development and the Effects of Spanking
Biological Factors Impact on Children’s Development Biological factors that can affect a child’s growth include several elements, for example, genetic influences, the level of nutrition, exposures during the prenatal period.
Positive and Negative Impact on Child Development
Child Development Theories Within the Field of Psychology
Child Development and the Importance of First Relationship
Children’s Development and Domestic Violence The purpose of this paper is to prove that even when children are not at home, domestic violence can have significant effects on them.
The Separation Individuation Theory of Child Development
Mental Health, Abuse, and Child Development
The Personal Identity and the Psychology for the Child Development
Mental Health Around Pregnancy and Child Development From Early Childhood to Adolescence
Concrete Operational Stage of Child Development The task of parents is not only to feed and clothe children but also to educate them as independent, responsible, active, competent, and confident people in their capabilities.
Child Development and the Effects of the Internet
Developmental Differences Between Autistic Children and Normal Child Development
The Correlation Between Mental Health and Child Development
Attachment and Its Role in Child Development Rapid brain development occurs during the first three years of life, and a child’s attachment to the caregiver or parent significantly affects this domain.
Child Development and the Montessori Method
Child Development and Blended Families
The Role of Play: Child Development and the Process of Learning
Child Development and Fussy Baby at the Age of Two Months
Child Development From Birth to Three Years and the Role of Adults The period between 0 and 3 years is one of the most influential times for a child’s growth, development, and understanding of life basics.
Child Development and Early Learning: Educational Readiness
Background Influences That Affect Child Development
Attachment Theory and Child Development
Child Development and Attachment Theory
Child Development and Learning Focusing on Language Development
What Are the Major Domains of Child Development, and How Do They Interact?
Is a Father Figure Important for a Child’s Development?
What Are the Main Theories That Help Us Understand Child Development?
How Do Early Experiences Shape Child Development Outcomes?
What Are the Critical Milestones in Emotional Development During Child Development?
How Does Parent-Child Attachment Impact Child Development?
What Role Does Nature (Genetics) Play in Child Development?
How Does Child Development Research Contribute to Effective Parenting Strategies?
What Is the Most Important Stage of Child Development?
Is There a Critical Period for Language Acquisition in Child Development?
How Does Socioeconomic Status Affect Child Development Outcomes?
What Is Child Development Concept and Stages of Development?
Why Is Early Childhood Attachment Crucial for Healthy Child Development?
Does Access to Quality Early Childhood Education Influence Future Academic Success?
What Are the Best Parenting Approaches for Child Development?
How Do Children Develop Their Social Skills During Child Development?
What Are the Potential Effects of Exposure to Digital Devices on Child Development?
How Do Children Develop Their Moral and Ethical Values During Child Development?
What Is the Role of Play and Imaginative Activities in Child Development?
Are There Gender-Based Differences in Child Development Milestones?
How Does Peer Influence Contribute to Child Development Outcomes?
What Are the Core Principles of Child Development?
How Do Executive Functions Contribute to Cognitive Development in Child Development?
What Role Does Nutrition Play in Shaping Physical Development During Child Development?
How Do Children Develop Their Language Skills During Child Development?
Why Is Child Development So Important in Early Years?
How Does Autism Affect Child Development?
What Does the Cognitive Process in Early Child Development Focus On?
How Does Child Development Theory Inform Early Childhood Education Practices?
What Are the Factors That Influence Child Development?
How Can Disability Effect Child Development?
How Animals Benefit Child Development?
What Are the Significant Child Development Psychosocial Theories?
How Developmental Psychologists Think About Family Process and Child Development in Low-Income Families?
How Does Early Childhood Attachment Affect Child Development?
Are Fathers Crucial for Child Development?
How Art Affects Child Development?
Early Child Care and Child Development: For Whom It Works and Why?
How Media Impacts Child Development – Special Focus On Cartoons?
How Does Stress Affect Child Development?
How Fairy Tales Affect Child Development?
How Parenting Styles Affect Child Development?
How Families Influence Child Development?
How Personal Choices Affect Child Development?
Why Psychologists Conduct Research on Child Development?
How Has the Princess Culture Affected Child Development?
What Are the Three Stages of Child Development?
What Matter for Child Development?
How Technology Affects the Child Development?
How Post Traumatic Stress Affects Child Development?

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178 Original Child Development Research Paper Topics

Child development is represented by all the changes that occur in a child from the time of their birth to adulthood. The changes covered by child development include all the emotional, physical, thought and language changes.

During the process of development, a child transitions from being dependent on his parents to being an independent young adult. It is generally accepted that there are 5 main stages of child development: newborn, infant, toddler, preschool, and school-age.

If you are pursuing a bachelor of science or even a Master of Science degree, you will inevitably have to write at least one research paper about child development. The good news is that writing the paper shouldn’t be too difficult because the Internet contains plenty of information about most aspect of child development.

However, finding the right child development research paper topics for your papers can pose a problem. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We have a list of 178 original topics on this page that should work great in 2023.

How Does A Good Research Paper Look Like?

OK, but what does a good research paper look like? Well, to help you out, we’ve put together a simple outline that shows you exactly what your paper should contain:

Introduction Background information on the topic Thesis statement Body #1 (first major subtopic) Statement + a little background information Supporting evidence Body #2 (second major subtopic) Statement + a little background information Supporting evidence Body #3 (third major subtopic) Statement + a little background information Supporting evidence Conclusion Restate the thesis Summarize the key points Call to action Works Cited/Bibliography Appendix

Of course, to be able to write the research paper as fast as possible, you need to find the best possible topic. Stop wasting your time scouring the Internet and choose one of these original topics:

Best Child Development Topics

We will start our list of topics with the best child development topics (or what we consider to work great in 2023). Check out this list of awesome ideas:

Discuss the Piaget theory on child development
Research the mechanisms of child development
Analyze the Toddler stage (1-3 years)
Research motor skills during child development
The socio-emotional development of children
Discuss the 5 stages of development
Talk about cognitive development
Research the Preschool stage (3-4 years)
How does development shape a person’s life?
Research the role of the environment on development
Research hands-on experience learning

Easy Child Research Topics

Next on our list we have some of the easiest topics you can find. Our easy child research topics are meant to help you write the paper faster and save time for other activities:

Discuss the Erik Erikson theory on child development
Effects of parasites on child development
A closer look at the Infant stage (3-12 months)
Effects of race on child development
The intellectual development of children
Discuss maternal drug use effects
Effects of neglect on the development of children
The 5 stages of child development
Talk about the Newborn stage
Analyze the Pre-school stage (4-5 years)

Child Development Project Topics

Are you looking to start a child development project? You certainly need a great idea if you want an A+. Here are some child development project topics you could try:

Research asynchronous development
A project on physical growth
A project on gender role
A project on language and communication
Talk about the effects of malnutrition
Postnatal depression and child development
Weight growth during child development
The speed of height growth
Analyze the mechanisms of change
A project about individual differences
Research the development of children with disabilities

Research Topics On Children

If you are looking for interesting research topics on children, you have arrived at the right place. Take a look at these ideas and choose the one you like the most:

Discuss the Behavioral theory on child development
An in-depth look at secure attachment
How do emotions change over time?
Discuss the transition from dependent to independent
The effect of family on child development
The role of movement
The effect of school on child development
The importance of playing with other children
The importance of the surroundings
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic
Psychological changes during development
Research the effects of classroom environment

Child Development Research Topics

Of course, we have a lot of child development research topics for students of all ages. Here are some of our best, original ideas that should be excellent for 2023:

Discuss the Vygotsky theory on child development
The role played by genetics
Compare and contrast the toddler and the infant
Compare and contrast the infant and the preschool child
The importance of a psychologist
Discuss the role of caregivers
Compare and contrast the toddler and the newborn
Effects of positive social interactions
Research disorganized families
Compare and contrast the preschool and the school age child
The negative effects of divorce
The role of a good early childhood life

Research Paper Topics Children Love

In case you are looking for some research paper topics children love, we have some of the best ideas right here. Check them out and start working on your paper now:

Latest news in child development
The importance of a good school
The importance of eating breakfast
The role of the mother
The role of the father
Teaching sign language to children
The effects of bullying on children
Discuss the importance of tangible rewards
Nurturing good habits
Sports in the life of a child

Child Development Topics For High School

So what if you’re a high school student? You can write about child development too. We even have some excellent child development topics for high school student right here:

Discuss ADHD and its effects
Negative effects of social media on child development
The role of technology in child development
Research differently-abled children
Study the emotional development of children
An in-depth look at the role of good nutrition
Research the role of sport in child development
Research the occurrence of depression
The struggles of preschool children
Negative effects of smartphones on child development
Effects of mass media on school children

Child Development Psychology Topics

Interested in discuss the psychological part of child development? Have a look at our child development psychology topics; you’ll surely find something of interest:

The different stages of psychological development
What makes children intelligent?
Discuss intellectual growth from 3 to 9 years of age
What makes children put their health at risk?
Research memory in preschool children
The problem-solving capabilities of a toddler
Language learning skills at the age of 3
Do toddlers have a self-preservation instinct?
How do toddlers understand the world around them?
Discuss a school psychology topic
Research how children think

Interesting Child Development Topics For Papers

Our writers have compiled a list of the most interesting child development topics for papers. All you have to do is choose one of our ideas and start working on your research paper:

Why is playing so important?
Talk about the effects of climate change on child development
How to ensure your child develops properly?
Discuss the role of social interaction
Is social media good for child development?
How do children form their ego?
The history of child development
Are some children more intelligent than most adults?
Research the way children understand life
Discuss the role of peers on child development

Great Children Research Topics

Are you in search of some great children research topics? You are in luck because we have a long list of such topics right here:

Research a child’s social development
Discuss speech development
Gross motor skills development
How to monitor child development effectively?
How important is attention?
Birth disorders and their negative effects
Talk about behavioral child development
The importance of music in child development

Child Development Research Paper Questions

Did you know that the best way to get started on your research paper is to look at some child development research paper questions? Here are some for you:

How to identify a child genius?
How does the community affect children?
Can children overcome trauma?
How important are birthday celebrations?
How important is the mother in child development?
How does the loss of hearing affect children?
Does the child need to visit a psychologist?
How does autism influence child development?
Does Facebook negatively affect a child’s development?
What is the role of genetics?
What defines a toddler?
How important is socialization?
How much time should a parent spend with his child?
What is the sociocultural theory?

Current Child Development Topics

Talking about the latest research in child development will surely get you some bonus points. Here are some current child development topics:

Latest advancements in cognitive child development
Autistic children development
Are video games dangerous for child development?
Severe psychological problems
Teaching your child a new language
Research into deviant behavior
Best games for children to play
Effects of a poor diet
The negative effects of a lack of physical exercise
How does technology influence child development?

Advanced Child Psychology Research Topics

If you want to write about complex topics, we also have a list of advanced child psychology research topics. Choose one of them for free right now:

The effects of talking on child development
Discuss the most important development milestones
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns
Discuss how television affects child development
Research the diseases that can hinder child development
Analyze the connection between a toddler and his parents
Research child development in single-parent families

Child Development Topics For College

College students will surely appreciate our long list of child development topics for college. Remember, this list is updated periodically so that everyone can get fresh topics:

The effects of family violence
Innovative child development techniques
How much time should you spend with your child?
Games that stimulate mental growth
Best ways to solve a behavioral issue
Negative effects of substance abuse
Negative effects of divorce

Controversial Child Development Topics

Don’t worry, your teacher will surely appreciate your courage. You shouldn’t be afraid to talk about controversial topics in your research paper. In fact, here are some topics to help you get started:

Books that children should avoid
The need for physical punishment
How important are schools?
Should children be allowed to play video games?
The effects of poverty on child development
Discuss the effects of social insecurity
Child development in the Indian society

Child Mental Health Essay Topics

Are you interested in talking about the mental health of children? No problem, we have a great list of child mental health essay topics for you:

Best ways to develop a positive mentality
An in-depth look at anxiety in toddlers
Discuss the stages of mental development
The occurrence of depression in preschool children
Discuss the cause and effects of ADHD
Can children suffer from PTSD?
Research the oppositional defiant disorder

Early Childhood Essay Topics

If you want to cover early childhood in your research paper, you have definitely arrived at the right place. Here are some awesome early childhood essay topics:

Tourette syndrome in toddlers
Discuss eating disorders in preschool children
The effects of social media on young children
Sports that children should play
Events that can negatively impact a child’s development
Ways to ensure maximum mental growth
Discuss the 5 stages of development and make a comparison between them
Does music affect the mathematical skills of young children?

Topics Related To Child Psychology

Our experts have created a list of interesting topics related to child psychology that you can use for free. Pick one of these ideas and start writing an A+ paper today:

Talk about what makes a child intelligent
Things that negative affect a child’s psychological wellbeing
Stress in young children in the United States
Should you child see a psychologist?
Sports that curb child delinquency
Discuss the effects of watching excessive television
The effects of religious orientation on a child’s mental health

ADHD Child Development Essay Topics

Writing about child development of children suffering from the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is not easy, we know. However, we have some great ADHD Child development essay topics for you:

How do ADHD children cope with boring situations?
Controlling the activity levels of ADHD children
Discuss ways to make ADHD children pay attention
ADHD’s effects on the ability to focus
Why do ADHD children have learning disabilities?

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178 Child Development Research Topics & Essay Examples

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Child Development and Education: Physical Exercise Human development refers to the process of growing to maturity. A child needs to have good physical activities, in order to develop to a healthy adult.
Early Education Learning Theory The paper describes the learning theory of early education and its importance, effective teacher and learning environment and characteristics.
Early Childhood Studies: Current Issues and Trends The changing demographics in early childhood have increased the complexity of childhood professional practice, owing to the need to fulfill the demands for cultural and linguistic diversity.
Children’s Early Learning and Development The traditional approach to early childhood learning and development entails teachers’ typical use of themes to plan and generate the curriculum.
Teaching Philosophy in Early Childhood Development The five domains of early childhood development constitute the early development instrument perspective, from which an important aspect of teaching philosophy can be explored.
Bilingual Education and Preschoolers' Development There are several theories in child development that directly or indirectly discuss the implications of bilingual education and show the importance of bilingual education.
Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory Application This thesis aims to briefly, review Piaget’s cognitive development theory, its key concepts, support, and criticism, and how teachers can apply it in the classrooms.
Developmentally Appropriate Activities for Toddlers The study sample includes a book aimed at developing toddlers’ cognitive skills and gross motor behavior, a go-get interactive game, and a video on learning colors.
Reflection on Nurturing Healthy Development and Well-Being of Children Educators should recognize the importance of self-regulation; however, they also should navigate children to avoid overstressing.
The Role of Play in Children’s Development Play has a beneficial impact on children's development: thus, it should be a vital part of the curriculum in schools.
Montessori Method: Human Tendencies and Inner Needs The Montessori method relies on the intrinsic desire to learn that can be encouraged in a purposefully built environment without interference from adults.
Structure and Flexibility of the Montessori Framework The Montessori framework is utilized by professional educators to connect with children in different developmental stages productively.
The Way Children Learn, Drawing on the Findings of Research Initiating children to opportunities for learning after they have been raised appropriately makes them happy and well-adjusted.
Montessori Method in the Modern Times The Montessori method of education offers an alternative to traditional instructional principles, these days it is returning to the modern scientific scope.
Child Development From Birth to Three Years and the Role of Adults The period between 0 and 3 years is one of the most influential times for a child’s growth, development, and understanding of life basics.
Literacy Development for Children Birth in 3rd Grade Early childhood is characterized by the rapid development of human mental abilities, enabling individuals to acquire all fundamental literacy skills by eight years
Interventions Dealing with Special Need Children This paper discusses the role of the knowledge of child development in assisting professionals in providing effective learning interventions.
Working with Parents and Families: Resources in the Internet The Parent Institute Website provides tips that would help create a friendly atmosphere for exceptional students, thereby facilitating the learning process.
Aspects of the Child’s Development and Education The paper states that parental involvement can be understood as the family’s participation in different aspects of their child’s development and education.
Attachment and Its Role in Child Development Rapid brain development occurs during the first three years of life, and a child’s attachment to the caregiver or parent significantly affects this domain.
Preschooler Education Overview The article "Preschoolers (3-5 years of age)" describes preschoolers' development milestones aged between 3 to 5 and suggests some positive parenting tips.
Cognitive Domain of Child Development: Activity Plan This activity plan is based on the cognitive domain of development of a child, whereby the skills to be developed in a child are mental, such as thinking, and reasoning.
Researching of Child Development This essay aims to study the provided videos to study the behavior of children and analyze the typicality of their development
A Case Study of Erickson's Theory It should be noted that Erikson's necessary steps in the psychosocial development of personality remain relevant for all generations.
The Child's Physical Development: Florida Standards for Birth to Five The child's physical development involves communication and language learning, cognition and the child's general knowledge, and finally, social and emotional development.
Reading Milestone for Second Grade The paper research an article "The effectiveness of a balanced approach to reading intervention in a second-grade student" about developmental milestones of second graders.
Assessments in Early Childhood Education This essay provides insight into various assessments and methods required to focus on the whole child. The classroom assessments should be organized.
Developmental Milestones of First Graders The paper research and summarizes an article "Literacy interest and reader self-concept when formal reading instruction begins" about developmental milestones of first graders.
Infant and Toddler Development and Programming The set of materials presented in this essay provides a beneficial learning process for babies and toddlers because their usage is organized around educational principles of belonging.
Developmental Milestones of Third Graders The paper research and summarizes an article "Middle childhood: Physical and cognitive development" about developmental milestones of third graders.
Understanding the Early Childhood Development Understanding the underlying intricacies and specificities of early child development is crucially relevant for these young individuals education.
Play Influence on Child’s Development, Learning, and School Readiness This paper aims to discuss various theories and philosophical approaches that outline some advantages of providing children with adequate playtime.
Promoting Early Development through Parent-Teacher Collaboration and Student Engagement Early childhood education plays a major role in building the skill set that allows a child to develop at a reasonably fast pace and acquire the needed abilities in due time.
Analysis of Child's Motor Development Motor development is how a child interacts with the world and people around them, their own and others' emotions, speech, and objects.
Nature and Nurture in Infants’ Milestones Achievement It is interesting to look at how with the help of nurture and nature, the child can reach the milestones effectively during the first two years of a child life.
Concrete Operational Stage of Child Development The task of parents is not only to feed and clothe children but also to educate them as independent, responsible, active, competent, and confident people in their capabilities.
Environment Is a Correlate of Variations in Children’s Language Development The study aims to explore whether a home literacy environment is the cause of children's reading and language skills while taking into account the effects of maternal literacy.
Physical Development in Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program The observed Pre-K program had an emphasis on physical development, which incorporated elements of math, reading, music, and arts.
Reggio Emilia’s Approaches to Children’s Education The task of educating infants and toddlers is a complex initiative that requires adopting appropriate frameworks for better results.
Social Skills and Good Citizenship Development at School The Monroe Comprehensive High School statistics show that the main complications in the provision of educational services are related to financial limitations and poverty.
How a Child Develops a Love for Reading The skill of reading develops slowly from the time a person is born until they become an adult. Enjoyment of reading is not a phenomenon, but a process.
The Pedagogical Technique of Montessori This essay is a theoretical synthesis of the critical ideas of Maria Montessori's pedagogical practice and the identification of her philosophy.
Cultural Competence in Children Development The educational process creates the setting for cultural, interpersonal, interethnic, formal, and informal communication. Children need to feel like they are a part of society.
The Qualities of the Perfect Candidate to Work in the Field of Early Care and Education This paper discusses several concepts essential for working in Early Care and Education and becoming a professional in helping children realize their potential.
Educating the Whole Child Approach Description Educating the Whole Child is a relatively new approach to education that centers on the education environment and its influence on children's overall development.
Childhood Practices and Allowances The purpose of childhood practice is to provide a foundation for kids' cognitive and social growth that will continue throughout their lives.
Early Children’s Development and Learning: Philosophy Statement This paper contains a brief description of the philosophy statement regarding early children’s development and learning.
Language Development Opportunities Many critical developmental activities are linked to children's capacity to access language and utilize it appropriately at the appropriate time.
Children’s Developmental Level and Quality of Teaching The efficient systems and methods of assessments are vital in providing good connections and interactions between teachers and children.
Child & Adolescent Development: Identity in Crisis This paper discusses child and adolescent development in the classroom and vitality in emphasizing any educator's role in developing a child's learning abilities.
The Preschool Program's Design Analysis This paper aims to design a preschool daycare program for children aged three to five and discuss the activities to enhance their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills.
Developing Emergent Literacy in Children Emergent literacy is the basis for the further development of abilities; therefore, it should be given proper attention.
Role of Teachers in Gross Motor Development Gross motor development requires human beings to develop skills that allow them to move their legs and arms that happens through the strengthening of large muscles.
Children's Skills Development and Education Decent behavior, operational interaction with others, and articulating individual needs are essential constituents of children's skills.
Teaching Strategies for Middle Childhood Development Stages Tutors have the most significant part to play in the middle childhood development stage. They should choose and practice relevant strategies.
How Fun and Playing Helps Kids Learn The topic of childhood development via playing will be examined in depth in this study, which will cover various aspects of the topic.
Dyslexia in Young Children: Developmental Language Disorder ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, depression, anorexia, Tourette's, and bipolar are among those conditions that have various symptoms.
Stages of Learning to Spell in Children Learning conventional spelling goes beyond the dry memorization of thousands of words, it is best attained by pragmatic activities.
Interview: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle-Late Childhood The teacher was willing to provide additional insights about physical, socioemotional, and cognitive development during middle to late childhood.
Formal Education and Child Benchmarks This paper looks to dissect a child's cognitive, behavioral, and relational benchmarks at 18 years and relate them to the story of Success academy.
Pragmatic Interaction and Play in Young Children Children acquire new skills and skills they need for further development. Although all children develop differently, pragmatic interaction is necessary for every child.
Language Development in Autistic Children Many children with autism are capable of developing some speech and language abilities. However, compared to healthy children, their language progress is slower.
Gifted Students: Child Development Gifted students are defined as learners with the above-average intellectual ability to find and solve problems, learn and process information quickly.
Language Rationale: Montessori Education Curriculum An analysis of the language rationale in the Montessori education curriculum shows that learning occurs through spoken language, writing, and reading.
Early Childhood Education Aspects Early childhood is considered the most crucial time of child development because it is a period of fast physical and mental development.
Educational Components of Child Care Programs The given discussion on teacher support and guideline implementation will focus on four key aspects of education.
Importance of Parent-Teacher Partnership in Child Development This research paper examines the effect of parent-teacher partnership in making the children attain their developmental milestones.
Role of Adults in Child's Development The relationship between a child and the parent and teacher needs to be strong and nurturing to keep a positive effect on the child.
Young Children’s Addition Strategies Every child develops at their own pace and implements different strategies in their learning. Children of the same age often vary in their achievements.
Child Development Stages Birth to 19 Years
Internal and External Impacts on Child Development
Child Development Within Competitive Sports
Family Background, Family Income, Maternal Work and Child Development
Biological Factors Impact on Children’s Development Biological factors that can affect a child’s growth include several elements, for example, genetic influences, the level of nutrition, exposures during the prenatal period.
Child Development: Motor and Cognitive Developments
Genetic and Environmental Factors Affecting Fetus and Child Development
Child Development and the Effects of Spanking
Early Maternal Employment and Child Development in Five OECD Countries
Children’s Development and Domestic Violence The purpose of this paper is to prove that even when children are not at home, domestic violence can have significant effects on them.
Gender Roles and Child Development
Household Choices and Child Development
Child Development: Prenatal and Neonatal Development
Divorce and Its Impact on Child Development
Video Gaming Impact on Middle Childhood Development Previous studies found that playing computer games significantly affects a child’s cognitive development, but the results are contradictory.
Child Development and Learning Focusing on Language Development
Adolescent and Infant Poverty: Child Development, School Life, and Home
Child Development and the Theories of Jean Piaget and Sigmund Freud
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory on Child Development
Infancy and Early Childhood Development This essay assesses different parenting styles and their impact on children in infancy and early childhood, and their impact on cognitive development.
Early Emotional Child Development
Child Development From Birth to Sixteen
Background Influences That Affect Child Development
Child Development and ‘Fussy’ Baby at the Age of Two Months
Early Intervention and the Impact on Child Development
Adolescent and Child Development
Emotional and Cognitive Child Development and Parental Support
Child Development and the Impact of Socioeconomic Status
Freud’s Child Development Theory The theory of child development developed by Zigmund Freud is based on the belief that the child is always in conflict with society.
Adolescent Mothers and Effects on Child Development
Child Development and Success or Failure in the Youth Labor Market
Examining Early Child Development in Low-income Countries
Child Development and Learning Gender Differences in Play
Child Development During COVID-19 Pandemic This paper considers building resilience and the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic had and continues to have on children’s development.
Family Instability and Child Development
Child Development and Maturation, Language and Cognitive
Costly Posturing: Ceremonies and Early Child Development in China
Problem-Solving Skill in Child Development The skill that was chosen for research in this paper is to use a variety of strategies to solve problems, including problems arising in social situations.
Child Development and Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive
Social and Cultural Aspects of Child Development
Child Development When Parents Enjoy Childcare
Divisive Politics and Child Development Political division and bias influence how children develop their beliefs about leadership, social life, and democracy.
Interactions Between Family Systems and Child Development
Child Care Markets, Parental Labor Supply, and Child Development
Five Major Perspectives Used to Research Child Development
The Influence of the External Environment on Child Development Nowadays, the study of the concept of the environment and its influence on a child is an urgent issue because a personality becomes only in the process of socialization.
Language and Social Skills in Child Development
Interactive Media& Child Development Assignment
Child Development: History, Theory, and Research Strategies
How Does the Absence of a Father Affect the Development of a Child?
How Families Influence Child Development?
How Transitions Affect Child Development?
Does Early Maternal Employment Harm Child Development?
How Can Disability Effect Child Development?
How Genes and the Environment Operate to Influence Child Development?
How Does Social Class Influence Parenting and Child Development?
What Factors Influence Child Development From Birth to Eight Years of Age?
How the Princess Culture Has Affected Child Development?
How Personal Choices Affect Child Development?
How Fairy Tales Affect Child Development?
Does Maternal Involvement Harm Child Development?
How Do Psychologists Study the Role of Play in Child Development?
How Do Books and Movies Influence the Development of a Child?
What Matter for Child Development?
How Technology Affects the Child Development?
How Nutrition Impacts Child Development?
Why Psychologists Conduct Research on Child Development?
How Classroom Environments Affect Child Development?
How Genetics Affect Child Development?
What Are the Three Stages of Child Development?
How Family Structures Affect Child Development?
How Art Affects Child Development?
How Does the Father Have on Child Development?
Are the Frameworks Used in the UK Relevant for Developing Countries?
How Parenting Styles Affect Child Development?
How Post Traumatic Stress Affects Child Development?
Why Do Children’s Beauty Pageants Interfere With a Child’s Healthy Development?
How Does Early Childhood Attachment Affect Child Development?
How Does Literacy Affect Social Interaction and Child Development?
How Does Play Contribute to Child Development?
What Are the Key Milestones in Child Development?
How Do Social Factors Affect Child Development?
What Impact Do Parenting Styles Have on Child Development?
How Does Genetics Influence Child Development?
Does the Environment Affect Child Development?
What Are the Positive Influences on Child Development?
How Does Attachment Theory Explain Child Development?
What Are the Core Principles of Child Development?
In What Ways Does the Digital Age Affect Child Development?
Why Is Early Intervention Essential in Child Development?
What Are the Domains of Child Development?
How Does Abuse Affect Child Development?
Why Is It Important to Understand Child Development Theories?
What Are the Cultural Variations in Child Development?
Does Nutrition Affect Child Development?
What Is the Role of Early Childhood Education in Child Development?
How Can We Support Child Development in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Which Are the Most Important Years in a Child’s Development?
Is Daycare Necessary for Child Development?
What Is the Difference Between Child Development and Child Psychology?
How Important Are Educational Toys to Child Development?
What Is the Role of Language Development in Early Child Development?
How Do Preschool Activities Help Child Development?
What Are the Effects of Trauma on Child Development?
Does the Size of a Parent’s Vocabulary Affect a Child’s Development?
How Does Parent-Child Communication Influence Child Development?
What Is the Importance of Early Literacy in Child Development?
Why Is Physical Activity Crucial for Child Development?
How Do Grandparents Contribute to Child Development?

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Developmental Psychology Topics

Topics for research, papers, and other projects

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

research questions examples on child development

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

Childhood Topics
Adolescence Topics
Adulthood Topics
How to Choose
Tips for Students

Are you looking for a developmental psychology topic for a psychology paper , experiment, or science fair project? Topics you might pick can range from prenatal development to health during the final stages of life.

Developmental psychology is a broad topic that involves studying how people grow and change throughout their whole lifetime. Topics don't just include physical growth but also the emotional, cognitive, and social development that people experience at different stages of their lives.

At a Glance

The following are just a few different topics that might help inspire you. Remember, these are just ideas to help you get started. You might opt to explore one of these areas, or you might think of a related question that interests you as well.

Developmental Psychology Topics on Childhood

Could packaging nutritious foods in visually appealing ways encourage children to make healthier food choices?
Do children who listen to music while studying perform better or worse on exams?
Do students who eat breakfast perform better in school than those who do not eat breakfast?
Does birth order have an impact on procrastination ? Are first-borns less likely to procrastinate? Are last-borns more likely to put off tasks until the last minute?
Does teaching infants sign language help or hinder the language acquisition process?
How do parenting styles impact a child's level of physical activity? Are children raised by parents with permissive or uninvolved parents less active than those raised by parents with authoritative or authoritarian styles?
How does bullying impact student achievement? Are bullied students more likely to have worse grades than their non-bullied peers?
Which type of reinforcement works best for getting students to complete their homework: a tangible reward (such as a piece of candy) or social reinforcement (such as offering praise when homework is completed on time)?

Developmental Psychology Topics on Adolescence

What factors tend to influence the onset of depression in teens and young adults?
How do peer relationships influence identity formation during adolescence and young adulthood?
What impact do parent-child relationships have in predicting substance use among teens and young adults?
How does early substance use during adolescence impact impulsivity and risk-taking during early adulthood?
How does technology use during adolescence influence social and emotional development?
How does social media use influence body image among teens?
What factors contribute to success during the transition from the teen years to early adulthood?
How do cultural differences impact different aspects of adolescent development?

Developmental Psychology Topics on Adulthood

Are older adults who rate high in self-efficacy more likely to have a better memory than those with low self-efficacy?
Do the limits of short-term memory change as we age? How do the limits of short-term memory compare at ages, 15, 25, 45, and 65?
Do mental games such as word searches, Sudoku, and word matching help elderly adults keep their cognitive skills sharp?
How do explanations for the behavior of others change as we age? Are younger adults more likely to blame internal factors for events and older adults more likely to blame external variables?

Choosing Developmental Psychology Topics

Developmental psychology is a huge and diverse subject, so picking a topic isn't always easy. Some tips that can help you choose a good developmental psychology topic include:

Focus on a specific topic : Make sure that your topic isn't too broad to avoid getting overwhelmed by the amount of information available
Have a clear question or hypothesis : Your research question should be focused and clearly defined
Do some background research : Spend some time reviewing the existing literature to get a better idea about what you want to cover with your topic
Consider developmental theories : You might consider analyzing your topic through the lens of a particular theory of developmental psychology
Check out recent research : Use research databases to find the most recently published research on your topic

Before you start working on any paper, experiment, or science project, the first thing you need to do is understand the rules your instructor has established for the assignment.

Also, be sure to check the official guidelines given by your teacher. If you are not sure about these guidelines, ask your instructor if there are any specific requirements before you get started on your research .

If you are going to actually conduct an experiment , you need to present your idea to your instructor to gain their permission before going forward. In some cases, you might have to also present your plan to your school's Institutional Review Board.

Tips for Researching Developmental Psychology Topics

After you have gotten to move forward with your chosen topic, the next step is to do some background research. This step is essential! If you are writing a paper, the information you find will make up your literature review.

If you are performing an experiment, it will provide background information for the introduction of your lab report . For a psychology science project, this research will help you in your presentation and can help you decide how to best approach your own experiment.

What This Means For You

Choosing a topic for a developmental psychology experiment, paper, or project can be tough! The ideas above can be a great place to start, but you might also consider questions you've had about your own life. Once you have a general idea for your topic, narrow it down, do some background research and talk to your instructor.

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Leite DFB, Padilha MAS, Cecatti JG. Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The Literature Review Checklist . Clinics (Sao Paulo) . 2019;74:e1403. Published 2019 Nov 25. doi:10.6061/clinics/2019/e1403

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By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Theories of Child Development and Their Impact on Early Childhood Education and Care

Published: 29 October 2021
Volume 51 , pages 15–30, ( 2023 )

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Olivia N. Saracho ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4108-7790 1

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Developmental theorists use their research to generate philosophies on children’s development. They organize and interpret data based on a scheme to develop their theory. A theory refers to a systematic statement of principles related to observed phenomena and their relationship to each other. A theory of child development looks at the children's growth and behavior and interprets it. It suggests elements in the child's genetic makeup and the environmental conditions that influence development and behavior and how these elements are related. Many developmental theories offer insights about how the performance of individuals is stimulated, sustained, directed, and encouraged. Psychologists have established several developmental theories. Many different competing theories exist, some dealing with only limited domains of development, and are continuously revised. This article describes the developmental theories and their founders who have had the greatest influence on the fields of child development, early childhood education, and care. The following sections discuss some influences on the individuals’ development, such as theories, theorists, theoretical conceptions, and specific principles. It focuses on five theories that have had the most impact: maturationist, constructivist, behavioral, psychoanalytic, and ecological. Each theory offers interpretations on the meaning of children's development and behavior. Although the theories are clustered collectively into schools of thought, they differ within each school.

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The author is grateful to Mary Jalongo for her expert editing and her keen eye for the smallest details.

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Research Question Examples 🧑🏻‍🏫

25+ Practical Examples & Ideas To Help You Get Started

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | October 2023

A well-crafted research question (or set of questions) sets the stage for a robust study and meaningful insights. But, if you’re new to research, it’s not always clear what exactly constitutes a good research question. In this post, we’ll provide you with clear examples of quality research questions across various disciplines, so that you can approach your research project with confidence!

Research Question Examples

Psychology research questions
Business research questions
Education research questions
Healthcare research questions
Computer science research questions

Examples: Psychology

Let’s start by looking at some examples of research questions that you might encounter within the discipline of psychology.

How does sleep quality affect academic performance in university students?

This question is specific to a population (university students) and looks at a direct relationship between sleep and academic performance, both of which are quantifiable and measurable variables.

What factors contribute to the onset of anxiety disorders in adolescents?

The question narrows down the age group and focuses on identifying multiple contributing factors. There are various ways in which it could be approached from a methodological standpoint, including both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Do mindfulness techniques improve emotional well-being?

This is a focused research question aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific intervention.

How does early childhood trauma impact adult relationships?

This research question targets a clear cause-and-effect relationship over a long timescale, making it focused but comprehensive.

Is there a correlation between screen time and depression in teenagers?

This research question focuses on an in-demand current issue and a specific demographic, allowing for a focused investigation. The key variables are clearly stated within the question and can be measured and analysed (i.e., high feasibility).

Free Webinar: How To Find A Dissertation Research Topic

Examples: Business/Management

Next, let’s look at some examples of well-articulated research questions within the business and management realm.

How do leadership styles impact employee retention?

This is an example of a strong research question because it directly looks at the effect of one variable (leadership styles) on another (employee retention), allowing from a strongly aligned methodological approach.

What role does corporate social responsibility play in consumer choice?

Current and precise, this research question can reveal how social concerns are influencing buying behaviour by way of a qualitative exploration.

Does remote work increase or decrease productivity in tech companies?

Focused on a particular industry and a hot topic, this research question could yield timely, actionable insights that would have high practical value in the real world.

How do economic downturns affect small businesses in the homebuilding industry?

Vital for policy-making, this highly specific research question aims to uncover the challenges faced by small businesses within a certain industry.

Which employee benefits have the greatest impact on job satisfaction?

By being straightforward and specific, answering this research question could provide tangible insights to employers.

Examples: Education

Next, let’s look at some potential research questions within the education, training and development domain.

How does class size affect students’ academic performance in primary schools?

This example research question targets two clearly defined variables, which can be measured and analysed relatively easily.

Do online courses result in better retention of material than traditional courses?

Timely, specific and focused, answering this research question can help inform educational policy and personal choices about learning formats.

What impact do US public school lunches have on student health?

Targeting a specific, well-defined context, the research could lead to direct changes in public health policies.

To what degree does parental involvement improve academic outcomes in secondary education in the Midwest?

This research question focuses on a specific context (secondary education in the Midwest) and has clearly defined constructs.

What are the negative effects of standardised tests on student learning within Oklahoma primary schools?

This research question has a clear focus (negative outcomes) and is narrowed into a very specific context.

Need a helping hand?

Examples: Healthcare

Shifting to a different field, let’s look at some examples of research questions within the healthcare space.

What are the most effective treatments for chronic back pain amongst UK senior males?

Specific and solution-oriented, this research question focuses on clear variables and a well-defined context (senior males within the UK).

How do different healthcare policies affect patient satisfaction in public hospitals in South Africa?

This question is has clearly defined variables and is narrowly focused in terms of context.

Which factors contribute to obesity rates in urban areas within California?

This question is focused yet broad, aiming to reveal several contributing factors for targeted interventions.

Does telemedicine provide the same perceived quality of care as in-person visits for diabetes patients?

Ideal for a qualitative study, this research question explores a single construct (perceived quality of care) within a well-defined sample (diabetes patients).

Which lifestyle factors have the greatest affect on the risk of heart disease?

This research question aims to uncover modifiable factors, offering preventive health recommendations.

Examples: Computer Science

Last but certainly not least, let’s look at a few examples of research questions within the computer science world.

What are the perceived risks of cloud-based storage systems?

Highly relevant in our digital age, this research question would align well with a qualitative interview approach to better understand what users feel the key risks of cloud storage are.

Which factors affect the energy efficiency of data centres in Ohio?

With a clear focus, this research question lays a firm foundation for a quantitative study.

How do TikTok algorithms impact user behaviour amongst new graduates?

While this research question is more open-ended, it could form the basis for a qualitative investigation.

What are the perceived risk and benefits of open-source software software within the web design industry?

Practical and straightforward, the results could guide both developers and end-users in their choices.

Remember, these are just examples…

In this post, we’ve tried to provide a wide range of research question examples to help you get a feel for what research questions look like in practice. That said, it’s important to remember that these are just examples and don’t necessarily equate to good research topics . If you’re still trying to find a topic, check out our topic megalist for inspiration.

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Published: 20 February 2015

Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Education and Care Implementation

Wendy K. Jarvie 1

International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy volume 6 , pages 35–43 ( 2012 ) Cite this article

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Governments around the world have boosted their early childhood education and care (ECEC) engagement and investment on the basis of evidence from neurological studies and quantitative social science research. The role of qualitative research is less understood and under-valued. At the same time the hard evidence is only of limited use in helping public servants and governments design policies that work on the ground. The paper argues that some of the key challenges in ECEC today require a focus on implementation. For this a range of qualitative research is required, including knowledge of organisational and parent behaviour, and strategies for generating support for change. This is particularly true of policies and programs aimed at ethnic minority children. It concludes that there is a need for a more systematic approach to analysing and reporting ECEC implementation, along the lines of “implementation science” developed in the health area.

Introduction

Research conducted over the last 15 years has been fundamental to generating support for ECEC policy reform and has led to increased government investments and intervention in ECEC around the world. While neurological evidence has been a powerful influence on ECEC policy practitioners, quantitative research has also been persuasive, particularly randomised trials and longitudinal studies providing evidence (1) on the impact of early childhood development experiences to school success, and to adult income and productivity, and (2) that properly constructed government intervention, particularly for the most disadvantaged children, can make a significant difference to those adult outcomes. At the same time the increased focus on evidence-informed policy has meant experimental/quantitative design studies have become the “gold standard” for producing knowledge (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005 ), and pressures for improved reporting and accountability have meant systematic research effort by government has tended to focus more on data collection and monitoring, than on qualitative research (Bink, 2007 ). In this environment the role of qualitative research has been less valued by senior government officials.

Qualitative Research-WhatIs It?

The term qualitative research means different things to different people (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005 ). For some researchers it is a way of addressing social justice issues and thus is part of radical politics to give power to the marginalised. Others see it simply as another research method that complements quantitative methodologies, without any overt political function. Whatever the definition of qualitative research, or its role, a qualitative study usually:

Features an in depth analysis of an issue, event, entity, or process. This includes literature reviews and meta studies that draw together findings from a number of studies.

Is an attempt to explain a highly complex and/or dynamic issue or process that is unsuited to experimental or quantitative analysis.

Includes a record of the views and behaviours of the players — it studies the world from the perspective of the participating individual.

Cuts across disciplines, fields and subject matter.

Uses a range of methods in one study, such as participant observation; in depth interviewing of participants, key stakeholders, and focus groups; literature review; and document analysis.

High quality qualitative research requires high levels of skill and judgement. Sometimes it requires pulling together information from a mosaic of data sources and can include quantitative data (the latter is sometimes called mixed mode studies). From a public official perspective, the weaknesses of qualitative research can include (a) the cost-it can be very expensive to undertake case studies if there are a large number of participants and issues, (b) the complexity — the reports can be highly detailed, contextually specific examples of implementation experience that while useful for service delivery and front line officials are of limited use for national policy development, (c) difficultyin generalising from poor quality and liable to researcher bias, and (d) focus, at times, more on political agendas of child rights than the most cost-effective policies to support the economic and social development of a nation. It has proved hard for qualitative research to deliver conclusions that are as powerful as those from quantitative research. Educational research too, has suffered from the view that education academics have over-used qualitative research and expert judgement, with little rigorous or quantitative verification (Cook & Gorard, 2007 ).

Qualitative Research and Early Childhood Education and Care

In fact, the strengths of qualitative ECEC research are many, and their importance for government, considerable. Qualitative research has been done in all aspects of ECEC operations and policies, from coordinating mechanisms at a national level (OECD, 2006 ), curriculum frameworks (Office for Children and Early Childhood Development, 2008 ), and determining the critical elements of preschool quality (Siraj-Blatchford et al., 2003 ), to developing services at a community level including effective outreach practices and governance arrangements. Qualitative research underpins best practice guides and regulations (Bink, 2007 ). Cross country comparative studies on policies and programs rely heavily on qualitative research methods.

For public officials qualitative components of program evaluations are essential to understanding how a program has worked, and to what extent variation in outcomes and impacts from those expected, or between communities, are the result of local or national implementation issues or policy flaws. In addition, the public/participant engagement in qualitative components of evaluations can reinforce public trust in public officials and in government more broadly.

In many ways the contrast between quantitative and qualitative research is a false dichotomy and an unproductive comparison. Qualitative research complements quantitative research, for example, through provision of background material and identification of research questions. Much quantitative research relies on qualitative research to define terms, and to identify what needs to be measured. For example, the Effective Provision of PreSchool Education (EPPE) studies, which have been very influential and is a mine of information for policy makers, rely on initial qualitative work on what is quality in a kindergarten, and how can it be assessed systematically (Siraj-Blatchford et al., 2003 ). Qualitative research too can elucidate the “how” of a quantitative result. For example, quantitative research indicates that staff qualifications are strongly associated with better child outcomes, but it is qualitative work that shows that it is not the qualification per se that has an impact on child outcomes-rather it is the ability of staff to create a high quality pedagogic environment (OECD, 2012 ).

Challenges of Early Childhood Education and Care

Systematic qualitative research focused on the design and implementation of government programs is essential for governments today.

Consider some of the big challenges facing governments in early childhood development (note this is not a complete list):

Creating coordinated national agendas for early childhood development that bring together education, health, family and community policies and programs, at national, provincial and local levels (The Lancet, 2011 ).

Building parent and community engagement in ECEC/Early Childhood Development (ECD), including increasing parental awareness of the importance of early childhood services. In highly disadvantaged or dysfunctional communities this also includes increasing their skills and abilities to provide a healthy, stimulating and supportive environment for young children, through for example parenting programs (Naudeau, Kataoka, Valerio, Neuman & Elder, 2011 ; The Lancet, 2011 ; OECD, 2012 ).

Strategies and action focused on ethnic minority children, such as outreach, ethnic minority teachers and teaching assistants and informal as well as formal programs.

Enhancing workforce quality, including reducing turnover, and improved practice (OECD, 2012 ).

Building momentum and advocacy to persuade governments to invest in the more “invisible” components of quality such as workforce professional development and community liaison infrastructure; and to maintain investment over significant periods of time (Jarvie, 2011 ).

Driving a radical change in the way health/education/familyservicepro fessions and their agencies understand each other and to work together. Effectively integrated services focused on parents, children and communities can only be achieved when professions and agencies step outside their silos (Lancet, 2011 ). This would include redesign of initial training and professional development, and fostering collaborations in research, policy design and implementation.

There are also the ongoing needs for,

Identifying and developing effective parenting programs that work in tandem with formal ECEC provision.

Experiments to determine if there are lower cost ways of delivering quality and outcomes for disadvantaged children, including the merits of adding targeted services for these children on the base of universal services.

Figuring out how to scale up from successful trials (Grunewald & Rolnick, 2007 ; Engle et al., 2011 ).

Working out how to make more effective transitions between preschool and primary school.

Making research literature more accessible to public officials (OECD, 2012 ).

Indeed it can be argued that some of the most critical policy and program imperatives are in areas where quantitative research is of little help. In particular, qualitative research on effective strategies for ethnic minority children, their parents and their communities, is urgently needed. In most countries it is the ethnic minority children who are educationally and economically the most disadvantaged, and different strategies are required to engage their parents and communities. This is an area where governments struggle for effectiveness, and public officials have poor skills and capacities. This issue is common across many developed and developing countries, including countries with indigenous children such as Australia, China, Vietnam, Chile, Canada and European countries with migrant minorities (OECD, 2006 ; COAG, 2008 ; World Bank, 2011 ). Research that is systematic and persuasive to governments is needed on for example, the relative effectiveness of having bilingual environments and ethnic minority teachers and teaching assistants in ECEC centres, compared to the simpler community outreach strategies, and how to build parent and community leadership.

Many countries are acknowledging that parental and community engagement is a critical element of effective child development outcomes (OECD, 2012 ). Yet public officials, many siloed in education and child care ministries delivering formal ECEC services, are remote from research on raising parent awareness and parenting programs. They do not see raising parental skills and awareness as core to their policy and program responsibilities. Improving parenting skills is particularly important for very young children (say 0–3) where the impact on brain development is so critical. It has been argued there needs to be a more systematic approach to parenting coach/support programs, to develop a menu of options that we know will work, to explore how informal programs can work with formal programs, and how health programs aimed young mothers or pregnant women can be enriched with education messages (The Lancet, 2011 ).

Other areas where qualitative research could assist are shown in Table 1 (see p. 40).

Implementation Science in Early Childhood Education and Care

Much of the suggested qualitative research in Table 1 is around program design and implementation . It is well-known that policies often fail because program design has not foreseen implementation issues or implementation has inadequate risk management. Early childhood programs are a classic example of the “paradox of non-evidence-based implementation of evidence-based practice” (Drake, Gorman & Torrey, 2005). Governments recognise that implementation is a serious issue: there may be a lot of general knowledge about “what works”, but there is minimal systematic information about how things actually work . One difficulty is that there is a lack of a common language and conceptual framework to describe ECEC implementation. For example, the word “consult” can describe a number of different processes, from public officials holding a one hour meeting with available parents in alocation,to ongoing structures set up which ensureall communityelementsare involved and reflect thespectrum of community views, and tocontinue tobuild up community awareness and engagement over time.

There is a need to derive robust findingsof generic value to public officials, for program design. In the health sciences, there is a developing literature on implementation, including a National implementation Research Network based in the USA, and a Journal of Implementation Science (Fixsen, Naoom, Blasé, Friedman & Wallace, 2005 ). While much of the health science literature is focused on professional practice, some of the concepts they have developed are useful for other fields, such as the concept of “fidelity” of implementation which describes the extent to which a program or service has been implemented as designed. Education program implementation is sometimes included in these fora, however, there is no equivalent significant movement in early childhood education and care.

A priority in qualitative research for ECEC of value to public officials would then appear to be a systematic focus on implementation studies, which would include developing a conceptual framework and possibly a language for systematic description of implementation, as well as, meta-studies. This need not start from scratch-much of the implementation science literature in health is relevant, especially the components around how to influence practitioners to incorporate latest evidence-based research into their practice, and the notions of fidelity of implementation. It could provide an opportunity to engage providers and ECE professionals in research, where historically ECEC research has been weak.

Essential to this would be collaborative relationships between government agencies, providers and research institutions, so that there is a flow of information and findings between all parties.

Quantitative social science research, together with studies of brain development, has successfully made the case for greater investment in the early years.There has been less emphasis on investigating what works on the ground especially for the most disadvantaged groups, and bringing findings together to inform government action. Yet many of the ECEC challenges facing governments are in implementation, and in ensuring that interventions are high quality. This is particularly true of interventions to assist ethnic minority children, who in many countries are the most marginalised and disadvantaged. Without studies that can improve the quality of ECEC implementation, governments, and other bodies implementing ECEC strategies, are at risk of not delivering the expected returns on early childhood investment. This could, over time, undermine the case for sustained government support.

It is time for a rebalancing of government research activity towards qualitative research, complemented by scaled up collaborations with ECEC providers and research institutions. A significant element of this research activity could usefully be in developing a more systematic approach to analysing and reporting implementation, and linking implementation to outcomes. This has been done quite effectively in the health sciences. An investment in developing an ECEC ‘implementation science’ would thus appear to be a worthy of focus for future work.

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2 Research Methods

Learning objectives.

After reading Chapter 2, you should be better equipped to

Describe the scientific method and explain how it is used to study development.
Explain the differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches to research methods.
Explain the differences between descriptive and experimental designs.
Understand when and how to use different research methodologies and the strengths and limitations of each methodology.
Explain the types of research methodologies that are specific to conducting research in developmental psychology.
Describe when and how to use preferential looking designs and the different habituations designs.
Understand the protections used when conducting research with vulnerable populations like infants and children.

Knowing What We Know

Scientific research is a critical tool for successfully navigating our complex world. Without it, we would be forced to rely solely on intuition, other people’s authority, and blind luck. While many of us feel confident in our abilities to decipher and interact with the world around us, history is filled with examples of how very wrong we can be when we fail to recognize the need for evidence in supporting claims. For example, even today, some individuals believe that newborn infants can only see the colors black and white. However, Bower (1966) [1] demonstrated that while limited, newborn infants do have the ability to see color.

The goal of all scientists is to better understand the world around them. Psychologists focus their attention on understanding behavior, as well as the cognitive (mental) and physiological (body) processes that underlie behavior. In contrast to other methods that people use to understand the behavior of others, such as intuition and personal experience, the hallmark of scientific research is that there is evidence to support a claim. Scientific knowledge is empirical : It is grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing.

While behavior is observable, the mind is not. If someone is crying, we can see behavior. However, the reason for the behavior is more difficult to determine. Is the person crying due to being sad, in pain, or happy? Sometimes we can learn the reason for someone’s behavior by simply asking a question, like “Why are you crying?” However, there are situations in which an individual is either uncomfortable or unwilling to answer the question honestly or is incapable of answering. For example, infants would not be able to explain why they are crying. In such circumstances, the psychologist must be creative in finding ways to better understand behavior.

Scientific knowledge is advanced through a process known as the scientific method . Basically, ideas (in the form of theories and hypotheses are tested against the real world (in the form of empirical observations, and those empirical observations lead to more ideas that are tested against the real world, and so on.

The basic steps in the scientific method are:

Observe a natural phenomenon and define a question about it
Make a hypothesis, or potential solution to the question
Test the hypothesis
If the hypothesis is true, find more evidence or find counter-evidence
If the hypothesis is false, create a new hypothesis or try again
Draw conclusions and repeat–the scientific method is never-ending, and no result is ever considered perfect

In order to ask an important question that may improve our understanding of the world, a researcher must first observe natural phenomena. By making observations, a researcher can define a useful question. After finding a question to answer, the researcher can then make a prediction in the form of a hypothesis about what he or she thinks the answer will be. This prediction is usually a statement about the relationship between two or more variables. After making a hypothesis, the researcher will then design an experiment to test his or her hypothesis and evaluate the data gathered. These data will either support or refute the hypothesis. Based on the conclusions drawn from the data, the researcher will then find more evidence to support the hypothesis, look for counterevidence to further strengthen the hypothesis, revise the hypothesis and create a new experiment, or continue to incorporate the information gathered to answer the research question.

Flowchart Outlining the Steps of the Scientific Method

Flowchart describing the steps taken when using the scientific method.

The Basic Principles of the Scientific Method

Two key concepts in the scientific approach are theory and hypothesis . A theory is a well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena that can be used to make predictions about future observations. A hypothesis is a testable prediction that is arrived at logically from a theory. It is often worded as an if-then statement (e.g., if I study all night, I will get a passing grade on the test). The hypothesis is extremely important because it bridges the gap between the realm of ideas and the real world. As specific hypotheses are tested, theories are modified and refined to reflect and incorporate the result of these tests.

The Relationship Between Observation, Theory, Hypothesis and Research

Applying the Scientific Method

To see how this process works, let’s consider a specific theory and a hypothesis that might be generated from that theory. The James-Lange theory of emotion asserts that emotional experience relies on the physiological arousal associated with the emotional state. If you walked out of your home and discovered a very aggressive snake waiting on your doorstep, your heart would begin to race and your stomach would churn. According to the James-Lange theory, these physiological changes would result in your feeling of fear. A hypothesis that could be derived from this theory might be that a person who is unaware of the physiological arousal that the sight of the snake elicits will not feel fear.

Remember that a good scientific hypothesis is falsifiable , or capable of being shown to be incorrect. Recall from Chapter 1 that Sigmund Freud had lots of interesting ideas to explain various human behaviors. However, a major criticism of Freud’s theories is that many of his ideas are not falsifiable; for example, it is impossible to imagine empirical observations that would disprove the existence of the id, the ego, and the superego—the three elements of personality described in Freud’s theories. Despite this, Freud’s theories are widely taught in introductory psychology texts because of their historical significance for personality psychology and psychotherapy, and these remain the root of all modern forms of therapy.

Why the Scientific Method Is Important for Psychology

The use of the scientific method is one of the main features that separates modern psychology from earlier philosophical inquiries about the mind. Compared to chemistry, physics, and other “natural sciences,” psychology has long been considered one of the “social sciences” because of the subjective nature of the things it seeks to study. Many of the concepts that psychologists are interested in—such as aspects of the human mind, behavior, and emotions—are subjective and cannot be directly measured. Psychologists often rely instead on behavioral observations and self-reported data, which are considered by some to be illegitimate or lacking in methodological rigor. Applying the scientific method to psychology, therefore, helps to standardize the approach to understanding its very different types of information.

The scientific method allows psychological data to be replicated and confirmed in many instances, under different circumstances, and by a variety of researchers. Through replication of experiments, new generations of psychologists can reduce errors and broaden the applicability of theories. It also allows theories to be tested and validated instead of simply being conjectures that could never be verified or falsified. All of this allows psychologists to gain a stronger understanding of how the human mind works.

Scientific articles published in journals and psychology papers written in the style of the American Psychological Association (i.e., in “APA style”) are structured around the scientific method. These papers include an Introduction, which introduces the background information and outlines the hypotheses; a Methods section, which outlines the specifics of how the experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis; a Results section, which includes the statistics that tested the hypothesis and state whether it was supported or not supported, and a Discussion and Conclusion, which state the implications of finding support for, or no support for, the hypothesis. Writing articles and papers that adhere to the scientific method makes it easy for future researchers to repeat the study and attempt to replicate the results. [2]

General Research Methodologies: Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

Qualitative methods of research involve using a more open, evolving approach to finding out about the world. There is less emphasis on quantifying what is known and more emphasis on tapping into the experiences, assumptions, and meanings subjects give to their situations. Qualitative methods can be used to explore an area about which little is known or to get a fresh look at a situation that has been studied before. The use of narratives in which the researcher tries to find out what is going on by using the subjects’ own words is one approach. Qualitative methods are used in anthropology, education, nursing, and other areas where the researcher wishes to be led by the participants into seeing what they deem as important.

The researcher begins with a broad interest and gains entrance into a setting in which to explore. Information is gathered using a variety of techniques such as observation, documenting the physical space and surroundings of that setting, recording interviews, etc. After gathering general information, the researcher may decide to focus more closely on specific research questions. Patterns may become apparent as the researcher revisits their field notes and spends more time in a setting. These prompt the researcher to explore new ideas until they feel they reach a point of saturation, or a feeling that they’ve thoroughly explored the situation. Patterns and answers to research questions are noted in a report of the findings.

Researchers who use qualitative methods might take the following steps when conducting research:

Begin with a broad area of interest
Gain entrance into a group to be researched
Gather field notes about the setting, the people, the structure, the activities or other areas of interest
Ask open ended, broad “grand tour” types of questions when interviewing subjects
Modify research questions as study continues
Note patterns or consistencies
Explore new areas deemed important by the people being observed
Report findings

In this type of research, theoretical ideas are “grounded” in the experiences of the participants. The researcher is the student and the people in the setting are the teachers as they inform the researcher of their world (Glazer & Strauss, 1967). Researchers are to be aware of their own biases and assumptions, acknowledge them and bracket them in efforts to keep them from limiting accuracy in reporting. Sometimes qualitative studies are used initially to explore a topic and more quantitative studies are used to test or explain what was first described.

Quantitative methods involve beginning with a research question, reviewing the literature to see what others have found in their research of the topic, determining specifically what aspect of the topic to explore in your research and determining the most appropriate method to use for your purposes, conducting the study, which means finding your sample, administering your survey or conducting your experiments, interpreting the results by analyzing your data, drawing conclusions about what you have found, and finally sharing your findings with others in the scientific community by publishing your research.

Researchers using quantitative methods typically take the following steps when conducting research:

Determining a research question
Reviewing previous studies addressing the topic in question (known as a literature review)
Determining a method of gathering information
Conducting the study
Interpreting results
Drawing conclusions; stating limitations of the study and suggestions for future research
Making your findings available to others (both to share information and to have your work scrutinized by others)

This model of scientific investigation presents research as a linear process guided by a specific research question or hypothesis, and it typically involves quantifying or using statistics to understand and report what has been studied. Many academic journals publish reports on studies conducted in this manner and a good way to become more familiar with these steps is to look at journal articles which will be written in sections that follow these 7 steps. [3]

Specific Research Methodologies

A research design is the specific method a researcher uses to collect, analyze, and interpret data. Psychologists use three major types of research designs in their research, and each provides an essential avenue for scientific investigation. Descriptive or qualitative research is research that describes what is occurring at a point in time. Correlational research is research designed to discover relationships among variables and to allow the prediction of future events from present knowledge. Experimental research is research in which a researcher manipulates one or more variables to see their effects. Each of the three research designs varies according to its strengths and limitations. [3]

Each of these research methods has unique strengths and weaknesses, and each method may only be appropriate for certain types of research questions. For example, studies that rely primarily on observation produce incredible amounts of information, but the ability to apply this information to the larger population is somewhat limited because of small sample sizes. Survey research, on the other hand, allows researchers to easily collect data from relatively large samples. While this allows for results to be generalized to the larger population more easily, the information that can be collected on any given survey is somewhat limited and subject to problems associated with any type of self-reported data. Some researchers conduct archival research by using existing records. While this can be a fairly inexpensive way to collect data that can provide insight into a number of research questions, researchers using this approach have no control on how or what kind of data was collected.

Correlational research can find a relationship between two variables, but the only way a researcher can claim that the relationship between the variables is cause and effect is to perform an experiment. In experimental research, which will be discussed later in the text, there is a tremendous amount of control over variables of interest. While this is a powerful approach, experiments are often conducted in very artificial settings. This calls into question the validity of experimental findings with regard to how they would apply in real-world settings. In addition, many of the questions that psychologists would like to answer cannot be pursued through experimental research because of ethical concerns.

Descriptive or Qualitative Research

Descriptive or qualitative research methods include the case study , naturalistic observation/observational research , surveys , interviews , psychophysiological assessments , and secondary/ content analysis or archival research .

Case Study Methodology

In 2011, the New York Times published a feature story on Krista and Tatiana Hogan, Canadian twin girls. These particular twins are unique because Krista and Tatiana are conjoined twins, connected at the head. There is evidence that the two girls are connected in a part of the brain called the thalamus, which is a major sensory relay center. Most incoming sensory information is sent through the thalamus before reaching higher regions of the cerebral cortex for processing.

The implications of this potential connection mean that it might be possible for one twin to experience the sensations of the other twin. For instance, if Krista is watching a particularly funny television program, Tatiana might smile or laugh even if she is not watching the program. This particular possibility has piqued the interest of many neuroscientists who seek to understand how the brain uses sensory information.

These twins represent an enormous resource in the study of the brain, and since their condition is very rare, it is likely that as long as their family agrees, scientists will follow these girls very closely throughout their lives to gain as much information as possible (Dominus, 2011).

In observational research, scientists are conducting a clinical or case study when they focus on one person or just a few individuals. Indeed, some scientists spend their entire careers studying just 10–20 individuals. Why would they do this? Obviously, when they focus their attention on a very small number of people, they can gain a tremendous amount of insight into those cases. The richness of information that is collected in clinical or case studies is unmatched by any other single research method. This allows the researcher to have a very deep understanding of the individuals and the particular phenomenon being studied.

If clinical or case studies provide so much information, why are they not more frequent among researchers? As it turns out, the major benefit of this particular approach is also a weakness. As mentioned earlier, this approach is often used when studying individuals who are interesting to researchers because they have a rare characteristic. Therefore, the individuals who serve as the focus of case studies are not like most other people. If scientists ultimately want to explain all behavior, focusing attention on such a special group of people can make it difficult to generalize any observations to the larger population as a whole. Generalizing refers to the ability to apply the findings of a particular research project to larger segments of society. Again, case studies provide enormous amounts of information, but since the cases are so specific, the potential to apply what’s learned to the average person may be very limited. [5]

How is the Case Study Conducted?

The procedure used in a case study means that the researcher provides a description of the behavior. This comes from interviews and other sources, such as observation.

The client also reports detail of events from his or her point of view. The researcher then writes up the information from both sources above as the case study and interprets the information. The research may also continue for an extended period of time, so processes and developments can be studied as they happen.

Amongst the sources of data the psychologist is likely to turn to when carrying out a case study are observations of a person’s daily routine, unstructured interviews with the participant herself (and with people who know her), diaries, personal notes (e.g. letters, photographs, notes) or official document (e.g. case notes, clinical notes, appraisal reports).

The case study method often involves simply observing what happens to, or reconstructing the case history of a single participant or group of individuals (such as a school class or a specific social group), i.e. the idiographic approach.

The interview is also an extremely effective procedure for obtaining information about an individual, and it may be used to collect comments from the person’s friends, parents, employer, workmates and others who have a good knowledge of the person, as well as to obtain facts from the person him or herself.

Most of this information is likely to be qualitative (i.e. verbal description rather than measurement) but the psychologist might collect numerical data as well.

Strengths of Case Studies

Provides detailed (rich qualitative) information.
Provides insight for further research.
Permitting investigation of otherwise impractical (or unethical) situations.

Case studies allow a researcher to investigate a topic in far more detail than might be possible if they were trying to deal with a large number of research participants (nomothetic approach) with the aim of ‘averaging’.

Because of their in-depth, multi-sided approach case studies often shed light on aspects of human thinking and behavior that would be unethical or impractical to study in other ways.

Research which only looks into the measurable aspects of human behavior is not likely to give us insights into the subjective dimension to experience which is so important to psychoanalytic and humanistic psychologists.

Case studies are often used in exploratory research. They can help us generate new ideas (that might be tested by other methods). They are an important way of illustrating theories and can help show how different aspects of a person’s life are related to each other.

The method is therefore important for psychologists who adopt a holistic point of view (i.e. humanistic psychologists).

Limitations of Case Studies

Lacking scientific rigor and providing little basis for generalization of results to the wider population.
Researchers’ own subjective feeling may influence the case study (researcher bias).
Difficult to replicate.
Time-consuming and expensive.
The volume of data, together with the time restrictions in place, impacted on the depth of analysis that was possible within the available resources.

Because a case study deals with only one person/event/group we can never be sure if the case study investigated is representative of the wider body of “similar” instances. This means the conclusions drawn from a particular case may not be transferable to other settings.

Because case studies are based on the analysis of qualitative (i.e. descriptive) data a lot depends on the interpretation the psychologist places on the information she has acquired.

This means that there is a lot of scope for observer bias and it could be that the subjective opinions of the psychologist intrude in the assessment of what the data means.

For example, Freud has been criticized for producing case studies in which the information was sometimes distorted to fit the particular theories about behavior (e.g. Little Hans).

This is also true of Money’s interpretation of the Bruce/Brenda case study (Diamond, 1997) when he ignored evidence that went against his theory. [4]

Naturalistic Observations/ Observational Research Methodology

Observational studies involve watching and recording the actions of participants. This may take place in the natural setting, such as observing children at play at a park, or behind a one-way glass while children are at play in a laboratory playroom. The researcher may follow a checklist and record the frequency and duration of events (perhaps how many conflicts occur among 2- year-olds) or may observe and record as much as possible about an event (such as observing children in a classroom and capturing the details about the room design and what the children and teachers are doing and saying). [5]

We want our researcher to be inconspicuous—perhaps, as mentioned above standing behind one-way glass. This type of observational study is called naturalistic observation : observing behavior in its natural setting. To better understand peer exclusion, Suzanne Fanger collaborated with colleagues at the University of Texas to observe the behavior of preschool children on a playground. How did the observers remain inconspicuous over the duration of the study? They equipped a few of the children with wireless microphones (which the children quickly forgot about) and observed while taking notes from a distance. Also, the children in that particular preschool (a “laboratory preschool”) were accustomed to having observers on the playground (Fanger, Frankel, & Hazen, 2012).

It is critical that the observer be as unobtrusive and as inconspicuous as possible: when people know they are being watched, they are less likely to behave naturally. If you have any doubt about this, ask yourself how your driving behavior might differ in two situations: In the first situation, you are driving down a deserted highway during the middle of the day; in the second situation, you are being followed by a police car down the same deserted highway (Figure 1).

It should be pointed out that naturalistic observation is not limited to research involving humans. Indeed, some of the best-known examples of naturalistic observation involve researchers going into the field to observe various kinds of animals in their own environments. As with human studies, the researchers maintain their distance and avoid interfering with the animal subjects so as not to influence their natural behaviors. Scientists have used this technique to study social hierarchies and interactions among animals ranging from ground squirrels to gorillas. The information provided by these studies is invaluable in understanding how those animals organize socially and communicate with one another. The anthropologist Jane Goodall,(image below) for example, spent nearly five decades observing the behavior of chimpanzees in Africa. As an illustration of the types of concerns that a researcher might encounter in naturalistic observation, some scientists criticized Goodall for giving the chimps names instead of referring to them by numbers—using names was thought to undermine the emotional detachment required for the objectivity of the study (McKie, 2010).

The greatest benefit of naturalistic observation is the validity, or accuracy, of information collected unobtrusively in a natural setting. Having individuals behave as they normally would in a given situation means that we have a higher degree of ecological validity, or realism, than we might achieve with other research approaches. Therefore, our ability to generalize the findings of the research to real-world situations is enhanced. If done correctly, we need not worry about people or animals modifying their behavior simply because they are being observed. Sometimes, people may assume that reality programs give us a glimpse into authentic human behavior. However, the principle of inconspicuous observation is violated as reality stars are followed by camera crews and are interviewed on camera for personal confessionals. Given that environment, we must doubt how natural and realistic their behaviors are.

The major downside of naturalistic observation is that they are often difficult to set up and control. In our restroom study, what if you stood in the restroom all day prepared to record people’s hand washing behavior and no one came in? Or, what if you have been closely observing a troop of gorillas for weeks only to find that they migrated to a new place while you were sleeping in your tent? The benefit of realistic data comes at a cost. As a researcher you have no control of when (or if) you have behavior to observe. In addition, this type of observational research often requires significant investments of time, money, and a good dose of luck.

Sometimes studies involve structured observation . In these cases, people are observed while engaging in set, specific tasks. An excellent example of structured observation comes from the Strange Situation by Mary Ainsworth (you will read more about this later). The Strange Situation is a procedure used to evaluate attachment styles that exist between an infant and caregiver. In this scenario, caregivers bring their infants into a room filled with toys. The Strange Situation involves a number of phases, including a stranger coming into the room, the caregiver leaving the room, and the caregiver’s return to the room. The infant’s behavior is closely monitored at each phase, but it is the behavior of the infant upon being reunited with the caregiver that is most telling in terms of characterizing the infant’s attachment style with the caregiver.

Another potential problem in observational research is observer bias . Generally, people who act as observers are closely involved in the research project and may unconsciously skew their observations to fit their research goals or expectations. To protect against this type of bias, researchers should have clear criteria established for the types of behaviors recorded and how those behaviors should be classified. In addition, researchers often compare observations of the same event by multiple observers, in order to test inter-rater reliability : a measure of reliability that assesses the consistency of observations by different observers. [6]

Survey Methodology

Surveys are familiar to most people because they are so widely used. Surveys enhance accessibility to subjects because they can be conducted in person, over the phone, through the mail, or online. A survey involves asking a standard set of questions to a group of subjects. In a highly structured survey, subjects are forced to choose from a response set such as “strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree, strongly agree”; or “0, 1-5, 6-10, etc.” Surveys are commonly used by sociologists, marketing researchers, political scientists, therapists, and others to gather information on several variables in a relatively short period of time. Surveys typically yield surface information on a wide variety of factors but may not allow for in-depth understanding of human behavior. Of course, surveys can be designed in a number of ways. They may include forced choice questions and semi-structured questions in which the researcher allows the respondent to describe or give details about certain events. One of the most difficult aspects of designing a good survey is wording questions in an unbiased way and asking the right questions so that respondents can give a clear response rather that choosing “undecided” each time. Knowing that 30% of respondents are undecided is of little use! So, a lot of time and effort should be placed on the construction of survey items. One of the benefits of having forced choice items is that each response is coded so that the results can be quickly entered and analyzed using statistical software. Analysis takes much longer when respondents give lengthy responses that must be analyzed in a different way. Surveys are useful in examining stated values, attitudes, opinions, and reporting on practices. However, they are based on self-report or what people say they do rather than on observation and this can limit accuracy. [7]

The Survey Below Asks Questions Regarding School Reform [8]

Rather than surveying participants, they can be interviewed which means they are directly questioned by a researcher. Interviewing participants on their behaviors or beliefs can solve the problem of misinterpreting the questions posed on surveys. The examiner can explain the questions and further probe responses for greater clarity and understanding. Although this can yield more accurate results, interviews take longer and are more expensive to administer than surveys. Participants can also demonstrate social desirability, which will affect the accuracy of the responses.

Psychophysiological Assessment

Researchers may also record psychophysiological data , such as measures of heart rate, hormone levels, or brain activity to help explain development. These measures may be recorded by themselves or in combination with behavioral data to better understand the bidirectional relations between biology and behavior. Special equipment has been developed to allow researchers to record the brain activity of infants and children. One manner of understanding associations between brain development and behavioral advances is through the recording of event-related potentials (ERPs). ERPs are recorded by fitting a research participant with a stretchy cap that contains many small sensors or electrodes . These electrodes record tiny electrical currents on the scalp of the participant in response to the presentation of stimuli, such as a picture or a sound.

The use of ERPs has provided important insight as to how infants and children understand the world around them. Webb, Dawson, Bernier, and Panagiotides (2006) examined face and object processing in children with autism spectrum disorders, those with developmental delays, and those who were typically developing. The children wore electrode caps and had their brain activity recorded as they watched still photographs of faces of their mother or of a stranger, and objects, including those that were familiar or unfamiliar to them. The researchers examined differences in face and object processing by group by observing a component of the brainwaves. Findings suggest that children with autism are in some way processing faces differently than typically developing children and those with more general developmental delays.

An infant wearing a skull-cap that contains electrodes during an event-related potential (ERP) recording

Secondary/Content Analysis or Archival Research

Secondary/content analysis or archival research involves analyzing information that has already been collected or examining documents or media to uncover attitudes, practices or preferences. There are many data sets available to those who wish to conduct this type of research. For example, the U. S. Census Data is available and widely used to look at trends and changes taking place in the United States. The researcher conducting secondary analysis does not have to recruit subjects but does need to know the quality of the information collected in the original study.

Correlational Research

In contrast to descriptive research, which is designed primarily to provide static pictures, correlational research involves the measurement of two or more variables (a variable is anything that can change in value) and an assessment of the relationship between or among those variables. For instance, the variables of height and weight are systematically related (correlated) because taller people generally weigh more than shorter people.

The Pearson Correlation Coefficient, symbolized by the letter r, is the most common statistical measure of the strength of linear relationships among variables. The value of the correlation coefficient ranges from r= –1.00 to r = 1.00. The strength of the linear relationship is indexed by the distance of the correlation coefficient from zero (its absolute value). For instance, r = –.54 is a stronger relationship than r= .30, and r = .72 is a stronger relationship than r = –.57. The direction of the linear relationship is indicated by the sign of the correlation coefficient . Positive values of r (such as r = .54 or r = .67) indicate that the relationship is positive (i.e., the pattern of the dots on the scatter plot runs from the lower left to the upper right), whereas negative values of r (such as r = –.30 or r = –.72) indicate negative relationships (i.e., the dots run from the upper left to the lower right).

Examples of positive and negative correlational data presented as scatterplots

When the straight line indicates that individuals who have high values for one variable also tend to have high values for the other variable, as in part (a) above, the relationship is said to be a positive correlation . Examples of positive correlations include those between education and income, and between age and mathematical abilities in children. In each case people who score higher on one of the variables also tend to score higher on the other variable. Negative correlations , in contrast, as shown in part (b) above, occur when high values for one variable tend to be associated with low values for the other variable. Examples of negative correlations include those between the age of a child and the number of diapers the child uses, and between practice and errors made on a learning task. In these cases, people who score higher on one of the variables tend to score lower on the other variable. [9]

An example of how a scatterplot might look in the case where a study finds that kindergarten and elementary school children who were better at rhymes and hearing the sounds of individual letters before they started to read later learn to read words more quickly than children who were not as good with making an distinguishing elementary sounds of language can be found below.

Scatterplot Between Speed of Learning to Read and Ability to Make and Hear Language-Related Sounds

The above scatter plots shows that the relationship between “Speed of Learning to Read” and the “Ability to Make and Hear Language-Related Sounds is “positive” and “strong. “ [10]

An important limitation of correlational research designs is that they cannot be used to draw conclusions about the causal relationships among the measured variables. In other words, CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION . Consider, for instance, a researcher who has hypothesized that viewing violent behavior will cause increased aggressive play in children. He has collected, from a sample of fourth-grade children, a measure of how much violent television each child views during the week, as well as a measure of how aggressively each child plays. The researcher discovers a positive correlation between the two measured variables. Although this positive correlation appears to support the hypothesis, it cannot be taken to indicate that viewing violent television causes aggressive behavior or aggressive behavior causes one to view violent television. Another possible explanation for the observed correlation is that it has been produced by the presence of a third variable.

A third or extraneous variable is a variable that is not part of the research hypothesis but produces the observed correlation between them. In our example a potential third variable is the discipline style of the children’s parents. Parents who use a harsh and punitive discipline style may produce children who both like to watch violent television and who behave aggressively in comparison to children whose parents use less harsh discipline.

For this reason, we are left with the basic limitation of correlational research: Correlation does not demonstrate causation! It is important that when you read about correlational research projects, you keep in mind the possibility of third variables.

Strengths and limitations of Correlational Research

Correlational research can be used when experimental research is not possible because the variables either cannot be manipulated, or it would be unethical to use an experiment. Correlational designs also have the advantage of allowing the researcher to study behavior as it occurs in everyday life. We can also use correlational designs to make predictions. For instance, we can predict from the scores on a battery of tests the success of job trainees during a training session. However, we cannot use such correlational information to determine whether one variable caused another variable. For that, researchers rely on an experiment.

Experimental Research

In order to conduct an experiment, a researcher must have a specific hypothesis to be tested. As you’ve learned, hypotheses can be formulated either through direct observation of the real world or after careful review of previous research. For example, if you think that children should not be allowed to watch violent programming on television because doing so would cause them to behave more violently, then you have basically formulated a hypothesis—namely, that watching violent television programs causes children to behave more violently. How might you have arrived at this particular hypothesis? You may have younger relatives who watch cartoons featuring characters using martial arts to save the world from evildoers, with an impressive array of punching, kicking, and defensive postures. You notice that after watching these programs for a while, your young relatives mimic the fighting behavior of the characters portrayed in the cartoon.

These sorts of personal observations are what often lead us to formulate a specific hypothesis, but we cannot use limited personal observations and anecdotal evidence to rigorously test our hypothesis. Instead, to find out if real-world data supports our hypothesis, we have to conduct an experiment. [11]

Three conditions must be met to establish cause and effect. Experimental designs are useful in meeting these conditions.

The independent variable and the dependent variable must be related. In other words, when one is altered, the other changes in response. (The independent variable is something altered or introduced by the researcher. The dependent variable is the outcome that is measured, or the factor affected by the introduction of the independent variable. For example, if we are looking at the impact of different levels of intervention on reading scores, the independent variable would be the level of intervention and the dependent variable would be the reading scores.)
The cause must come before the effect. Experiments involve measuring subjects on the dependent variable before exposing them to the independent variable (establishing a baseline). So, we would measure the subjects’ level of reading before introducing the intervention program and then again after the intervention program to see if there has been a change in reading scores. (Observational and survey research does not always allow us to look at the timing of these events, which makes understanding causality problematic with these designs.)
The cause must be isolated. The researcher must ensure that no outside, perhaps unknown or confounding variables are causing the effect we see. The experimental design helps make this possible. In an experiment, we would make sure that our subjects did not receive any intervention at home or at an after-school program. Otherwise these additional interventions might influence reading scores. [12]

Designing an Experiment

The most basic experimental design involves two groups: the experimental group and the control group . The two groups are designed to be the same except for one difference— experimental manipulation. The experimental group gets the experimental manipulation—that is, the treatment or variable being tested (in this case, violent TV images)—and the control group does not. Since experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, we can be sure that any differences between the two are due to experimental manipulation rather than chance.

In our example of how violent television programming might affect violent behavior in children, we have the experimental group view violent television programming for a specified time and then measure their violent behavior. We measure the violent behavior in our control group after they watch nonviolent television programming for the same amount of time. It is important for the control group to be treated similarly to the experimental group, with the exception that the control group does not receive the experimental manipulation. Therefore, we have the control group watch non-violent television programming for the same amount of time as the experimental group.

We also need to precisely define, or operationalize, what is considered violent and nonviolent. An operational definition is a description of how we will measure our variables, and it is important in allowing others understand exactly how and what a researcher measures in a particular experiment. In operationalizing violent behavior, we might choose to count only physical acts like kicking or punching as instances of this behavior, or we also may choose to include angry verbal exchanges. Whatever we determine, it is important that we operationalize violent behavior in such a way that anyone who hears about our study for the first time knows exactly what we mean by violence. This aids peoples’ ability to interpret our data as well as their capacity to repeat our experiment should they choose to do so.

Test Your Knowledge of a Good Operational Definition: Below you will find 5 suggested operational definitions. For each statement, determine whether or not the statement either provides a good example of an operational definition (True), or does not provide a good example of an operational definition (False).

Once we have operationalized what is considered violent television programming and what is considered violent behavior from our experiment participants, we need to establish how we will run our experiment. In this case, we might have participants watch a 30-minute television program (either violent or nonviolent, depending on their group membership) before sending them out to a playground for an hour where their behavior is observed and the number and type of violent acts is recorded.

Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which child was in which group, it might influence how much attention they paid to each child’s behavior as well as how they interpreted that behavior. By being blind to which child is in which group, we protect against those biases. This situation is a single-blind study , meaning that one of the groups (participants) are unaware as to which group they are in (experiment or control group) while the researcher who developed the experiment knows which participants are in each group.

In a double-blind study , both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments. Why would a researcher want to run a study where no one knows who is in which group? Because by doing so, we can control for both experimenter and participant expectations. If you are familiar with the phrase placebo effect, you already have some idea as to why this is an important consideration. The placebo effect occurs when people’s expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience in a given situation. In other words, simply expecting something to happen can actually make it happen.

The placebo effect is commonly described in terms of testing the effectiveness of a new medication. Imagine that you work in a pharmaceutical company, and you think you have a new drug that is effective in treating depression. To demonstrate that your medication is effective, you run an experiment with two groups: The experimental group receives the medication, and the control group does not. But you don’t want participants to know whether they received the drug or not.

Why is that? Imagine that you are a participant in this study, and you have just taken a pill that you think will improve your mood. Because you expect the pill to have an effect, you might feel better simply because you took the pill and not because of any drug actually contained in the pill—this is the placebo effect.

To make sure that any effects on mood are due to the drug and not due to expectations, the control group receives a placebo (in this case a sugar pill). Now everyone gets a pill, and once again neither the researcher nor the experimental participants know who got the drug and who got the sugar pill. Any differences in mood between the experimental and control groups can now be attributed to the drug itself rather than to experimenter bias or participant expectations. [13]

Independent and Dependent Variables

In a research experiment, we strive to study whether changes in one thing cause changes in another. To achieve this, we must pay attention to two important variables, or things that can be changed, in any experimental study: the independent variable and the dependent variable . An independent variable is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter. In a well-designed experimental study, the independent variable is the only important difference between the experimental and control groups. In our example of how violent television programs affect children’s display of violent behavior, the independent variable is the type of program—violent or nonviolent—viewed by participants in the study (Figure 3). A dependent variable is what the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had. In our example, the dependent variable is the number of violent acts displayed by the experimental participants.

The Influence of the Independent Variable on the Dependent Variable

Flow-chart demonstrating the relationship of the independent and dependent variable.

In an experiment, manipulations of the independent variable are expected to result in changes in the dependent variable . (credit “automatic weapon”: modifications of work by Daniel Oines: credit “toy gun”: modifications of work by Emran Kassim)

We expect that the dependent variable will change as a function of the independent variable. In other words, the dependent variable depends on the independent variable. A good way to think about the relationship between the independent and dependent variables is with this question: What effect does the independent variable have on the dependent variable? Returning to our example, what effect does watching a half hour of violent television programming or nonviolent television programming have on the number of incidents of physical aggression displayed on the playground?

Selecting and Assigning Experimental Participants

Now that our study is designed, we need to obtain a sample of individuals to include in our experiment. Our study involves human participants so we need to determine who to include. Participants are the subjects of psychological research, and as the name implies, individuals who are involved in psychological research actively participate in the process. Often, psychological research projects rely on college students to serve as participants. In fact, the vast majority of research in psychology subfields has historically involved students as research participants (Sears, 1986; Arnett, 2008). But are college students truly representative of the general population? College students tend to be younger, more educated, more liberal, and less diverse than the general population. Although using students as test subjects is an accepted practice, relying on such a limited pool of research participants can be problematic because it is difficult to generalize findings to the larger population.

Our hypothetical experiment involves children, and we must first generate a sample of child participants. Samples are used because populations are usually too large to reasonably involve every member in our particular experiment. If possible, we should use a random sample (there are other types of samples, but for the purposes of this section, we will focus on random samples). A random sample is a subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. Random samples are preferred because if the sample is large enough, we can be reasonably sure that the participating individuals are representative of the larger population. This means that the percentages of characteristics in the sample—sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic level, and any other characteristics that might affect the results—are close to those percentages in the larger population.

In our example, let’s say we decide our population of interest is fourth graders. But all fourth graders is a very large population, so we need to be more specific; instead we might say our population of interest is all fourth graders in a particular city. We should include students from various income brackets, family situations, races, ethnicities, religions, and geographic areas of town. With this more manageable population, we can work with the local schools to randomly select around 200 fourth graders who we want to participate in our experiment.

In summary, because we cannot test all of the fourth graders in a city, we want to find a group of about 200 that reflects the composition of that city. With a representative group, we can generalize our findings to the larger population without fear of our sample being biased in some way.

Now that we have a sample, the next step of the experimental process is to split the participants into experimental and control groups through random assignment. With random assignment , all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group. There is statistical software that will randomly assign each of the fourth graders in the sample to either the experimental or the control group.

Random assignment is critical for sound experimental design. With sufficiently large samples, random assignment makes it unlikely that there are systematic differences between the groups. So, for instance, it would be very unlikely that we would get one group composed entirely of males, a given ethnic identity, or a given religious ideology. This is important because if the groups were systematically different before the experiment began, we would not know the origin of any differences we find between the groups: Were the differences preexisting, or were they caused by manipulation of the independent variable? Random assignment allows us to assume that any differences observed between experimental and control groups result from the manipulation of the independent variable. [14]

Despite the advantage of determining causation, experiments do have limitations. One is that they are often conducted in laboratory situations rather than in the everyday lives of people. Therefore, we do not know whether results that we find in a laboratory setting will necessarily hold up in everyday life. Second, and more important, is that some of the most interesting and key social variables cannot be experimentally manipulated because of ethical concerns. If we want to study the influence of abuse on children’s development of depression, these relationships must be assessed using correlational designs because it is simply not ethical to experimentally manipulate these variables. Characteristics of descriptive, correlational, and experimental research designs can be found in the following table. [15] , [16]

Table describing the type of research design with corresponding Goal, Advantages, and Disadvantages.

Developmental Research Designs

While research methods are tools that are used to collect information, research design is the strategy or blueprint for deciding how to collect and analyze information. Research design dictates which research methods are used and how. When we are trying to describe development and change, the research designs become especially important because we are interested in what changes and what stays the same with age. [19] Developmental researchers typically use one of three types of developmental research design, either cross-sectional , longitudinal , or cross-sequential/sequential .

Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal and Cross Sequential/Sequential Research Designs

Cross sectional research designs.

Cross-sectional research compares samples that represent a cross-section of the population who vary in age. Participants might be asked to complete a survey or take a test of some physical or cognitive skill. The attitudes or skill levels based on age are compared. In cross-sectional research, respondents are measured only once, and consequently this method is not expensive or time consuming. In addition, because participants are only tested at one point in time, practice effects are not an issue as children do not have the opportunity to become better at the task over time. There is also no need to keep in contact with, or follow-up with, participants over time. The table [17] below shows that the study included a group of 2-year-olds, a group of 6-year-olds and a group of 8-year-olds.

Cohort Group Participants of a Cross-Sectional Design

Table indicating the age of each cohort group that took part in the study.

However, cross-sectional research does not allow the researcher to look at the impact of having been born in a certain time-period, which is known as the cohort effect . For example, those born during the depression have very different views about and experiences with the internet than those born in the last twenty years. Different attitudes about the Internet, for example, might not be due to a person’s biological age as much as their life experiences as members of a cohort. [18]

Longitudinal Research Designs

Longitudinal research involves studying a group of people who are the same age and measuring them repeatedly over a period-of-time. This type of design allows researchers to study individual differences in development. Longitudinal studies may be conducted over the short term, such as a span of months, or over much longer durations including years or decades. For these reasons, longitudinal research designs are optimal for studying stability and change over time.

Cohort Group Participants of a Longitudinal Design

Flowchart showing how the same child takes part in the same study from the age of 2 to the age of 8.

Problems with longitudinal research include being very time consuming and expensive. Researchers must maintain continued contact with participants over time, and these studies necessitate that scientists have funding to conduct their work over extended durations. An additional risk is attrition. Attrition occurs when participants fail to complete all portions of a study. Participants may move, change their phone numbers, or simply become disinterested in participating over time. Researchers should account for the possibility of attrition by enrolling a larger sample into their study initially, as some participants will likely drop out over time. Even with a large sample size, the experimenter never knows if there was something different about the individuals who dropped out versus those that remained in the study.

The results from longitudinal studies may also be impacted by repeated assessments. Consider how well you would do on a math test if you were given the exact same exam every day for a week. Your performance would likely improve over time not necessarily because you developed better math abilities, but because you were continuously practicing the same math problems. This phenomenon is known as a practice effect. Practice effects occur when participants become better at a task over time because they have done it again and again; not due to natural psychological development. [19]

Cross-Sequential/Sequential Designs

Cross-sequential research includes elements of both longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs. Like longitudinal designs, sequential research features participants who are followed over time; like cross-sectional designs, sequential work includes participants of different ages. This research design is also distinct from those that have been discussed previously in that individuals of different ages are enrolled into a study at various points in time to examine age-related changes, development within the same individuals as they age, and account for the possibility of cohort effects. [20]

Cohort Group Participants of a Cross-Sequential Design

Table showing how a child takes part in a sequential design study. The table corresponds to the discussion in the text provided below.

For example, in a study with a sequential design, a researcher might enroll three separate groups of children (Groups A, B, and C). Children in Group A would be enrolled when they are 2 years old and would be tested again when they are 4 and 6 years old. This is similar in design to the longitudinal study described previously. Children in Group B would also be enrolled when they are 2 years old, but this would occur two years later when Group A is now 4 years old. Finally, children in Group C would be enrolled when they are 2 years old and Group A is now 6 and Group B is now 4. At this time, the children would represent a cross-sectional design (2, 4, and 6 years of age). Further, along the diagonal children of the same age can be compared to determine if cohort effects are evident. Sequential designs are appealing because they allow researchers to learn a lot about development in a relatively short amount of time.

Because they include elements of longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, sequential research has many of the same strengths and limitations as these other approaches. For example, sequential work may require less time and effort than longitudinal research, but more time and effort than cross-sectional research. Although practice effects may be an issue if participants are asked to complete the same tasks or assessments over time, attrition may be less problematic than what is commonly experienced in longitudinal research since participants may not have to remain involved in the study for such a long period-of-time. [21] The table that follows summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of developmental research designs.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Developmental Research Designs [27]

Table describing the advantages and disadvantages of Longitudinal, Cross-Sectional and Sequential Designs.

Preferential Looking and Habituation

Conducting psychological experiments that involve infant participants can be difficult. Infants may fall asleep or cry during procedures, and typically do not follow instructions well. The most difficult aspect of working with infants is their lack of language abilities. In other words, infants can’t tell you what they think, believe, or feel like adults can. However, infant visual capabilities while not as developed as older children or adults can be used to provide researchers with insights into their cognitive abilities.

Preferential Looking

In 1961 Robert L. Fantz introduced the visual preference paradigm . The technique was simple, show infants two different stimuli paired alongside each other and measure how long the infant would look at either stimulus. Fantz concluded that the stimulus the infants looked longer at was the preferred stimulus. As he continued his technique, he began to find similar preference patterns among infants. For example, Fantz showed that from 2 months of age, infants preferred complex images like bulls-eyes over plain white or black circles. One of his more interesting findings is that newborns and infants prefer faces and face-like patterns over non-face-like patterns. This finding led Fantz to hypothesize that this preference was an innate ability that might serve to enhance survival of the newborn and infant.

Fantz’s Looking Chamber

The “Looking Chamber” developed by Fantz (1961) to test newborn and infant preference.

The preferential looking technique can be used to test infant visual acuity. In this case infants are shown several presentations of different stimuli consisting of black and white stripes of varying widths alongside a control stimulus (a uniform grey disc). When the looking time between the two stimuli is approximately 50% for either stimulus the infant’s visual acuity limit has been reached.

Finally, the concept behind the preferential looking technique have been adapted for use in the study of audition. The head-turn preference procedure (HPP) or preferential listening paradigm is used to explore infants’ ability to discriminate between auditory stimuli.

Infant Preferential Looking

Testing an infant’s visual acuity using preferential looking. The width of the stripes corresponds to Snellen Acuity values

Habituation

Fantz was one of the first researchers to make use of the habituation technique (although he did not refer to the technique as “habituation) to study human infant perceptual and cognitive abilities.

In habituation studies, infants are presented with a stimulus such as a photograph of a face over several trials until they become bored with it. Typically, when infants become bored, they will look away from the picture. Once the infant has been habituated, or bored, a new or test stimulus is then paired with the original stimulus. Therefore, if the infant is shown a new picture–such as a photograph of a different face paired with the original picture, their interest will return, and they will look longer at the new picture. This is a phenomenon known as dishabituation . Habituation procedures work because infants generally look longer at novel stimuli relative to items that are familiar to them. This research technique takes advantage of involuntary or obligatory responses because infants are constantly looking around and observing their environments; they do not have to be taught to engage with the world in this way. [23]

Types of Habituation Protocols

Fixed trial habituation protocols and the infant-controlled procedure.

The simplest habituation protocols are fixed trial (FT) procedures , which involve administering a set of discrete, repetitive stimulus presentations to an infant; each trial has a fixed duration, and a fixed inter-trial interval. For example, one might present 8 trials of a checkerboard to an infant, each lasting 10 s with a 10 s inter-trial interval (e.g., Colombo et al., 1997). In simple FT protocols, the presentations are in no way linked to, or contingent upon, the infant’s behavior or visual attention; the infant is free to look or not look at the stimulus, and the procedure continues. There are a number of distinct advantages to running FT procedures: they are easy to automate, easy to conduct, and they yield data that are simple, uniform for each subject, and easy to analyze. The drawback of FT protocols, however, is that individual infants may habituate at different rates. To the degree that habituation rate reflects stimulus encoding (a central tenet of the comparator model), this implies that at the end of the FT protocol, infants may be at very different levels of processing. For instance, in the example described above (8 trials at 10 seconds each), infants might have looked for as much as 80 seconds and as little as 0 seconds. If one is interested in individual differences in infant processing, this may well be desirable (presuming that the infant has, in fact, looked at the stimulus), as it becomes analogous to a speeded cognitive task, where subjects are given a limited amount of time or exposure to an item before being administered a probe. However, if the aim of the protocol is to demonstrate a generic infant ability or skill, individual and developmental differences in visual behavior may obscure group effects that one is seeking to establish. [24]

This problem is addressed by the development of the infant-controlled procedure (ICP; Horowitz et al., 1972). There are two major differences between this procedure and the fixed trial protocol. The first is that the infant is administered repetitive stimulus presentations, but the beginning and end of the trial is contingent upon the infant’s looking. That is, the trial is not considered to start until the infant has looked at the stimulus, and it is terminated when the infant looks away.

Second, the trials continue until the infant has reduced their looking to some criterion. This criterion may be absolute (e.g., the sessions may end when the infant looks for a total of, say, no more than 3 seconds), but more often the criterion is relative to the infant’s initial level of looking. For example, the infant may be required to show a decline to a particular percentage (typically 50%) of their initial or longest levels. For example, an experimenter determines the average of the first three trials of looking and continues until the last three trials of looking average 50% or below the average of the first three trials. In this case, the trials can last anywhere from six trials and longer and will continue until the criteria specified has been reached. It should be noted that the use of a relative criterion makes theoretical sense from the point of view of the comparator model; if the initial size of the OR (i.e., the length of the look) represents the response when there is no internal representation of the stimulus, then using a constant percentage of decline as a criterion for habituation theoretically equates all of the subjects for the extent to which the external stimulus is encoded. We note that this reasoning is based on a set of assumptions with regard to looking and the OR, but it is also reasonable to point out that the ICP works extremely well in practice.

There are several other issues to consider with respect to the ICP, however. The first one is that this procedure is more difficult to design and implement than the FT protocol. Because criteria are computed, set, and typically reset several times within a session (based on the looks that the infant makes to the stimulus), it is difficult to conduct this without the aid of a microcomputer and custom programming.

Second, there are many decisions to be made about the parameters of the habituation protocol, for which there are neither consensual standards nor empirical evidence to guide the investigator. For example, instead of using the average of the first three trials of looking as a comparison, a researcher may decide to use the average of the first two looking trials as the baseline for comparison. These decisions can complicate the programming for the administration of the task. Group habituation curves will mislead many novice investigators into thinking that the first look of a habituation sequence is always the longest one. In fact, however, this occurs only about 60% of the time (Colombo & Mitchell, 1990). Thus, it is common to encounter long looks quite late in the habituation session, and if the habituation criterion is rigidly set by the length of the initial looks, infants will continue on in the session longer than necessary or may fail to attain the habituation criterion at all. In response to this, many investigators choose to allow the habituation criterion to “float,” or to be reset when longer looks occur later (i.e., beyond the first or second look) in the habituation sequence. In addition, the number of looks on which the criterion is based can vary; it may be based on the longest look, or the average of the two longest looks, or so forth. Similar issues must be faced when choosing how many criterion looks must be elicited to consider the infant to have habituated; here, the standard used by most investigators is two consecutive looks at or below criterion, but there is no empirical justification for this. accepted standard.

Third, the ICP dictates that the coding of looks must be done online, because the criterion for habituation is based on the duration of looks that have been observed earlier in the session. This has some implications for the reliability of online coding, but the coding of looks using the corneal reflection technique (or other less restrictive judgment criteria) tends to be quite easy and reliable. However, because the individual “look” now serves as the primary datum within the session, one must decide what constitutes a “look.” It is possible to place no constraints on the definition of a look; that is, to count any look to the stimulus as valid for purposes of setting or reaching the habituation criterion. However, one finds quickly that this may yield sequences of brief looks that result in very brief stimulus presentations that interfere with encoding; in addition, such looks may make it difficult to attain the habituation criterion, and have lower reliability (Colombo & Horowitz, 1985). In response, most investigators constrain the definition of looks in the ICP; looks must be of some minimum length (usually 1 or 2 sec) to be counted as valid, and be terminated by some minimum (again, 1 or 2 sec) look away from the stimulus. One of the few empirical evaluations of these procedural parameters, Colombo and Horowitz (1985) found 1 sec to be optimal for both the minimum look length and for the interval to characterize look termination, although this evidence has engendered little/no adoption of these standards, and no research has been conducted to determine whether different parameters might be appropriate for different aged infants.

Finally, it should be noted that like all criterion-based learning paradigms, the ICP will yield data sets that are not uniform in length for all participants; one infant may attain the habituation criterion in 5 looks, while another may take 25 looks to attain the criterion. As a result, the data structures for such files are not readily amenable to conventional forms of analysis and require considerable forethought in arranging. [25]

Conducting Ethical Research

As a student of psychological science, you may already know that Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) review and approve all research projects that are conducted at universities, hospitals, and other institutions. An IRB is typically a panel of experts who read and evaluate proposals for research. IRB members want to ensure that the proposed research will be carried out ethically and that the potential benefits of the research outweigh the risks and harm for participants. What you may not know though, is that the IRB considers some groups of participants to be more vulnerable or at-risk than others. Whereas university students are generally not viewed as vulnerable or at-risk, infants and young children commonly fall into this category. What makes infants and young children more vulnerable during research than young adults? One reason infants and young children are perceived as being at increased risk is due to their limited cognitive capabilities, which makes them unable to state their willingness to participate in research or tell researchers when they would like to drop out of a study. For these reasons, infants and young children require special accommodations as they participate in the research process.

When thinking about special accommodations in developmental research, consider the informed consent process. If you have ever participated in psychological research, you may know through your own experience that adults commonly sign an informed consent statement (a contract stating that they agree to participate in research) after learning about a study. As part of this process, participants are informed of the procedures to be used in the research, along with any expected risks or benefits. Infants and young children cannot verbally indicate their willingness to participate, much less understand the balance of potential risks and benefits. As such, researchers are oftentimes required to obtain written informed consent from the parent or legal guardian of the child participant, an adult who is almost always present as the study is conducted. In fact, children are not asked to indicate whether they would like to be involved in a study at all (a process known as assent ) until they are approximately seven years old. Because infants and young children also cannot easily indicate if they would like to discontinue their participation in a study, researchers must be sensitive to changes in the state of the participant (determining whether a child is too tired or upset to continue) as well as to parent desires (in some cases, parents might want to discontinue their involvement in the research). As in adult studies, researchers must always strive to protect the rights and well-being of the minor participants and their parents when conducting developmental science. [26]

Decisions about whether research is ethical are made using established ethical codes developed by scientific organizations, such as the American Psychological Association, and federal governments. In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services provides the guidelines for ethical standards in research. The following are the American Psychological Association code of ethics when using humans in research (APA, 2016).

No Harm: The most direct ethical concern of the scientist is to prevent harm to the research participants.
Informed Consent: Researchers must obtain informed consent, which explains as much as possible about the true nature of the study, particularly everything that might be expected to influence willingness to participate. Participants can withdraw their consent to participate at any point.
Confidentiality: Researchers must also protect the privacy of the research participants’ responses by not using names or other information that could identify the participants.
Deception: Deception occurs whenever research participants are not completely and fully informed about the nature of the research project before participating in it. Deception may occur when the researcher tells the participants that a study is about one thing when in fact it is about something else, or when participants are not told about the hypothesis.
Debriefing: At the end of a study debriefing, which is a procedure designed to fully explain the purposes and procedures of the research and remove any harmful aftereffects of participation, must occur.

Test Yourself: Review of Research Methodologies

Bower, T. G. R. (1966). The visual world of infants. Scientific American, 215(6), 80-92 ↵
All images and text found under this footnote are from Lumenlearning, Introduction to Psychology Module 2: Psychological research is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 (modified by Maria Pagano).[3] Introduction to Lifespan Psychology by Laura Overstreet is found on YouTube and is licensed under standard YouTube terms. (modified by Maria Pagano) ↵
Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective 2nd Edition by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0[5] From Lumenlearning, Introduction to Psychology Module 2: Psychological research is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 ↵
McLeod, S. A. (2019, August 03). Case study method . Simply Psychology is licensed under CC BY NC 3.0. ↵
Children’s Development by Ana R. Leon is licensed under CC BY 4.0 ↵
From Lumenlearning, Introduction to Psychology Module 2: Psychological research is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 ↵
Lifespan Development by Lumen Learning is licensed under CC BY 4.0 ↵
"Skypecast Survey" by Wesley Fryer is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 ↵
From Lumenlearning, Introduction to Psychology Module 2: Psychological research is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 ↵
From Lumenlearning, Introduction to Psychology Module 2: Psychological research is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 ↵
Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective 2nd Edition by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 (modified by Maria Pagano) ↵
Table created by Stangor, C. can be found on Canvas Network and is licensed under CC BY SA 3.0[19] Lifespan Development by Lumen Learning is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (modified by Maria Pagano) ↵
Image by NOBA is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ↵
Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective 2nd Edition by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 ↵
Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective 2nd Edition by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0[27] Image by NOBA is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ↵
Fair Use: Image from Perkins School for the Blind eLEARNING ↵
Research Methods in Developmental Psychology by Angela Lukowski and Helen Milojevich is licensed under CC BY NC SA 4.0 (modified by Maria Pagano ↵
Infant Visual Habituation by John Colombo and D. Wayne Mitchell Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine. ↵

originating in or based on observation or experience; capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment empirical laws.

the process of objectively establishing facts through testing and experimentation.

a testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables

A set of supported hypotheses that have been tested using empirical facts and is used to predict, explain, and understand behaviors.

the possibility that an assertion, hypothesis, or theory can be shown to be false by an observation or experiment.

involves asking broader research questions, collecting more detailed data (e.g., interviews), and using nonstatistical analyses.

involves the statistical and mathematical modeling of psychological processes, the design of research studies and the analysis of psychological data.

the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you will effectively address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data.

a type of research that is used to describe the characteristics of a population. It collects data that are used to answer a wide range of what, when, and how questions pertaining to a particular population or group.

a statistical measure that expresses the extent to which two variables are linearly related (meaning they change together at a constant rate). It's a common tool for describing simple relationships without making a statement about cause and effect.

research conducted using the scientific approach that determines a cause and effect relationship.

A case study has also been described as an intensive, systematic investigation of a single individual, group, community or some other unit in which the researcher examines in-depth data relating to several variables.

several different types of non-experimental studies in which behavior is systematically observed and recorded;a method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment/

a research method used for collecting data from a predefined group of respondents to gain information and insights into various topics of interest

a method of conversation with a specified purpose. Psychologists uses interview method in order to gain information in an efficient and streamlined manner; Interviews can be structured, unstructured or a combination of both structured and unstructured

involves recording and quantifying various physiological responses in controlled conditions using electromechanical equipment (e.g., electromyography, electroencephalography, electrodermal activity, respiratory activity, electrocardiography).

a research tool used to determine the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts within some given qualitative data (i.e. text); research that involves searching for and extracting information and evidence from original archives. Archives are historical – non-current – documents, records and other sources relating to the activities and claims of individuals, entities or both.

a file containing relevant information pertaining to an individual client or group.

a method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment.

the extent to which findings (from a study) can be generalized (or extended) to the those in natural settings (i.e., outside the lab)

a systematic method of collecting behavioral data within a controlled environment, often used in research with infants and young children, in which observers measure overt actions and interpersonal processes.

occurs when a researcher's expectations, opinions, or prejudices influence what they perceive or record in a study

the degree to which different raters or judges make consistent estimates of the same phenomenon

a format for question responses that requires respondents to provide an answer (e.g., yes or no), forcing them to make judgments about each response option

a type of interview in which the interviewer asks only a few predefined questions while the rest of the questions are not planned in advance

physiological responses of human body to psychological manipulations

the measured brain response that is the direct result of a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event.

an instrument used to record electrical activity in the brain and other tissue

a statistical measure of the strength of the relationship between the relative movements of two variables; the values range between -1.0 and 1.0

a visual representation of the relationships or between two numerical variables, which are represented as points plotted at a horizontal axis (y-axis) and vertical axis (y-axis).

a relationship between two variables in which both variables move in the same direction; as one variable increases the other variable increases, or as one variable decreases the other variable decreases.

a relationship between two variables in which an increase in one variable is associated with a decrease in the other

any variable that you're not investigating that can potentially affect the dependent variable of your research study

the variable that is manipulated by the experimenter

the variable that is measured by the experimenter

a group of participants in a research study who are exposed to a particular manipulation of the independent variable

the participants in a study who do not receive the experimental treatment.

a description of something in terms of the operations (procedures, actions, or processes) by which it could be observed and measured.

any systematic errors in the research process or the interpretation of its results that are attributable to a researcher's behavior, preconceived beliefs, expectancies, or desires about results

occurs when the participants are deliberately kept ignorant of the group to which they have been assigned, but the experimenter is aware of which individual is in a particular group.

a study where neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment

when a person's physical or mental health appears to improve after taking a placebo or 'dummy' treatment

the variable that is manipulated/controlled by the experimenter in an experiment.

a person who takes part in a study, or experiment

a subset of individuals randomly selected by researchers to represent the population of interest

how the sample is drawn from the population as a whole

a way of placing participants from your sample into different treatment groups using randomization

looking at data from a population at one specific point in time

the study of a variable or group of variables of the same participants over a period of time, sometimes several years

a mix between cross sectional research and longitudinal research

the effect that having been born at a certain time, or having experienced similar life experiences has on the development of one's perceptions.

a research technique for studying visual discrimination in infants in which the amount of time spent looking at different visual stimuli is measured to determine which stimulus the infants prefer

an experimental method in developmental psychology that works under the assumption that an infant will longer at something that he or she prefers over something that he or she does not prefer

a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

the reappearance or enhancement of a habituated response (i.e., one that has been weakened following repeated exposure to the evoking stimulus) due to the presentation of a new stimulus

infants are repeatedly familiarized to a single stimulus for a fixed amount of time and a new stimulus is then presented

looking time is reduced to a criterion level (typically, when the mean looking time over the last three trials is less than 50% of the mean looking time of the first three trials

a group of individuals designated to review and monitor research that involves human subjects

the process where participants in a study are given important information, including possible risks and benefits, about the study

a term used to express willingness to participate in research by persons who are by definition too young to give informed consent but are old enough to understand the proposed research

Infant and Child Development: From Conception Through Late Childhood Copyright © by Marie Parnes and Maria Pagano is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Writing Strong Research Questions | Criteria & Examples

Writing Strong Research Questions | Criteria & Examples

Published on October 26, 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 21, 2023.

A research question pinpoints exactly what you want to find out in your work. A good research question is essential to guide your research paper , dissertation , or thesis .

All research questions should be:

Focused on a single problem or issue
Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
Specific enough to answer thoroughly
Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

How to write a research question, what makes a strong research question, using sub-questions to strengthen your main research question, research questions quiz, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research questions.

You can follow these steps to develop a strong research question:

Choose your topic
Do some preliminary reading about the current state of the field
Narrow your focus to a specific niche
Identify the research problem that you will address

The way you frame your question depends on what your research aims to achieve. The table below shows some examples of how you might formulate questions for different purposes.

Using your research problem to develop your research question

Note that while most research questions can be answered with various types of research , the way you frame your question should help determine your choices.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s important to spend some time refining them. The criteria below can help you evaluate the strength of your research question.

Focused and researchable

Feasible and specific, complex and arguable, relevant and original.

Chances are that your main research question likely can’t be answered all at once. That’s why sub-questions are important: they allow you to answer your main question in a step-by-step manner.

Good sub-questions should be:

Less complex than the main question
Focused only on 1 type of research
Presented in a logical order

Here are a few examples of descriptive and framing questions:

Descriptive: According to current government arguments, how should a European bank tax be implemented?
Descriptive: Which countries have a bank tax/levy on financial transactions?
Framing: How should a bank tax/levy on financial transactions look at a European level?

Keep in mind that sub-questions are by no means mandatory. They should only be asked if you need the findings to answer your main question. If your main question is simple enough to stand on its own, it’s okay to skip the sub-question part. As a rule of thumb, the more complex your subject, the more sub-questions you’ll need.

Try to limit yourself to 4 or 5 sub-questions, maximum. If you feel you need more than this, it may be indication that your main research question is not sufficiently specific. In this case, it’s is better to revisit your problem statement and try to tighten your main question up.

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

Sampling methods
Simple random sampling
Stratified sampling
Cluster sampling
Likert scales
Reproducibility

Statistics

Null hypothesis
Statistical power
Probability distribution
Effect size
Poisson distribution

Research bias

Optimism bias
Cognitive bias
Implicit bias
Hawthorne effect
Anchoring bias
Explicit bias

The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .

A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis —a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.

As you cannot possibly read every source related to your topic, it’s important to evaluate sources to assess their relevance. Use preliminary evaluation to determine whether a source is worth examining in more depth.

This involves:

Reading abstracts , prefaces, introductions , and conclusions
Looking at the table of contents to determine the scope of the work
Consulting the index for key terms or the names of important scholars

A research hypothesis is your proposed answer to your research question. The research hypothesis usually includes an explanation (“ x affects y because …”).

A statistical hypothesis, on the other hand, is a mathematical statement about a population parameter. Statistical hypotheses always come in pairs: the null and alternative hypotheses . In a well-designed study , the statistical hypotheses correspond logically to the research hypothesis.

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

Researchability
Feasibility and specificity
Relevance and originality

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Committee on the Science of Children Birth to Age 8: Deepening and Broadening the Foundation for Success; Board on Children, Youth, and Families; Institute of Medicine; National Research Council; Allen LR, Kelly BB, editors. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2015 Jul 23.

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Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation.

Hardcopy Version at National Academies Press

4 Child Development and Early Learning

The domains of child development and early learning are discussed in different terms and categorized in different ways in the various fields and disciplines that are involved in research, practice, and policy related to children from birth through age 8. To organize the discussion in this report, the committee elected to use the approach and overarching terms depicted in Figure 4-1 . The committee does not intend to present this as a single best set of terms or a single best categorical organization. Indeed, it is essential to recognize that the domains shown in Figure 4-1 are not easily separable and that a case can be made for multiple different categorizations. For example, different disciplines and researchers have categorized different general cognitive processes under the categorical term “executive function.” General cognitive processes also relate to learning competencies such as persistence and engagement. Similarly, self-regulation has both cognitive and emotional dimensions. It is sometimes categorized as a part of executive function, as a part of socioemotional competence, or as a part of learning competencies. Attention and memory could be considered a part of general cognitive processes, as embedded within executive function, or linked to learning competencies related to persistence. Mental health is closely linked to socioemotional competence, but is also inseparable from health.

Report's organizational approach for the domains of child development and early learning.

The challenge of cleanly separating these concepts highlights a key attribute of all of these domains, which is that they do not develop or operate in isolation. Each enables and mutually supports learning and development in the others. Therefore, the importance of the interactions among the domains is emphasized throughout this chapter. For example, socioemotional competence is important for self-regulation, as are certain cognitive skills, and both emotional and cognitive self-regulation are important for children to be able to exercise learning competencies. Similarly, although certain skills and concept knowledge are distinct to developing proficiency in particular subject areas, learning in these subject areas also both requires and supports general cognitive skills such as reasoning and attention, as well as learning competencies and socioemotional competence. In an overarching example of interactions, a child's security both physically and in relationships creates the context in which learning is most achievable across all of the domains.

It is less important that all fields of research, practice, and policy adhere to the exact same categorizations, and more important that all conduct their work in a way that is cognizant and inclusive of all the elements that contribute to child development and early learning, and that all fields recognize that they are interactive and mutually reinforcing rather than hierarchical. This point foreshadows a theme that is addressed more fully in subsequent chapters. Because different fields and sectors may not use the same categorizations and vocabulary for these domains and skills, developing practices and policies that support more consistent and continuous development and early learning across birth through age 8 will require a concerted effort to communicate clearly and come to a mutual understanding of the goals for children. To communicate across fields and between research and practice communities requires being aware of the different categorical frameworks and terms that are used and being able to discuss the various concepts and content—and their implications—with clarity across those different frameworks. Practitioners and policy makers will be aided in achieving greater precision and clarity in their actions and decisions if those conducting and communicating future research keep this challenge in mind across domains, especially in those cases in which the taxonomy is most variable (e.g., self-regulation, executive function, general learning competencies).

With these caveats in mind, the remainder of this chapter addresses in turn the domains of child development and early learning depicted in Figure 4-1 : cognitive development, including learning of specific subjects; general learning competencies; socioemotional development; and physical development and health. The final section examines a key overarching issue: the effects on child development and early learning of the stress and adversity that is also an important theme in the discussion of the interaction between biology and environment in Chapter 3 .

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

This section highlights what is known about cognitive development in young children. It begins with key concepts from research viewpoints that have contributed to recent advances in understanding of the developing mind, and then presents the implications of this knowledge for early care and education settings. The following section addresses the learning of specific subjects, with a focus on language and mathematics.

Studies of early cognitive development have led researchers to understand the developing mind as astonishingly competent, active, and insightful from a very early age. For example, infants engage in an intuitive analysis of the statistical regularities in the speech sounds they hear en route to constructing language ( Saffran, 2003 ). Infants and toddlers derive implicit theories to explain the actions of objects and the behavior of people; these theories form the foundation for causal learning and more sophisticated understanding of the physical and social worlds. Infants and young children also are keenly responsive to what they can learn from the actions and words directed to them by other people. This capacity for joint attention may be the foundation that enables humans to benefit from culturally transmitted knowledge ( Tomasello et al., 2005 ). Infants respond to cues conveying the communicative intentions of an adult (such as eye contact and infant-directed speech) and tune in to what the adult is referring to and what can be learned about it. This “natural pedagogy” ( Csibra, 2010 ; Csibra and Gergely, 2009 ) becomes more sophisticated in the sensitivity of preschoolers to implicit pedagogical guides in adult speech directed to them ( Butler and Markman, 2012a , b , 2014 ). Young children rely so much on what they learn from others that they become astute, by the preschool years, in distinguishing adult speakers who are likely to provide them with reliable information from those who are not ( Harris, 2012 ; Jaswal, 2010 ; Koenig and Doebel, 2013 ). This connection of relationships and social interactions to cognitive development is consistent with how the brain develops and how the mind grows, and is a theme throughout this chapter.

Much of what current research shows is going on in young children's minds is not transparent in their behavior. Infants and young children may not show what they know because of competing demands on their attention, limitations in what they can do, and immature self-regulation. This is one of the reasons why developmental scientists use carefully designed experiments for elucidating what young children know and understand about the world. By designing research procedures that eliminate competing distractions and rely on simple responses (such as looking time and expressions of surprise), researchers seek to uncover cognitive processes that might otherwise be more difficult to see. Evidence derived in this experimental manner, such as the examples in the sections that follow, can be helpful in explaining young children's rapid growth in language learning, imitation, problem solving, and other skills.

Implicit Theories

One of the most important discoveries about the developing mind is how early and significantly very young children, even starting in infancy, are uniting disparate observations or discrete facts into coherent conceptual systems ( Carey, 2009 ; Gopnik and Wellman, 2012 ; Spelke and Kinzler, 2007 ). From very early on, children are not simply passive observers, registering the superficial appearance of things. Rather, they are building explanatory systems—implicit theories—that organize their knowledge. Such implicit theories contain causal principles and causal relations; these theories enable children to predict, explain, and reason about relevant phenomena and, in some cases, intervene to change them. As early as the first year of life, babies are developing incipient theories about how the world of people, other living things, objects, and numbers operates. It is important to point out that these foundational theories are not simply isolated forms of knowledge, but play a profound role in children's everyday lives and subsequent education.

One major example of an implicit theory that is already developing as early as infancy is “theory of mind,” which refers to the conceptual framework people use to reason about the mental lives of others as well as themselves. This example is discussed in detail below. Some additional illustrative examples of the development of implicit theories are provided in Box 4-1 .

Examples of the Development of Implicit Theories. Even babies hold some fundamental principles about how objects move about in space and time (Baillargeon et al., 2009). For example, babies are surprised (as measured by their increased looking time) if (more...)

Theory of Mind

People intuitively understand others' actions as motivated by desires, goals, feelings, intentions, thoughts, and other mental states, and we understand how these mental states affect one another (for example, an unfulfilled desire can evoke negative feelings and a motivation to continue trying to achieve the goal). One remarkable discovery of research on young children is that they are developing their own intuitive “map” of mental processes like these from very early in life ( Baillargeon et al., 2010 ; Saxe, 2013 ; Wellman and Woolley, 1990 ). Children's developing theory of mind transforms how they respond to people and what they learn from them. Infants and young children are beginning to understand what goes on in people's minds, and how others' feelings and thoughts are similar to and different from their own.

Infants first have a relatively simple theory of mind. They are aware of some basic characteristics: what people are looking at is a sign of what they are paying attention to; people act intentionally and are goal directed; people have positive and negative feelings in response to things around them; and people have different perceptions, goals, and feelings. Children add to this mental map as their awareness grows. From infancy on, developing theory of mind permeates everyday social interactions—affecting what and how children learn, how they react to and interact with other people, how they assess the fairness of an action, and how they evaluate themselves.

One-year-olds, for example, will look in their mother's direction when faced with someone or something unfamiliar to “read” mother's expression and determine whether this is a dangerous or benign unfamiliarity. Infants also detect when an adult makes eye contact, speaks in an infant-directed manner (such as using higher pitch and melodic intonations), and responds contingently to the infant's behavior. Under these circumstances, infants are especially attentive to what the adult says and does, thus devoting special attention to social situations in which the adult's intentions are likely to represent learning opportunities.

Other examples also illustrate how a developing theory of mind underlies children's emerging understanding of the intentions of others. Take imitation, for example. It is well established that babies and young children imitate the actions of others. Children as young as 14 to 18 months are often imitating not the literal observed action but the action they thought the actor intended—the goal or the rationale behind the action ( Gergely et al., 2002 ; Meltzoff, 1995 ). Word learning is another example in which babies' reasoning based on theory of mind plays a crucial role. By at least 15 months old, when babies hear an adult label an object, they take the speaker's intent into account by checking the speaker's focus of attention and deciding whether they think the adult indicated the object intentionally. Only when babies have evidence that the speaker intended to refer to a particular object with a label will they learn that word ( Baldwin, 1991 ; Baldwin and Moses, 2001 ; Baldwin and Tomasello, 1998 ).

Babies also can perceive the unfulfilled goals of others and intervene to help them; this is called “shared intentionality.” Babies as young as 14 months old who witness an adult struggling to reach for an object will interrupt their play to crawl over and hand the object to the adult ( Warneken and Tomasello, 2007 ). By the time they are 18 months old, shared intentionality enables toddlers to act helpfully in a variety of situations; for example, they pick up dropped objects for adults who indicate that they need assistance (but not for adults who dropped the object intentionally) ( Warneken and Tomasello, 2006 ). Developing an understanding of others' goals and preferences and how to facilitate them affects how young children interpret the behavior of people they observe and provides a basis for developing a sense of helpful versus undesirable human activity that is a foundation for later development of moral understanding (cf. Bloom, 2013 ; Hamlin et al., 2007 ; Thompson, 2012 , 2015 ).

Developing Implicit Theories: Implications for Adults

The research on the development of implicit theories in children has important implications for how adults work with and educate young children. Failure to recognize the extent to which they are construing information in terms of their lay theories can result in educational strategies that oversimplify material for children. Educational materials guided by the assumption that young children are “concrete” thinkers—that they cannot deal with abstraction or reason hypothetically—leads educators to focus on simple, descriptive activities that can deprive children of opportunities to advance their conceptual frameworks. Designing effective materials in a given domain or subject matter requires knowing what implicit theories children hold, what core causal principles they use, and what misconceptions and gaps in knowledge they have, and then using empirically validated steps to help lead them to a more accurate, more advanced conceptual framework.

Statistical Learning

Statistical learning refers to the range of ways in which children, even babies, are implicitly sensitive to the statistical regularities in their environment, although they are not explicitly learning or applying statistics. Like the development of implicit theories, this concept of statistical learning counters the possible misconception of babies as passive learners and bears on the vital importance of their having opportunities to observe and interact with the environment. Several examples of statistical learning are provided in Box 4-2 .

Examples of Statistical Learning. Infants can use information about the statistics of syllables in the speech they hear to help them parse words. How do we know from hearing prettybaby that baby is more likely to be a word than tyba ? One way is that the (more...)

Understanding Causal Inference

Children's intuitive understanding of causal inference has long been recognized as a fundamental component of conceptual development. Young children, although not explicitly or consciously experimenting with causality, can experience observations and learning that allow them to conclude that a particular variable X causes (or prevents) an effect Y. Recent advances in the field have documented the ways young children can implicitly use the statistics of how events covary to infer causal relations, make predictions, generate explanations, guide their exploration, and enable them to intervene in the environment. The understanding of causal inference also provides an example of how different cognitive abilities—such as a sensitivity to statistical regularities and the development of implicit theories based on observation and learning (discussed in the two preceding sections and Box 4-2 )—interact with and can mutually support each other. There is now a substantial literature on young children's implicit ability to use what they observe in different conditions to understand the relations between variables. Several examples of young children developing the ability to understand causal inference are provided in Box 4-3 .

Examples of Understanding Causal Inference. One of the first studies of children's understanding of causal inference showed that children can rule out one variable and isolate another (Gopnik et al., 2001). Preschool children were presented with a machine (more...)

Sensitivity to Teaching Cues

Csibra and Gergely (2009) argue that humans are equipped with a capacity to realize when someone is communicating something for their benefit and that they construe that information differently than when they merely witness it. As noted previously in the discussion of developing theory of mind, children as early as infancy devote special attention to social situations that are likely to represent learning opportunities because adults communicate that intention. Information learned in such communicative contexts is treated as more generalizable and robust than that learned in a noncommunicative context.

In one study, for example, 9-month-old babies saw an adult either reach for an object (a noncommunicative act) or point to an object (a communicative act). The entire display was then screened from view, and after a brief delay, the curtains were opened, and babies saw either the same object in a new location or a new object in the same location. The short delay imposed a memory requirement, and for babies this young, encoding both the location and the identity of the object taxes their memory. The location of the object will typically be more salient and memorable to babies than the object's properties, but the prediction of this study was that babies who saw the adult point to the object would construe the pointing as a communicative act—“this adult is showing me something”—and would thus be more likely to encode the properties as opposed to the location of the object. Babies' looking times served as a measure of their surprise at or interest in an unexpected event. As predicted, babies appeared to encode different aspects of the event in the different conditions. When they had previously witnessed the adult reaching for the object, they were surprised when the object was in a new location but showed no renewed interest when there was a different object in the old location. In contrast, when babies first saw an adult point to the object, they were surprised when a new object appeared in the old location but not when the old object had changed locations ( Yoon et al., 2008 ).

Infants' Sensitivity to Teaching Cues: Implications for Adults

Babies have the capacity to realize when someone is communicating something for their benefit and therefore to construe information differently than when they merely witness it. When adults use face-to-face contact, call a baby's name, and point for the baby's benefit, these signals lead babies to recognize that someone is teaching them something, and this awareness can affect how and what they learn.

The significance of eye contact and other communication cues also is evident in research on whether, how, and when young children learn from video and other forms of digital media. Experiments conducted with 24-month-olds, for example, revealed that they can learn from a person on a video screen if that person is communicating with them through a webcam-like environment, but they showed no evidence of learning from a prerecorded video of that person. The webcam environment included social cues, such as back-and-forth conversation and other forms of social contact that are not possible in prerecorded video. Other studies found that toddlers learned verbs better during Skype video chats than during prerecorded video chats that did not allow for authentic eye contact or back-and-forth interaction ( Roseberry et al., 2014 ; Troseth et al., 2006 ). (See also Chapter 6 for more on technology and learning.)

The benefits of communicative pedagogical contexts for the conceptual development of preschool children also have been investigated. In one set of studies, 4-year-old children were exposed to a novel object's function either by seeing an adult deliberately use the object or by seeing the adult deliberately use the object after maintaining eye contact with the child and saying “watch this.” In both conditions, children noticed the object's property and attempted to elicit it from other similar objects. But when those objects were doctored to be nonfunctional, the children in the nonpedagogical condition quickly abandoned their attempts to elicit the property and played with the objects in some other way. Children who saw the same evidence but with direct communication for their benefit persisted in trying to elicit the property from other objects ( Butler and Markman, 2012a , b ). In other words, children's conviction that other similar objects should have the same unforeseen property was bolstered by their belief that the adult was performing the function for their benefit. Moreover the intentional (but nonpedagogical) condition versus the pedagogical condition produced strikingly different conceptions of the function ( Butler and Markman, 2014 ). Four- and 5-year-old children witnessed an object's function and were then given a set of objects to play with. Some objects were identical in appearance to the first object, while some differed in color (in one study) or shape (in another). Half of the objects of each color (or shape) had the unforeseen property, and half did not. Children were told they could play with the objects for a while and then should put them away in their appropriate boxes when done. The goal was to see whether children would sort the objects by the salient perceptual property (color or shape) or by function. Children in the pedagogical condition viewed the function as definitive and classified the objects by systematically testing each to see whether it had the function, while children in the nonpedagogical condition sorted by the salient color or shape. Thus, identical evidence is construed differently when children believe it has been produced for their benefit.

Effects of Adult Language on Cognition

Understanding the power of language is important for people who interact with children. Simple labels can help children unify disparate-looking things into coherent categories; thus labeling is a powerful way to foster conceptual development. Labels also can reify categories or concepts in ways that may or may not be intended. For example, frequently hearing “boys and girls” line up for recess, quiet down, etc. implicitly reinforces gender as an important dimension, compared with saying “children.” Box 4-4 presents examples of linguistic distinctions that affect children's construction of conceptual systems.

Examples of the Effects of Adult Language on Cognition. Some kinds of categories—two round balls, for example—are fairly easy to form, such that even babies treat the objects as similar. But many objects that adults view as members of (more...)

Effects of Language Used by Adults on Children's Cognitive Development: Implications for Adults

Awareness of the benefits and pitfalls of the language used by adults is important for people who interact with children. The language used by adults affects cognitive growth and learning in children in many subtle ways. Labeling is a powerful way to foster conceptual development. Simple labels can help children unify disparate things into coherent categories, but can also have the unintended consequence of reinforcing categories or concepts that are not desirable.

Conclusions About Cognitive Development and Early Learning Learning begins prenatally, and children are not only “ready to learn” but already actively learning from the time they are born. From birth, children's minds are active and inquisitive, and early thinking is insightful and complex. Many of the foundations of sophisticated forms of learning, including those important to academic success, are established in the earliest years of life. Development and early learning can be supported continuously as a child develops, and early knowledge and skills inform and influence future learning. When adults understand how the mind develops, what progress children make in their cognitive abilities, and how active inquiry and learning are children's natural inclination, they can foster cognitive growth by supporting children's active engagement with new experiences and providing developmentally appropriate stimulation of new learning through responsive, secure, and sustained caregiving relationships.

Implications for Care and Education Settings and Practitioners

The research findings on cognitive development in young children summarized above reflect an evolving understanding of how the mind develops during the early years and should be part of the core knowledge that influences how care and education professionals support young children's learning, as discussed in Chapter 7 . Many of these concepts describe cognitive processes that are implicit. By contrast with the explicit knowledge that older children and adults can put into words, implicit knowledge is tacit or nonconscious understanding that cannot readily be consciously described (see, e.g., Mandler, 2004 ). Examples of implicit knowledge in very young children include many of the early achievements discussed above, such as their implicit theories of living things and of the human mind and their nonconscious awareness of the statistical frequency of the associations among speech sounds in the language they are hearing. Infants' and young children's “statistical learning” does not mean that they can count, nor are their “implicit theories” consciously worked out. Not all early learning is implicit, of course. Very young children are taking significant strides in their explicit knowledge of language, the functioning of objects, and the characteristics of people and animals in the world around them. Thus early learning occurs on two levels: the growth of knowledge that is visible and apparent, and the growth of implicit understanding that is sometimes more difficult to observe.

This distinction between implicit and explicit learning can be confusing to early childhood practitioners (and parents), who often do not observe or recognize evidence for the sophisticated implicit learning—or even the explicit learning—taking place in the young children in their care. Many of the astonishingly competent, active, and insightful things that research on early cognitive development shows are going on in young children's minds are not transparent in their behavior. Instead, toddlers and young children seem highly distractable, emotional, and not very capable of managing their impulses. All of these observations about young children are true, but at the same time, their astonishing growth in language skills, their very different ways of interacting with objects and living things, and their efforts to share attention (such as through pointing) or goals (such as through helping) with an adult suggest that the cognitive achievements demonstrated in experimental settings have relevance to their everyday behavior.

This point is especially important because the cognitive abilities of young children are so easily underestimated. In the past, for example, the prevalent belief that infants lack conceptual knowledge meant that parents and practitioners missed opportunities to explore with them cause and effect, number, or symbolic play. Similarly, the view that young children are egocentric caused many adults to conclude that there was little benefit to talking about people's feelings until children were older—this despite the fact that most people could see how attentive young children were to others' emotions and how curious about their causes.

In light of these observations, how do early educators contribute to the cognitive growth of children in their first 3 years? One way is by providing appropriate support for the learning that is occurring in these very young children (see, e.g., Copple et al., 2013 ). Using an abundance of child-directed language during social interaction, playing counting games (e.g., while stacking blocks), putting into words what a classroom pet can do or why somebody looks sad, exploring together what happens when objects collide, engaging in imitative play and categorization (sorting) games—these and other shared activities can be cognitively provocative as long as they remain within the young child's capacities for interest and attention. They also build on understandings that young children are implicitly developing related to language; number; object characteristics; and implicit theories of animate and inanimate objects, physical causality, and people's minds. The purpose of these and other activities is not just to provide young children with cognitive stimulation, but also to embed that stimulation in social interaction that provokes young children's interest, elicits their curiosity, and provides an emotional context that enables them to focus their thinking on new discoveries. The central and consistent feature of all these activities is the young child's shared activity with an adult who thoughtfully capitalizes on his or her interests to provoke cognitive growth. The implications for instructional practices and curricula for educators working with infants and toddlers are discussed further in Chapter 6 .

Another way that educators contribute to the cognitive growth of infants and toddlers is through the emotional support they provide ( Jamison et al., 2014 ). Emotional support is afforded by the educator's responsiveness to young children's interests and needs (including each child's individual temperament), the educator's development of warm relationships with children, and the educator's accessibility to help when young children are exploring on their own or interacting with other children ( Thompson, 2006 ). Emotional support of this kind is important not only as a positive accompaniment to the task of learning but also as an essential prerequisite to the cognitive and attentional engagement necessary for young children to benefit from learning opportunities. Because early capacities to self-regulate emotion are so limited, a young child's frustration or distress can easily derail cognitive engagement in new discoveries, and children can lose focus because their attentional self-regulatory skills are comparably limited. An educator's emotional support can help keep young children focused and persistent, and can also increase the likelihood that early learning experiences will yield successful outcomes. Moreover, the secure attachments that young children develop with educators contribute to an expectation of adult support that enables young children to approach learning opportunities more positively and confidently. Emotional support and socioemotional development are discussed further later in this chapter.

The characteristics of early learning call for specific curricular approaches and thoughtful professional learning for educators, but it is also true that less formal opportunities to stimulate early cognitive growth emerge naturally in children's everyday interactions with a responsive adult. Consider, for example, a parent or other caregiver interacting with a 1-year-old over a shape-sorting toy. As they together are choosing shapes of different colors and the child is placing them in the appropriate (or inappropriate) cutout in the bin, the adult can accompany this task with language that describes what they are doing and why, and narrates the child's experiences of puzzlement, experimentation, and accomplishment. The adult may also be using number words to count the blocks as they are deposited. The baby's attention is focused by the constellation of adult behavior—infant-directed language, eye contact, and responsiveness—that signals the adult's teaching, and this “pedagogical orientation” helps focus the young child's attention and involvement. The back-and-forth interaction of child and adult activity provides stimulus for the baby's developing awareness of the adult's thinking (e.g., she looks at each block before commenting on it or acting intentionally on it) and use of language (e.g., colors are identified for each block, and generic language is used to describe blocks in general). In this interaction, moreover, the baby is developing both expectations for what this adult is like—safe, positive, responsive—and skills for social interaction (such as turn taking). Although these qualities and the learning derived from them are natural accompaniments to child-focused responsive social interaction with an adult caregiver, the caregiver's awareness of the child's cognitive growth at this time contributes significantly to the adult's ability to intentionally support new discovery and learning.

As children further develop cognitively as preschoolers, their growth calls for both similar and different behavior by the adults who work with them. While the educator's emotional support and responsiveness remain important, children from age 3 to 5 years become different kinds of thinkers than they were as infants and toddlers ( NRC, 2001 ). First, they are more consciously aware of their knowledge—much more of their understanding is now explicit. This means they are more capable of deliberately enlisting what they know into new learning situations, although they are not yet as competent or strategic in doing so as they will be in the primary grades. When faced with a problem or asked a question, they are more capable of offering an answer based on what they know, even when their knowledge is limited. Second, preschoolers are more competent in learning from their deliberate efforts to do so, such as trial-and-error or informal experimentation. While their success in this regard pales by comparison with the more strategic efforts of a grade-schooler, their “let's find out” approach to new challenges reflects their greater behavioral and mental competence in figuring things out. Third, preschoolers also are intuitive and experiential, learning by doing rather than figuring things out “in the head.” This makes shared activities with educators and peers potent opportunities for cognitive growth.

Nonetheless, the potential to underestimate the cognitive abilities of young children persists in the preschool and kindergarten years. In one study, for example, children's actual performance was six to eight times what was estimated by their own preschool teachers and other experts in consulting, teacher education, educational research, and educational development ( Claessens et al., 2014 ; Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, 1996 ). Such underestimation represents a lost opportunity that can hinder children's progress. A study in kindergarten revealed that teachers spent most of their time in basic content that children already knew, yet the children benefited more from advanced reading and mathematics content ( Claessens et al., 2014 )—an issue discussed in depth in Chapter 6 . Unfortunately, when care and education professionals underestimate children's abilities to understand and learn subject-matter content, the negative impact is greatest on those with the fewest prior learning experiences ( Bennett et al., 1984 ; Clements and Sarama, 2014 ).

Conversely, when educators practice in a way that is cognizant of the cognitive progress of children at this age, they can more deliberately enlist the preschool child's existing knowledge and skills into new learning situations. One example is interactive storybook reading, in which children describe the pictures and label their elements while the adult and child ask and answer questions of each other about the narrative. Language and literacy skills also are fostered at this age by the adult's use of varied vocabulary in interaction with the child, as well as by extending conversation on a single topic (rather than frequently switching topics), asking open-ended questions of the child, and initiating conversation related to the child's experiences and interests ( Dickinson, 2003 ; Dickinson and Porche, 2011 ; Dickinson and Tabors, 2001 ). In each case, dialogic conversation about text or experience draws on while also extending children's prior knowledge and language skills. Language and literacy skills are discussed further in a subsequent section of this chapter, as well as in Chapter 6 .

Another implication of these cognitive changes is that educators can engage preschool children's intentional activity in new learning opportunities. Children's interest in learning by doing is naturally suited to experimental inquiry related to science or other kinds of inquiry-based learning involving hypothesis and testing, especially in light of the implicit theories of living things and physical causality that children bring to such inquiry ( Samarapungavan et al., 2011 ). In a similar manner, board games can provide a basis for learning and extending number concepts. In several experimental demonstrations, when preschool children played number board games specifically designed to foster their mental representations of numerical quantities, they showed improvements in number line estimates, count-on skill, numerical identification, and other important quantitative concepts ( Laski and Siegler, 2014 ).

Other research has shown that instructional strategies that promote higher-level thinking, creativity, and even abstract understanding, such as talking about ideas or about future events, is associated with greater cognitive achievement by preschool-age children (e.g., Diamond et al., 2013 ; Mashburn et al., 2008 ). For example, when educators point out how cardinal numbers can be used to describe diverse sets of elements (four blocks, four children, 4 o'clock), it helps them generalize an abstract concept (“fourness”) that describes a set rather than the characteristics of each element alone. These activities also can be integrated into other instructional practices during a typical day.

Another implication of the changes in young children's thinking during the preschool years concerns the motivational features of early learning. Preschool-age children are developing a sense of themselves and their competencies, including their academic skills ( Marsh et al., 1998 , 2002 ). Their beliefs about their abilities in reading, counting, vocabulary, number games, and other academic competencies derive from several sources, including spontaneous social comparison with other children and feedback from teachers (and parents) concerning their achievement and the reasons they have done well or poorly. These beliefs influence, in turn, children's self-confidence, persistence, intrinsic motivation to succeed, and other characteristics that may be described as learning skills (and are discussed more extensively later in this chapter). Consequently, how teachers provide performance feedback to young children and support for their self-confidence in learning situations also is an important predictor of children's academic success ( Hamre, 2014 ).

In the early elementary years, children's cognitive processes develop further, which accordingly influences the strategies for educators in early elementary classrooms. Primary grade children are using more complex vocabulary and grammar. They are growing in their ability to make mental representations, but they still have difficulty grasping abstract concepts without the aid of real-life references and materials ( Tomlinson, 2014 ). This is a critical time for children to develop confidence in all areas of life. Children at this age show more independence from parents and family, while friendship, being liked and accepted by peers, becomes more important. Being in school most of the day means greater contact with a larger world, and children begin to develop a greater understanding of their place in that world ( CDC, 2014 ).

Children's growing ability to self-regulate their emotions also is evident in this period (discussed more extensively later in this chapter). Children understand their own feelings more and more, and learn better ways to describe experiences and express thoughts and feelings. They better understand the consequences of their actions, and their focus on concern for others grows. They are very observant, are willing to play cooperatively and work in teams, and can resolve some conflicts without seeking adult intervention ( CDC, 2014 ). Children also come to understand that they can affect others' perception of their emotions by changing their affective displays ( Aloise-Young, 1993 ). Children who are unable to self-regulate have emotional difficulties that may interfere with their learning. Just as with younger children, significant adults in a child's life can help the child learn to self-regulate ( Tomlinson, 2014 ).

Children's increasing self-regulation means they have a greater ability to follow instructions independently in a manner that would not be true of preschool or younger children. Educators can rely on the growing cognitive abilities in elementary school children in using instructional approaches that depend more independently on children's own discoveries, their use of alternative inquiry strategies, and their greater persistence in problem solving. Educators in these settings are scaffolding the skills that began to develop earlier, so that children are able to gradually apply those skills with less and less external support. This serves as a bridge to succeeding in upper primary grades, so if students lack necessary knowledge and skills in any domain of development and learning, their experience during the early elementary grades is crucial in helping them gain those competencies.

Building on many of the themes that have emerged from this discussion, the following sections continue by looking in more depth at cognitive development with respect to learning specific subjects and then at other major elements of development, including general learning competencies, socioemotional development, and physical development and health.

LEARNING SPECIFIC SUBJECTS

Interrelationships among different kinds of skills and abilities contribute to young children's acquisition of content knowledge and competencies, which form a foundation for later academic success. These skills and abilities include the general cognitive development discussed above, the general learning competencies that allow children to control their own attention and thinking; and the emotion regulation that allows children to control their own emotions and participate in classroom activities in a productive way (the latter two are discussed in sections later in this chapter). Still another important category of skills and abilities, the focus of this section, is subject-matter content knowledge and skills, such as competencies needed specifically for learning language and literacy or mathematics.

Content knowledge and skills are acquired through a developmental process. As children learn about a topic, they progress through increasingly sophisticated levels of thinking with accompanying cognitive components. These developmental learning paths can be used as the core of a learning trajectory through which students can be supported by educators who understand both the content and those levels of thinking. Each learning trajectory has three parts: a goal (to develop a certain competence in a topic), a developmental progression (children constructing each level of thinking in turn), and instructional activities (tasks and teaching practices designed to enable thinking at each higher level). Learning trajectories also promote the learning of skills and concepts together—an effective approach that leads to both mastery and more fluent, flexible use of skills, as well as to superior conceptual understanding ( Fuson and Kwon, 1992 ; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008 ). See Chapter 6 for additional discussion of using learning trajectories and other instructional practices.

Every subject area requires specific content knowledge and skills that are acquired through developmental learning processes. It is not possible to cover the specifics here for every subject area a young child learns. To maintain a feasible scope, this chapter covers two core subject areas: (1) language and literacy and (2) mathematics. This scope is not meant to imply that learning in other areas, such as science, engineering, social studies, or the arts, is unimportant or less subject specific. Rather, these two were selected because they are foundational for other subject areas and for later academic achievement, and because how they are learned has been well studied in young children compared with many other subject areas.

Language and Literacy

Children's language development and literacy development are central to each other. The development of language and literacy includes knowledge and skills in such areas as vocabulary, syntax, grammar, phonological awareness, writing, reading, comprehension, and discourse skills. The following sections address the development of language and literacy skills, including the relationship between the two; the role of the language-learning environment; socioeconomic disparities in early language environments; and language and literacy development in dual language learners.

Development of Oral Language Skills

Language skills build in a developmental progression over time as children increase their vocabulary, average sentence length, complexity and sophistication of sentence structure and grammar, and ability to express new ideas through words ( Kipping et al., 2012 ). Catts and Kamhi (1999) define five features of language that both work independently and interact as children develop language skills: phonology (speech sounds of language), semantics (meanings of words and phrases), morphology (meaningful parts of words and word tenses), syntax (rules for combining and ordering words in phrases), and pragmatics (appropriate use of language in context). The first three parameters combined (phonology, semantics, and morphology) enable listening and speaking vocabulary to develop, and they also contribute to the ability to read individual words. All five features of language contribute to the ability to understand sentences, whether heard or read (O' Connor, 2014 ). Thus, while children's development of listening and speaking abilities are important in their own right, oral language development also contributes to reading skills.

Developing oral communication skills are closely linked to the interactions and social bonds between adults and children. As discussed earlier in this chapter, parents' and caregivers' talk with infants stimulates—and affects—language comprehension long before children utter their first words. This comprehension begins with pragmatics—the social aspects of language that include facial and body language as well as words, such that infants recognize positive (and negative) interactions. Semantics (understanding meanings of words and clusters of words that are related) soon follows, in which toddlers link objects and their attributes to words. Between the ages of 2 and 4, most children show dramatic growth in language, particularly in understanding the meanings of words, their interrelationships, and grammatical forms ( Scarborough, 2001 ).

Karmiloff and Karmiloff-Smith (2001) suggest that children build webs among words with similar semantics, which leads to broader generalizations among classes of related words. When adults are responsive to children's questions and new experiences, children expand their knowledge of words and the relationships among them. Then, as new words arise from conversation, storytelling, and book reading, these words are linked to existing webs to further expand the store of words children understand through receptive language and use in their own conversation. The more often adults use particular words in conversation with young children, the sooner children will use those words in their own speech ( Karmiloff and Karmiloff-Smith, 2001 ). Research has linked the size of vocabulary of 2-year-olds to their reading comprehension through fifth grade ( Lee, 2011 ).

One of the best-documented methods for improving children's vocabularies is interactive storybook reading between children and their caregivers (O' Connor, 2014 ). Conversations as stories are read improve children's vocabulary ( Hindman et al., 2008 ; Weizman and Snow, 2001 ), especially when children are encouraged to build on the possibilities of storybooks by following their interests ( Whitehurst et al., 1988 ; Zucker et al., 2013 ). Book reading stimulates conversation outside the immediate context—for example, children ask questions about the illustrations that may or may not be central to the story. This introduces new words, which children attach to the features of the illustrations they point out and incorporate into book-centered conversations. This type of language, removed from the here and now, is decontextualized language. Children exposed to experiences not occurring in their immediate environment are more likely to understand and use decontextualized language ( Hindman et al., 2008 ). Repeated routines also contribute to language development. As books are read repeatedly, children become familiar with the vocabulary of the story and their conversations can be elaborated. Routines help children with developmental delays acquire language and use it more intelligibly ( van Kleek, 2004 ).

Conversation around a story's content and emphasis on specific words in the text (i.e., the phonological and print features of words alongside their meanings) have long-term effects ( Zucker et al., 2013 ). The quality of adult readers' interactions with children appears to be especially important to children's vocabulary growth (see also Coyne et al., 2009 ; Justice et al., 2005 ). In a study with preschool children, Zucker and colleagues (2013) found that teachers' intentional talk during reading had a longer-lasting effect on the children's language skills than the frequency of the teachers' reading to the children. Moreover, the effect of the teachers' talk during reading was not moderated by the children's initial vocabulary or literacy abilities. The long-term effect of high-quality teacher–child book-centered interactions in preschool lasted through the end of first grade.

New research shows that the effects of interactive reading also hold when adapted to the use of digital media as a platform for decontextualized language and other forms of language development. A study of videobooks showed that when adults were trained to use dialogic questioning techniques with the videos, 3-year-olds learned new words and recalled the books' storylines ( Strouse et al., 2013 ). However, a few studies of e-books also have shown that the bells and whistles of the devices can get in the way of those back-and-forth conversations if the readers and the e-book designers are not intentional about using the e-books to develop content knowledge and language skills ( Parish-Morris et al., 2013 ). (See also the discussion of effective use of technology in instruction in Chapter 6 .)

Alongside developing depth of vocabulary (including the meaning of words and phrases and their appropriate use in context), other important parameters of language development are syntax (rules for combining and ordering words in phrases, as in rules of grammar) and morphology (meaningful parts of words and word tenses). Even before the age of 2, toddlers parse a speech stream into grammatical units ( Hawthorne and Gerken, 2014 ). Long before preschool, most children join words together into sentences and begin to use the rules of grammar (i.e., syntax) to change the forms of words (e.g., adding s for plurals or ed for past tense). Along with these morphemic changes to words, understanding syntax helps children order the words and phrases in their sentences to convey and to change meaning. Before children learn to read, the rules of syntax help them derive meaning from what they hear and convey meaning through speech. Cunningham and Zibulsky (2014 , p. 45) describe syntactic development as “the ability to understand the structure of a sentence, including its tense, subject, and object.”

Although syntactic understanding develops for most children through conversation with adults and older children, children also use these rules of syntax to extract meaning from printed words. This becomes an important reading skill after first grade, when text meaning is less likely to be supported with pictures. Construction of sentences with passive voice and other complex, decontextualized word forms are more likely to be found in books and stories than in directive conversations with young children. An experimental study illustrates the role of exposure to syntactic structures in the development of language comprehension ( Vasilyeva et al., 2006 ). Four-year-olds listened to stories in active or passive voice. After listening to ten stories, their understanding of passages containing these syntactic structures was assessed. Although students in both groups understood and could use active voice (similar to routine conversation), those who listened to stories with passive voice scored higher on comprehension of this structure.

Children's understanding of morphology—the meaningful parts of words—begins in preschool for most children, as they recognize and use inflected endings to represent verb tense (e.g., -ing, -ed, -s) and plurals, and continues in the primary grades as children understand and use prefixes and suffixes. By second and third grade, children's use of morphemes predicts their reading comprehension ( Nagy et al., 2006 ; Nunes et al., 2012 ).

Development of Literacy Skills

Literacy skills follow a developmental trajectory such that early skills and stages lead into more complex and integrated skills and stages ( Adams, 1990 ). For example, phonemic awareness is necessary for decoding printed words ( Ball and Blachman, 1991 ; Bradley and Bryant, 1983 ; O'Connor et al., 1995 ), but it is not sufficient. Students need to understand the alphabetic principle (that speech sounds can be represented by letters of the alphabet, which is how speech is captured in print) before they can use their phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in spoken words) to independently decode words they have never seen before ( Byrne and Fielding-Barnsley, 1989 ; O'Connor and >Jenkins, 1995 ). Thus, instruction that combines skill development for 4- to 6-year-old children in phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and conceptual understanding and use of these skills is more effective than teaching the skills in isolation ( Byrne and Fielding-Barnsley, 1989 ; O'Connor and Jenkins, 1995 ).

Seminal theories and studies of reading describe an inextricable link between language development and reading achievement (e.g., Byrne and Fielding-Barnsley, 1995 ; Gough and Tunmer, 1986 ; Hoover and Gough, 1990 ; Johnston and Kirby, 2006 ; Joshi and Aaron, 2000 ; Tunmer and Hoover, 1993 ; Vellutino et al., 2007 ). Early oral language competencies predict later literacy ( Pearson and Hiebert, 2010 ). Not only do young children with stronger oral language competencies acquire new language skills faster than students with poorly developed oral language competencies ( Dickinson and Porche, 2011 ), but they also learn key literacy skills faster, such as phonemic awareness and understanding of the alphabetic principle ( Cooper et al., 2002 ). Both of these literacy skills in turn facilitate learning to read in kindergarten and first grade. By preschool and kindergarten listening and speaking abilities have long-term impacts on children's reading and writing abilities in third through fifth grade ( Lee, 2011 ; Nation and Snowling, 1999 ; Sénéchal et al., 2006 ).

Vocabulary development (a complex and integrative feature of language that grows continuously) and reading words (a skill that most children master by third or fourth grade) ( Ehri, 2005 ) are reciprocally related, and both reading words accurately and understanding what words mean contribute to reading comprehension ( Gough et al., 1996 ). Because comprehending and learning from text depend largely upon a deep understanding of the language used to communicate the ideas and concepts expressed, oral language skills (i.e., vocabulary, syntax, listening comprehension) are at the core of this relationship between language and reading ( NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2005 ; Perfetti, 1985 ; Perfetti and Hart, 2002 ). For example, children with larger speaking vocabularies in preschool may have an easier time with phoneme awareness and the alphabetic principle because they can draw on more words to explore the similarities among the sounds they hear in spoken words and the letters that form the words ( Metsala and Walley, 1998 ). Each word a child knows can influence how well she or he understands a sentence that uses that word, which in turn can influence the acquisition of knowledge and the ability to learn new words. A stronger speaking and listening vocabulary provides a deeper and wider field of words students can attempt to match to printed words. Being bogged down by figuring out what a given word means slows the rate of information processing and limits what is learned from a sentence. Thus, differences in early vocabulary can have cascading, cumulative effects ( Fernald et al., 2013 ; Huttenlocher, 1998 ). The transition from speaking and listening to reading and writing is not a smooth one for many children. Although a well-developed vocabulary can make that transition easier, many children also have difficulty learning the production and meanings of words. Longitudinal studies of reading disability have found that 70 percent of poor readers had a history of language difficulties ( Catts et al., 1999 ).

Conclusion About the Development of Language and Literacy Skills The oral language and vocabulary children learn through interactions with parents, siblings, and caregivers and through high-quality interactions with educators provide the foundation for later literacy and for learning across all subject areas, as well as for their socioemotional well-being. The language interactions children experience at home and in school influence their developing minds and their understanding of concepts and ideas.

Role of the Language-Learning Environment

Today's science of reading development focuses more broadly than on teaching children to read the actual words on a page. As stressed throughout this report, young children's development entails a back-and-forth process of social interactions with knowledgeable others in their environment ( Bruner, 1978 ; NRC and IOM, 2000 ; Vygotsky, 1978 , 1986 ), and research has focused on the language of these interactions, examining how children's linguistic experiences influence aspects of their development over time, including their literacy development. The daily talk to which children are exposed and in which they participate is essential for developing their minds—a key ingredient for building their knowledge of the world and their understanding of concepts and ideas. In turn, this conceptual knowledge is a cornerstone of reading success.

The bulk of the research on early linguistic experiences has investigated language input in the home environment, demonstrating the features of caregivers' (usually the mother's) speech that promote language development among young children. The evidence accumulated emphasizes the importance of the quantity of communicative input (i.e., the number of words and sentences spoken) as well as the quality of that input, as measured by the variety of words and syntactic structures used (for relevant reviews, see Rowe, 2012 ; Vasilyeva and Waterfall, 2011 ). Because children's language development is sensitive to these inputs, variability in children's language-based interactions in the home environment explains some of the variance in their language development.

A smaller but growing and compelling research base is focused on how children's literacy skills are influenced by language use in early care and education settings and schools—for example, linguistic features of these settings or elementary school teachers' speech and its relationship to children's reading outcomes ( Greenwood et al., 2011 ). This research has particularly relevant implications for educational practices (discussed further in Chapter 6 ).

The language environment of the classroom can function as a support for developing the kind of language that is characteristic of the school curriculum—for example, giving children opportunities to develop the sophisticated vocabulary and complex syntax found in texts, beginning at a very early age ( Schleppegrell, 2003 ; Snow and Uccelli, 2009 ). Moreover, advances in cognitive science suggest that it is not enough to be immersed in environments that offer multiple opportunities for exposure to varied and rich language experiences. Rather, the process also needs to be socially mediated through more knowledgeable persons who can impart their knowledge to the learner; again, social interaction is a critical component of cognitive development and learning. Early childhood settings and elementary classrooms thus not only present opportunities for exposure to varied language- and literacy-rich activities (whether written or spoken), but also provide a person who is expert in mediating the learning process—the educator.

Research demonstrates that teachers' use of high-quality language is linked to individual differences in language and literacy skills; this work likewise shows the substantial variation in the quality of teacher talk in early childhood classrooms (e.g., Bowers and Vasilyeva, 2011 ; Gámez and Levine, 2013 ; Greenwood et al., 2011 ; Huttenlocher et al., 2002 ). For example, Huttenlocher and colleagues (2002) found greater syntactic skills in preschoolers exposed to teachers who used more syntactically complex utterances. Another study found for monolingual English-speaking children that fourth-grade reading comprehension levels were predicted by exposure to sophisticated vocabulary in preschool. These effects were mediated by children's vocabulary and literacy skills in kindergarten ( Dickinson and Porche, 2011 ).

In classroom studies focused on the linguistic environment, the level of analysis has involved broad measures of language use, such as amount of talk (i.e., teacher–student interactions by minute: Connor et al., 2006 ), amount of instruction (i.e., in teacher-managed versus child-managed instruction: Connor et al., 2007 ), type of interaction style (i.e., didactic versus cognitively demanding talk or the amount of extended discourse: Dickinson and Smith, 1991 ; Jacoby and Lesaux, 2014 ; Smith and Dickinson, 1994 ), or instructional moves made by the teacher (e.g., modeling: see review in Lawrence and Snow, 2011 ). A commonly included measurement that has been linked to children's literacy development is extended discourse, defined as talk that “requires participants to develop understandings beyond the here and now and that requires the use of several utterances or turns to build a linguistic structure, such as in explanations, narratives, or pretend” ( Snow et al., 2001 , p. 2). Children are better prepared to comprehend narrative texts they encounter in school if their early language environments provide more exposure to and opportunities to participate in extended discourse. This is because extended discourse and narrative texts share similar patterns for communicating ideas ( Uccelli et al., 2006 ).

Engaging groups of children in effective extended discourse involves asking and discussing open-ended questions and encouraging turn taking, as well as monitoring the group to involve nonparticipating children ( Girolametto and Weitzman, 2002 ). In addition to using interactive storybook and text reading as a platform for back-and-forth conversations (often referred to as interactive or dialogic reading, as described in the preceding section) ( Mol et al., 2009 ; Zucker et al., 2013 ), engaging children in extended discourse throughout classroom activities (e.g., small-group learning activities, transitions and routines [ van Kleek, 2004 ], dramatic play [ Mages, 2008 ; Morrow and Schickedanz, 2006 ]) is fundamental to providing a high-quality language-learning environment ( Jacoby and Lesaux, 2014 ).

In an example of the influence of the quantity and quality of teachers' language input in linguistically diverse classrooms, Bowers and Vasilyeva (2011) found that the total number of words produced by teachers and the diversity of their speech (which was entirely in English) were related to vocabulary gains for children from both English-only households and households in which English was not the primary language, respectively. Thus, they found that preschool dual language learners benefited only from increased quantities of language exposure and showed a negative relationship between vocabulary growth and teachers' syntactic complexity. By contrast, the English-only children—who presumably had more developed English language proficiency skills—benefited from the diversity of teachers' vocabulary and syntactic complexity. These findings are consistent with the notion that to promote language learning, different inputs are needed at different developmental stages ( Dickinson and Freiberg, 2009 ; Gámez and Lesaux, 2012 ). Children benefit from hearing simplified speech during very early word learning ( Furrow et al., 1979 ). With more exposure to language and more advanced vocabulary development, they benefit from speech input that is more complex (i.e., Hoff and Naigles, 2002 ). Hoff (2006) suggests that if input is too complex, children filter it out without negative consequences—as long as sufficient beneficial input is available to them. On the other hand, “children have no way to make up for input that is too simple” ( Hoff, 2006 , p. 75).

An important consideration in light of these findings is that recent research in early childhood classrooms serving children from low-income backgrounds suggests that daily high-quality language-building experiences may be rare for these children. For example, in a Head Start organization serving large numbers of Latino children a recent observational study found a preschool environment lacking in the frequent and high-quality teacher–child language interactions that are needed to support language and literacy development ( Jacoby and Lesaux, 2014 ). Literacy instruction was highly routine based and with low-level language structures. Extended discourse was infrequently used; only 22 percent of observed literacy-based lessons included at least one instance of extended discourse between a teacher and a child or group of children. Instead, teachers asked questions that yielded short answers or linked only to the here and now (e.g., What day is it today? What is the weather today? ). These features of infrequent extended discourse and predominantly routine-based literacy instruction were remarkably stable across teachers and classrooms. Other research investigating teacher talk in Head Start preschool classrooms has produced similar findings (e.g., Dickinson et al., 2008 ).

This is consistent with findings that there are sizable cultural and socioeconomic differences in high-quality language-promoting experiences in the home and in the classroom environment in early childhood ( Dickinson, 2003 ; Dickinson and Porche, 2011 ; Dickinson and Tabors, 2001 ; Raikes et al., 2006 ), just as such differences have been found in the number of words children hear by the time they enter school ( Bradley and Corwyn, 2002 ; Fernald et al., 2013 ; Hart and Risley, 1995 ; Schneidman et al., 2013 ; Weisleder and Fernald, 2013 ). At the same time, for children from low-resource backgrounds oral language skills show an even stronger connection to later academic outcomes than for children from high-resource backgrounds. Given these findings, rich linguistic experiences at early ages may therefore be especially important for these children. Even small improvements in the literacy environment can have especially strong effects for children who are raised in low-income households ( Dearing et al., 2001 ; Dickinson and Porche, 2011 ).

In sum, the language environment has important effects on children's learning, and children benefit from extensive opportunities to listen to and use complex spoken language ( National Early Literacy Panel, 2008 ). Teachers' use of high-quality language is linked to individual differences in language and literacy skills, and there is considerable variation in the quantity and quality of teachers' language use across classrooms. The quality of the classroom language environment is a lever for lasting improvements in children's language and literacy development, and it is important to tailor classroom talk to match the developmental stage of children's language acquisition.

Creating a Rich Language Environment: Implications for Adults

Improving language environments for young children requires daily learning opportunities that focus on the diversity and complexity of language used with young children. Practically speaking, this can be achieved through extended discourse, with multiple exchanges or turns that go beyond the immediate “here and now” using explanations, narratives, or pretend. Extended discourse can take place throughout all activities and in specific interactions, especially using book reading as a platform for back-and-forth conversations.

Further research is needed to advance understanding of language-based classroom processes and how dynamic and ongoing interactions facilitate or impede children's literacy. Such studies could advance existing research in at least two ways. In particular, it could further elucidate how language-based social processes in the classroom affect literacy development for the many students who enter schools and other care and education settings with limited proficiency in English. The majority of published studies focused on language-based interactions are focused on English-only learners, despite the fact that social processes can be experienced differently by different groups, even within the same setting ( Rogoff and Angelillo, 2002 ; Tseng and Seidman, 2007 ). Gámez and Levine (2013) suggest that future research examine the influence of dual-language input on dual language learners' language development; the nature of teacher talk during different parts of the instructional day, including joint book reading, and how these language experiences predict dual language learners' language skills; and the impact of classroom talk interventions—those that aim to manipulate the frequency and complexity of teachers' language—on both the language environment and dual language learners' language development.

In addition, prior research has measured a two-way process in a largely unidirectional manner—measuring speech only from parent to child or educator to student. It would be more valuable going forward if research were guided by the notion that the language-based interactions between students and educators mediate instruction, and were therefore to explore how communicative feedback loops, both adult–child and child–peer interactions, influence children's learning and development. Taking into account the student's contribution to the classroom language environment is particularly important in light of evidence that teachers modify their speech to conform to their students' limited language proficiency levels, potentially leading to a lower-quality language environment that impedes students' language growth ( Ellis, 2008 ; see Huttenlocher et al., 2010 ; Justice et al., 2013 ). More specifically, Justice and colleagues (2013) suggest that future research examine teacher–child language interactions in a multidimensional way to explore how syntactic complexity, cognitive demand, and even linguistic form (e.g., questions, comments) relate to each other; the links between children's use of complex syntax in classroom-based interactions and their future general language ability; and interventions designed to enhance classroom language interactions, focusing on both proximal and distal outcomes for children. Finally, greater understanding is needed of the ways in which the classroom language processes described in this section might act as a foundational mediator of the efficacy of interventions focused on learning outcomes in other domains and subject areas.

Alongside student–educator interactions, studies show that peer-to-peer interactions in the classroom may also have positive impacts on children's vocabulary and expressive language abilities. Children spend a significant amount of time interacting with other children in classroom settings, and a 2009 study examining the language growth and abilities of 4-year-olds in prekindergarten classrooms found that peers who have higher language abilities positively affect other children's language development. This study also found that children with advanced language skills will receive greater benefits from interacting with peers who also have advanced language skills ( Mashburn et al., 2009 ). These findings are similar to another study showing that peer interactions in the classroom, along with the ability level of the peers, have positive effects on the child's cognitive, prereading, expressive language skills ( Henry and Rickman, 2007 ). In order to achieve these benefits, however, the preschool classrooms need to be designed so that peers can interact with one another, and include activities such as reading books and engaging in play together. Children with teachers who organize the day with optimal amounts of time for peer-to-peer interactions may achieve greater language growth ( Mashburn et al., 2009 ).

Language and Literacy Development in Dual Language Learners 1

For children whose home language is not the predominant language of their school, educators and schools need to ensure the development of English proficiency. Both parents and preschool teachers can be particularly useful in improving these children's depth of vocabulary ( Aukrust, 2007 ; Roberts, 2008 ). At the same time, children can be helped to both build and maintain their first language while adding language and literacy skills in English ( Espinosa, 2005 ). In support of this as a long-term goal are the potential advantages of being bilingual, including maintaining a cultural and linguistic heritage and conferring an advantage in the ability to communicate with a broader population in future social, educational, and work environments. Additionally, an emerging field of research, albeit with mixed results to date, explores potential advantages of being bilingual that are linked more directly to cognitive development, starting in early childhood and extending to preserving cognitive function and delaying the symptoms of dementia in the elderly ( Bialystok, 2011 ; de Bruin et al., 2015 ).

Bilingual or multilingual children are faced with more communicative challenges than their monolingual peers. A child who frequently experiences failure to be understood or to understand may be driven to pay more attention to context, paralinguistic cues, and gestures in order to interpret an utterance, and thus become better at reading such cues. The result may be improved development of theory of mind and understanding of pragmatics ( Yow and Markman, 2011a , b ). In addition, the need to continually suppress one language for another affords ongoing practice in inhibitory or executive control, which could confer advantages on a range of inhibitory control tasks in children and helps preserve this fundamental ability in aging adults ( Bialystok, 2011 ; Bialystok and Craik, 2010 ; Bialystok et al., 2009 ).

One challenge in the education of dual language learners is that they sometimes are classified along with children with special needs. One reason for this is the lack of good assessment tools to help distinguish the nature of the difficulties experienced by dual language learners—whether due to a learning disability or to the fact that learning a second language is difficult, takes time, and develops differently in different children ( Hamayan et al., 2013 ).

Mathematics

Children's early knowledge of mathematics is surprisingly important, and it strongly predicts later success in mathematics ( Denton and West, 2002 ; Koponen et al., 2013 ; Passolunghi et al., 2007 ). Mathematics knowledge in preschool predicts mathematics achievement even into high school ( National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008 ; NRC, 2009 ; Stevenson and Newman, 1986 ). Mathematics ability and language ability also are interrelated as mutually reinforcing skills ( Duncan et al., 2007 ; Farran et al., 2005 ; Lerkkanen et al., 2005 ; O'Neill et al., 2004 ; Praet et al., 2013 ; Purpura et al., 2011 ). Indeed, mathematical thinking reaches beyond competence with numbers and shapes to form a foundation for general cognition and learning ( Clements and Sarama, 2009 ; Sarama et al., 2012 ), and problems with mathematics are the best predictor of failure to graduate high school. Mathematics therefore appears to be a core subject and a core component of thinking and learning ( Duncan and Magnuson, 2011 ; Duncan et al., 2007 ).

Given its general importance to academic success ( Sadler and Tai, 2007 ), children need a robust foundation in mathematics knowledge in their earliest years. Multiple analyses suggest that mathematics learning should begin early, especially for children at risk for later difficulties in school ( Byrnes and Wasik, 2009 ; Clements and Sarama, 2014 ). Well before first grade, children can learn the skills and concepts that support more complex mathematics understanding later. Particularly important areas of mathematics for young children to learn include number, which includes whole number, operations, and relations; geometry; spatial thinking; and measurement. Children also need to develop proficiency in processes for both general and specific mathematical reasoning ( NRC, 2009 ).

If given opportunities to learn, young children possess a remarkably broad, complex, and sophisticated—albeit informal—knowledge of mathematics ( Baroody, 2004 ; Clarke et al., 2006 ; Clements et al., 1999 ; Fuson, 2004 ; Geary, 1994 ; Thomson et al., 2005 ). In their free play, almost all preschoolers engage in substantial amounts of premathematical activity. They count objects; compare magnitudes; and explore patterns, shapes, and spatial relations. Importantly, this is true regardless of a child's income level or gender ( Seo and Ginsburg, 2004 ). Preschoolers can also, for example, learn to invent solutions to simple arithmetic problems ( Sarama and Clements, 2009 ).

High-quality mathematics education can help children realize their potential in mathematics achievement ( Doig et al., 2003 ; Thomson et al., 2005 ). However, without such education starting, and continuing throughout, the early years, many children will be on a trajectory in which they will have great difficulty catching up to their peers ( Rouse et al., 2005 ). As discussed further in Chapter 6 , early childhood classrooms typically are ill suited to helping children learn mathematics and underestimate their ability to do so. In some cases, children can even experience a regression on some mathematics skills during prekindergarten and kindergarten ( Farran et al., 2007 ; Wright, 1994 ). Mathematics needs to be conceptualized as more than skills, and its content as more than counting and simple shapes. Without building a robust understanding of mathematics in the early years, children too often come to believe that math is a guessing game and a system of rules without reason ( Munn, 2006 ).

Both education and experience can make a difference, as evidenced by data from the latest international Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, which added data collection on early mathematics education ( Mullis et al., 2012 ). Students with higher mathematics achievement at fourth and sixth grades had parents who reported that they often engaged their children in early numeracy activities and that their children had attended preprimary education and started school able to do early numeracy tasks (e.g., simple addition and subtraction). Those children who had attended preschool or kindergarten had higher achievement, while the 13 percent who had attended no preprimary school had much lower average mathematics achievement ( Mullis et al., 2012 ).

Developmental Progression of Learning Mathematics

Children move through a developmental progression in specific mathematical domains, which informs learning trajectories as important tools for supporting learning and teaching. Recent work based on empirical research and emphasizing a cognitive science perspective conceptualizes learning trajectories for mathematics as “descriptions of children's thinking and learning in a specific mathematical domain, and a related, conjectured route through a set of instructional tasks designed to engender those mental processes or actions hypothesized to move children through a developmental progression of levels of thinking, created with the intent of supporting children's achievement of specific goals in that mathematical domain” ( Clements and Sarama, 2004 , p. 83).

Box 4-5 illustrates the concept of a developmental progression through the example of subitizing , an oft-neglected mathematical goal for young children. Research shows that subitizing, the rapid and accurate recognition of the number in a small group, is one of the main abilities very young children should develop ( Palmer and Baroody, 2011 ; Reigosa-Crespo et al., 2013 ). Through subitizing, children can discover critical properties of number, such as conservation and compensation ( Clements and Sarama, 2014 ; Maclellan, 2012 ) and develop such capabilities as unitizing and arithmetic. Subitizing is not the only way children think and learn about number. Counting is the other method of quantification. It is the first and most basic mathematical algorithm and one of the more critical early mathematics competencies ( Aunola et al., 2004 ; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008 ). Chapter 6 includes examples from a complete learning trajectory—goal, developmental progression, and instructional activities—for counting ( Clements and Sarama, 2014 ).

Subitizing: A Developmental Progression. A quantitative, or numerical, “sense” is innate or develops early. For example, very young children possess approximate number systems (ANSs) that allow them to discriminate large and small sets, (more...)

Children with Special Needs

Children with special needs in learning mathematics fall into two categories. Those with mathematical difficulties struggle to learn mathematics for any reason; this category may apply to as many as 35-40 percent of students ( Berch and Mazzocco, 2007 ). Those with specific mathematics learning disabilities are more severe cases; these students have a memory or cognitive deficit that interferes with their ability to learn math ( Geary, 2004 ). This category may apply to about 6-7 percent ( Berch and Mazzocco, 2007 ; Mazzocco and Myers, 2003 ). In one study, this classification persisted in third grade for 63 percent of those classified as having mathematics learning disabilities in kindergarten ( Mazzocco and Myers, 2003 ).

Mathematics learning disabilities, while assumed to have a genetic basis, currently are defined by students' behaviors—yet with ongoing debate among experts about what those behaviors are. One consistent finding is that students with mathematics learning disabilities have difficulty retrieving basic arithmetic facts quickly. This has been hypothesized to be the result of an inability to store or retrieve facts and impairments in visual-spatial representation. As early as kindergarten, limited working memory and speed of cognitive processing may be problems for these children ( Geary et al., 2007 ). Many young children with learning disabilities in reading show a similar rapid-naming deficit for letters and words ( Siegel and Mazabel, 2013 ; Steacy et al., 2014 ). Another possibility is that a lack of higher-order, or executive, control of verbal material causes difficulty learning basic arithmetic facts or combinations. For example, students with mathematics learning disabilities may have difficulty inhibiting irrelevant associations. An illustration of this would be hearing “5 + 4” and saying “6” because it follows 5.

One explanation for the difficulty students with mathematics learning disabilities have learning basic arithmetic combinations might be delays in understanding counting. These students may not fully understand counting nor recognize errors in counting as late as second grade. They persist in using immature counting strategies, such as counting “one-by-one” on their fingers, throughout elementary school ( Geary et al., 1992 ; Ostad, 1998 ). Other experts, however, claim that a lack of specific competencies, such as subitizing, is more important ( Berch and Mazzocco, 2007 ).

Some evidence suggests that it is possible to predict which kindergartners are at risk for mathematics learning disabilities based on skill including reading numerals, number constancy, magnitude judgments of one-digit numbers, or mental addition of one-digit numbers ( Mazzocco and Thompson, 2005 ). However, until more is known, students should be classified as having mathematics learning disabilities only with great caution and after good mathematics instruction has been provided. Such labeling in the earliest years could do more harm than good ( Clements and Sarama, 2012 ).

Interrelationships Between Mathematics and Language

It can appear that language is less of a concern in mathematics compared to other subjects because it is assumed to be based on numbers or symbols, but this is not the case ( Clements et al., 2013a ). In fact, children learn math mainly from oral language, rather than from mathematical symbolism or textbooks ( Janzen, 2008 ). In addition, “talking math” is more than just using mathematics terms ( Clements and Sarama, 2014 ). Therefore, both oral language and literacy in general, as well as the “language of mathematics,” are important for learning ( Vukovic and Lesaux, 2013 ). Vocabulary and knowledge of print are both predictors of later numeracy ( Purpura et al., 2011 ). Similarly, growth in mathematics from kindergarten to third grade is related to both early numerical skills and phonological processing ( Vukovic, 2012 ). In one study of linguistically and ethnically diverse children aged 6-9 years, language ability predicted gains in geometry, probability, and data analysis but not in arithmetic or algebra (controlling for reading ability, visual–spatial working memory, and gender) ( Vukovic and Lesaux, 2013 ). Thus, language may affect how children make meaning of mathematics but not its complex arithmetic procedures.

Moreover, there is an important bidirectional relationship between learning in mathematics and language ( Sarama et al., 2012 ). Each has related developmental milestones. Children learn number words at the same time as other linguistic labels. Most children recognize by the age of 2 which words are for numbers and use them only in appropriate contexts ( Fuson, 1988 ). Each also has related developmental patterns, with learning progressing along similar paths. In both, children recognize the whole before its parts. In learning language, this is word before syllable, syllable before rime-onset, and rime-onset before phoneme (see also Anthony et al., 2003 ; Ziegler and Goswami, 2005 ). Similarly in mathematics, numbers are first conceptualized as unbreakable categories and then later as composites (e.g., 5 is composed of 3 and 2) ( Butterworth, 2005 ; Sarama and Clements, 2009 ). By 6 years old in most cultures, children have been exposed to symbol representations that are both alphabetic and numerical, and they begin to be able to segment words into phonemes and numbers into singletons (e.g., understanding that 3 is 1 and 1 and 1) ( Butterworth, 2005 ; Sarama and Clements, 2009 ; Wagner et al., 1993 ). The ability to identify the component nature of words and numbers predicts the ability to read ( Adams, 1990 ; Stanovich and Siegel, 1994 ) and to compute ( Geary, 1990 , 1993 ). In addition to these similarities in typical developmental pathways, many children with learning disabilities experience deficits in competencies related to both language/literacy and numeracy ( Geary, 1993 ; Hecht et al., 2001 ; NRC, 1998 ).

Furthermore, there appear to be shared competencies between the two subject areas. For example, preschoolers' narrative abilities (i.e., their abilities to convey all the main events of a story and offer a perspective on its events) have been shown to predict mathematics achievement 2 years later ( O'Neill et al., 2004 ). Beginning mathematics scores have been shown to be highly predictive of subsequent achievement in both reading and mathematics although beginning reading skills (such as letter recognition, word identification, and word sounds) were shown to be highly predictive of later reading (advanced competencies such as evaluation) but not mathematics learning ( Duncan et al., 2007 ).

A causal relationship between rich mathematics learning and developing language and literacy skills is supported by a randomized study of the effects of a math curriculum called Building Blocks on prekindergarten children's letter recognition and oral language skills. Building Blocks children performed the same as the children in the control group on letter recognition and on three oral language subscales but outperformed them on four subscales: ability to recall key words, use of complex utterances, willingness to reproduce narratives independently, and inference ( Sarama et al., 2012 ). These skills had no explicit relation to the math curriculum. Similarly, a study of 5- to 7-year-olds showed that an early mathematics and logical-mathematical intervention increased later scores in English by 14 percentile points ( Shayer and Adhami, 2010 ).

Time on task (or time on instruction) does affect learning, which naturally leads to consideration of potential conflicts or tradeoffs between time spent on different subjects (e.g., Bodovski and Farkas, 2007 ). Indeed, a frequent concern is that introducing a mathematics curriculum may decrease the time devoted to language and literacy, impeding children's development in those areas, which are heavily emphasized in early learning goals (see Clements and Sarama, 2009 ; Farran et al., 2007 ; Lee and Ginsburg, 2007 ; Sarama and Clements, 2009 ). However, this assumes that mathematics activities will not have a positive effect on language and literacy. Yet as described here, evidence from both educational and psychological research suggests the potential for high-quality instruction in each to have mutual benefits for learning in both subjects. Rich mathematical activities, such as discussing multiple solutions and solving narrative story problems, can help lay the groundwork for literacy through language development, while rich literacy activities can help lay the groundwork for mathematics development ( Sarama et al., 2012 ).

Children Who Are Dual Language Learners

For mathematics learning in children who are dual language learners, the language, not just the vocabulary, of mathematics need to be addressed ( Clements and Sarama, 2014 ). Challenges for dual language learners include both technical vocabulary, which can range in how similar or distinct terms are from everyday language, and the use of complex noun phrases. On the other hand, bilingual children often can understand a mathematical idea more readily because, after using different terms for it in different languages, they comprehend that the mathematical idea is abstract, and not tied to a specific term (see Secada, 1992 ).

There is evidence that the best approach is to teach these young children in their first language ( Celedón-Pattichis et al., 2010 ; Espada, 2012 ). At a minimum, their teachers need to connect everyday language with the language of math ( Janzen, 2008 ). It is also essential to build on the resources that bilingual children bring to learning mathematics—all cultures have “funds of knowledge” (culturally developed and historically accumulated bodies of knowledge and skills) that can be used to develop mathematical contexts and understandings ( Moll et al., 1992 ). Instructional practices for teaching mathematics with dual language learners are discussed further in Chapter 6 .

Conclusions About Learning Specific Subjects For subject-matter content knowledge and proficiency, children learn best when supported along a trajectory with three components: (1) their understanding of the subject-matter content itself, (2) their progress through predictable developmental levels and patterns of thinking related to their understanding of the content, and (3) instructional tasks and strategies that adults who work with children can employ to promote that learning at each level. For example: Almost all topics in mathematics follow predictable learning trajectories that include number counting and subitizing, number relationships and magnitude comparison, arithmetic operations, geometry and spatial sense, and measurement. Learning trajectories in literacy include specific developmental sequences in children's learning of phonological awareness and phonics (letter-sound correspondences), which together contribute to children's understanding of how spoken words are captured in reading and writing and thus to their advancement through broader levels of early literacy. Some principles of how children learn along a trajectory hold across subject-matter domains, but there are also substantive differences among subjects in the specific skills children need and in the learning trajectories. Both generalizable principles and subject-specific distinctions have implications for the knowledge and competencies needed to work with children. An important factor in children's learning of subject-matter content is how each of the components of learning trajectories both requires and develops aspects of learning that are not content specific, such as critical reasoning, executive function, self-regulation, learning skills, positive dispositions toward learning, and relationships.

GENERAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES

Educators, developmental scientists, and economists have long known that academic achievement is a result of both the growth of specific knowledge and the development of general learning competencies that regulate how children enlist cognitive resources when they encounter learning challenges, motivate advances in learning, and strengthen children's self-confidence as learners.

These general learning competencies have been labeled and categorized in various ways. Considerable recent research on some of these learning competencies has been conducted using the concept of “executive function,” which generally refers to a set of supervisory functions that regulate and control cognitive activity that affects learning ( Vitiello et al., 2011 ) and allow children to persevere with tasks, including learning tasks, even when facing fatigue, distraction, or decreased motivation. In the field of human development “mastery motivation” in infancy typically is indexed by the baby's persistence, focus, and curiosity in exploration and problem solving ( Morgan et al., 1990 ; Wang and Barrett, 2013 ). In preschool-age children, these skills often are conceptualized as the quality of the child's “approaches to learning,” which include motivation, engagement, and interest in learning activities. Heckman (2007) has used the term “noncognitive skills” to refer to many of these learning competencies, including self-control, persistence, self-discipline, motivation, and self-esteem, as well as future orientedness (i.e., the capacity to substitute long-term goals for immediate satisfactions). This label is used in contrast to the “cognitive skills” that are more often measured to predict children's later success, although there is considerable research that the “noncognitive skills” also support learning and achievement (see, e.g., Cunha and Heckman, 2010 ; Heckman, 2007 ), and they are highly relevant to cognitive skills in such areas as language, mathematics, science, and other traditional academic fields.

Here the alternative conceptualizations for these important aspects of child development and early learning are grouped as “learning competencies” to reflect their importance for early learning. Individual differences in these competencies are important determinants of learning and academic motivation, and children's experiences at home and in the classroom contribute to some of these differences. This section examines these competencies as well as their interrelationships with the previously discussed subject-matter domains of language and literacy and mathematics.

General Cognitive Skills

Several cognitive control processes are important for planning and executing goal-directed activity, which is needed for successful learning (e.g., Blair, 2002 ; Lyon and Krasnegor, 1996 ). These processes include, for example, short-term and working memory, attention control and shifting, cognitive flexibility (changing thinking between different concepts and thinking about multiple concepts simultaneously), inhibitory control (suppressing unproductive responses or strategies), and cognitive self-regulation. These processes also are closely related to emotion regulation, which is discussed later in the section on socioemotional development, and which also contributes to children's classroom success.

As noted previously, many general cognitive processes often are referred to collectively as “executive function,” although not everyone defines this construct in the same way (e.g., Miyake et al., 2000 ; Raver, 2013 ), and different disciplines and researchers differ as to which cognitive skills it includes. Other theoretical frameworks exist as well. For example, cognitive control and complexity theory postulates that executive function is an outcome, not an explanatory construct, and is the result of children's creation and application of rules (driven perhaps by an increase in reflection afforded by experience-dependent maturation of the prefrontal cortex) ( Müller et al., 2008 ; Zelazo and Carlson, 2012 ; Zelazo and Lyons, 2012 ). As with the overall domains of development displayed earlier in Figure 4-1 , the committee did not attempt to reconcile those different perspectives.

This variation in perspectives makes it difficult to parse the literature produced by different fields of research and practice. In general, however, executive function appears to improve most rapidly in young children ( Best et al., 2011 ; Blair, 2002 ; Hughes and Ensor, 2011 ; Romine and Reynolds, 2005 ; Schoemaker et al., 2014 ; Zelazo and Carlson, 2012 ). Executive function processes appear to be partially dependent on the development of the prefrontal cortex (the site of higher-order cognitive processes), notably through the preschool and kindergarten age range ( Bassett et al., 2012 ; Blair, 2002 ).

Short-Term and Working Memory

Short-term memory is the ability for short-term recall, such as of a sentence or important details from conversation and reading. Working memory allows children to hold in their memory information from multiple sources, whether heard or read, so they can use and link that information. Updating working memory is the ability to keep and use relevant information while engaging in another cognitively demanding task ( Conway et al., 2003 ; DeYoung, 2011 ).

Attention Control and Shifting

Attention control is the ability to focus attention and disregard distracting stimuli (e.g., a continuous performance task that requires a child to identify when some familiar object appears onscreen and ignore other objects that appear, or a task that requires ignoring extraneous information in a mathematics word problem). Attention shifting is a related process of switching a “mental set” while simultaneously ignoring distractions (e.g., counting by different units—tens and ones). Attention shifting and cognitive flexibility are often grouped.

Cognitive Flexibility

Cognitive flexibility capacities develop gradually throughout early childhood and have significant influences on children's social and academic competence. Cognitive flexibility is important, for example, for reading ( Duke and Block, 2012 ). Children who are better able to consider, at the same time, both letter-sound and semantic (meaning) information about words have better reading comprehension ( Cartwright, 2002 ; Cartwright et al., 2010 ). Reading comprehension also appears to improve when children are taught about words with multiple meanings (e.g., spell or plane ), and sentences with multiple meanings (e.g., “The woman chased the man on a motorcycle.”) ( Yuill, 1996 ; Zipke et al., 2009 ). In addition, interventions in young children that focus on cognitive flexibility have shown significant benefits for reading comprehension ( Cartwright, 2008 ).

Inhibitory Control

Inhibitory control involves controlling a dominant response (e.g., the first answer that comes to mind) so as to think about better strategies or ideas. The skill of simple response inhibition (withholding an initial, sometimes impulsive, response) develops during infancy through toddlerhood. Infants also develop some control of cognitive conflict in tasks in which an item of interest to them is first hidden in one location and then another, and the child must resist the response of searching in the first location ( Diamond, 1991 ; Müller et al., 2008 ; Rothbart and Rueda, 2005 ) (see Marcovitch and Zelazo, 2009 , for a model of possible mechanisms). Later in their first year, children can resolve conflict between their line of sight and their line of reaching ( Diamond, 1991 ). By about 30 months, they can successfully complete a spatial conflict task ( Rothbart and Rueda, 2005 ). From 3 to 5 years of age, complex response inhibition and response shifting develop, with attention shifting developing at about age 4 ( Bassett et al., 2012 ). The most rapid increase in inhibitory control is between 5 and 8 years of age, although moderate improvements are seen up to young adulthood ( Best et al., 2011 ).

Inhibitory control supports children's learning across subject-matter areas. As one example of its importance for mathematics, when the initial reading of a problem is not the correct one, children need to inhibit their impulse to answer (incorrectly) and carefully examine the problem. Consider the following problem: “There were six birds in a tree. Three birds already flew away. How many birds were there from the start?” Children have to inhibit the immediate desire to subtract prompted by the words “flew away” and perform addition instead.

Cognitive Self-Regulation

Cognitive self-regulation is what helps children plan ahead, focus attention, and remember past experiences. The construct of self-regulation and related concepts have a long history in psychology (e.g., Glaser, 1991 ; Markman, 1977 , 1981 ; Piaget and Szeminska, 1952 ; Sternberg, 1985 ; Vygotsky, 1978 ; Zelazo et al., 2003 ) and education (e.g., McGillicuddy-De Lisi, 1982 ; Steffe and Tzur, 1994 ). Most recently, researchers and educators have used the broad term self-regulation to refer to the processes involved in intentionally controlling attention, thinking, impulses, emotions, and behavior. In this way, self-regulation can be thought of in relation to several aspects of development, including the cognitive processes discussed here and the social and emotional processes discussed later in this chapter. Developmental psychobiological research and neuroimaging indicate that these subclasses are both neurally and behaviorally distinct while also being related and correlated ( Bassett et al., 2012 ; Hofmann et al., 2012 ; Hongwanishkul et al., 2005 ; Neuenschwander et al., 2012 ; Willoughby et al., 2011 ). Together, these types of self-regulation allow children to persevere with tasks even when facing difficulties in problem solving or learning, fatigue, distraction, or decreased motivation ( Blair and Razza, 2007 ; Neuenschwander et al., 2012 ). It is thus unsurprising that kindergarten teachers believe self-regulation is as important as academics ( Bassok and Rorem, 2014 ).

Both cognitive self-regulation and emotional self-regulation (discussed later in this chapter) contribute to socioemotional development and also play a role in learning. Although the relationship between various features of cognitive self-regulation and academic achievement has been well documented for older students (e.g., Bielaczyc et al., 1995 ; Zimmerman, 2002 ), less was known until recently about how self-regulation developed in the early years contributes to the later development of cognitive and emotional self-regulation and academic achievement ( NRC and IOM, 2000 ).

Children's self-regulation and their ability to successfully function in school settings are related in two ways. First, emotional self-regulation enables children to benefit from learning in various social contexts, including their capacities to manage emotions in interactions with educators as well as peers (e.g., one-on-one, in cooperative pairs, in large and small groups). It also assists them in conforming to classroom rules and routines. Second, cognitive self-regulation enables children to develop and make use of cognitive processes that are necessary for academic learning ( Anghel, 2010 ).

Although most studies have focused on specific effects of either cognitive or emotional self-regulation, evidence suggests that the two are interconnected. This link is probably due to the commonality of the neurological mechanisms governing both emotional and cognitive self-regulation. For example, children lacking emotion regulation are likely also to have problems with regulating cognitive processes, such as attention ( Derryberry and Reed, 1996 ; LeDoux, 1996 ). Moreover, earlier patterns in the development of emotion control have been shown to be predictive of children's later ability to exercise control over their cognitive functioning ( Blair, 2002 ).

Several studies have shown positive correlations between self-regulation and achievement in young children (e.g., Bierman et al., 2008b ; Blair and Razza, 2007 ; Blair et al., 2010 ; Bull et al., 1999 ; Cameron et al., 2012 ; Neuenschwander et al., 2012 ; Roebers et al., 2012 ; Welsh et al., 2010 ), although there are exceptions ( Edens and Potter, 2013 ). Preschoolers' cognitive self-regulation, including inhibitory control and attention shifting, were found to be related to measures of literacy and mathematics ability in kindergarten ( Blair and Razza, 2007 ). In another study, children with higher self-regulation, including attention, working memory, and inhibitory control, achieved at higher levels in literacy, language, and mathematics ( McClelland et al., 2007 ). Interventions in the area of self-regulation have shown positive effects for reading achievement ( Best et al., 2011 ; Bierman et al., 2008a ; Blair and Diamond, 2008 ; Blair and Razza, 2007 ; Diamond and Lee, 2011 ). Among struggling first graders in an effective reading intervention, those who were retained in grade showed significantly weaker self-regulation skills ( Dombek and Connor, 2012 ). Cognitive self-regulation appears to be strongly associated with academic learning ( Willoughby et al., 2011 ), but emotional self-regulation also contributes through children's adjustment to school and attitudes toward learning. In addition, both cognitive and emotional self-regulation contribute to variance in attention, competence motivation, and persistence ( Bassett et al., 2012 ; Willoughby et al., 2011 ).

In addition, differences in self-regulation competencies raise important issues related to disparities in educational achievement. Children in poverty can have lower self-regulation competencies (e.g., Blair and Razza, 2007 ; Blair et al., 2010 ; Bull and Scerif, 2001 ; Hackman and Farah, 2009 ; Jenks et al., 2012 ; Kishiyama et al., 2009 ; Masten et al., 2012 ; Mazzocco and Hanich, 2010 ; McLean and Hitch, 1999 ; Raver, 2013 ). One reason is the effect of chronic stress on behavioral and biological capacities for self-control (see discussion of chronic stress and adversity later in this chapter). This risk is exacerbated for children who are also dual language learners ( Wanless et al., 2011 ). Students with special needs are another population who may require focused interventions to develop self-regulation competencies ( Harris et al., 2005 ; Jenks et al., 2012 ; Lyon and Krasnegor, 1996 ; Mazzocco and Hanich, 2010 ; McLean and Hitch, 1999 ; Raches and Mazzocco, 2012 ; Toll et al., 2010 ; Zelazo et al., 2002 ). Students who are gifted and talented may also have exceptional needs in this domain (e.g., Mooji, 2010 ).

Adults who work with children have the opportunity to provide environments, experiences, and curricula that can help develop the competencies needed, including for children whose skills were not optimally developed in the earliest years. Importantly, the goal of such interventions is not to “train” children to suppress behaviors and follow rules. Rather, effective educators and programs provide learning activities and environments that increase children's capacity and disposition to set a goal (e.g., join a pretend play activity, complete a puzzle); develop a plan or strategy; and muster their social, emotional, and cognitive faculties to execute that plan. The science of how children develop and learn indicates that integrating academic learning and self-regulation is a sound approach.

Executive Functions and Learning in Specific Subjects

As already noted and shown in several examples, executive function processes are closely related to achievement in both language and literacy and mathematics ( Best et al., 2011 ; Blair and Razza, 2007 ; Blair et al., 2010 ; Neuenschwander et al., 2012 ), and this has also been shown in science ( Nayfeld et al., 2013 ). In some research, executive function has been correlated similarly with both reading and mathematics achievement across a wide age span (5 to 17 years), suggesting its significant role in academic learning ( Best et al., 2011 ; Blair and Razza, 2007 ; Neuenschwander et al., 2012 ). In contrast, some studies have found that executive function is more strongly associated with mathematics than with literacy or language ( Barata, 2010 ; Blair et al., 2010 ; Ponitz et al., 2009 ; von Suchodoletz and Gunzenhauser, 2013 ). A strong relationship between executive function and mathematics may reflect that mathematics relies heavily on working memory and attention control, requiring the ability to inhibit an automatic response to a single aspect of a problem, to hold relevant information in mind, and to operate on it while shifting attention appropriately among different elements of a problem ( Welsh et al., 2010 ). This relationship is especially important given that mathematics curricula increasingly require higher-order skills, which executive function competencies provides ( Baker et al., 2010 ).

Some research indicates that most executive function competencies correlate significantly with mathematics achievement ( Bull and Scerif, 2001 ), while other studies suggest a greater role for particular executive function competencies in the learning of mathematics for young children—especially inhibitory control ( Blair and Razza, 2007 ) or working memory ( Bull et al., 2008 ; Geary, 2011 ; see also, Geary et al., 2012 ; cf. Neuenschwander et al., 2012 ; Szűcs et al., 2014 ; Van der Ven et al., 2012 ). These latter two competencies have been shown to predict success in mathematics in primary school students ( Toll et al., 2010 ). Working memory tasks have also been shown to predict mathematics learning disabilities, even more so than early mathematical abilities ( Toll et al., 2010 ). Several studies have identified lack of inhibition and working memory as specific deficits for children of lower mathematical ability, resulting in difficulty with switching to and evaluating new strategies for dealing with a particular task ( Bull and Scerif [2001] and Lan and colleagues [2011] found similar results). Persistence, another learning skill that is interrelated with cognitive processes, also has been linked to mathematics achievement for both 3- and 4-year-olds ( Maier and Greenfield, 2008 ).

Executive function competencies may be differentially associated with distinct areas of mathematics. For example, executive function was found to be correlated more with solving word problems than with calculation ( Best et al., 2011 ), and appears to play a role in acquiring new mathematics procedures and developing automatic access to arithmetic facts ( LeFevre et al., 2013 ). Different aspects of working memory also may be related to different mathematical areas ( Simmons et al., 2012 ). Parallel observations have been made for executive function and reading, with executive function playing a larger role in reading comprehension than in decoding.

In addition to the role of executive function in learning mathematics, mathematics activities also contribute to developing executive function. Some mathematics activities may require children to suppress prepotent responses, manipulate abstract information, and remain cognitively flexible. Importantly, neuroimaging studies suggest that executive function may be developed through learning mathematics in challenging activities but not in exercising mathematics once learned ( Ansari et al., 2005 ; Butterworth et al., 2011 ).

Cognitive Skills and Executive Function in Children with Special Needs

Some students with special needs may have a specific lack of certain executive function competencies ( Harris et al., 2005 ; Jenks et al., 2012 ; Lyon and Krasnegor, 1996 ; McLean and Hitch, 1999 ; Raches and Mazzocco, 2012 ; Schoemaker et al., 2014 ; Toll et al., 2010 ; Zelazo et al., 2002 ). Most of the research on executive function deficits in relation to disabilities that affect young children has focused on specific disorders, particularly attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). An early theory posited that ADHD is a lack of the behavioral inhibition required for proficiency with executive functions such as self-regulation of affect, motivation, and arousal; working memory; and synthesis analysis of internally represented information ( Barkley, 1997 ). Research has found that children diagnosed with ADHD are more likely than children without ADHD to have two or more deficits in executive function ( Biederman et al., 2004 ; cf. Shuai et al., 2011 ). A meta-analysis of studies of one measure of executive function, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, suggests that the performance of individuals with ADHD is fairly consistently poorer than that of individuals without clinical diagnoses ( Romine et al., 2004 ). In another study, children with ADHD were found not to have learning problems but rather problems in a measure of inhibitory control, which affected arithmetic calculation (as well as written language) ( Semrud-Clikeman, 2012 ). Other evidence suggests that children diagnosed with ADHD may have deficits not in executive processes themselves but in motivation or response to contingencies, that is, the regulation of effort allocation ( Huang-Pollock et al., 2012 ).

Having ADHD with deficits in executive function, compared to ADHD alone, is associated with an increased risk for grade retention and a decrease in academic achievement ( Biederman et al., 2004 ). The relationship between ADHD and executive functions may also depend on subtype. One study found that children with an inattention ADHD subtype showed deficits in several executive function competencies ( Tymms and Merrell, 2011 ), whereas children with the hyperactive-impulsive ADHD subtype may have fewer executive function deficits ( Shuai et al., 2011 ) and may even have strengths that could be developed in appropriate educational environments.

Deficits in executive function have been studied in other developmental disorders as well, albeit often in less detail. They include autism ( Bühler et al., 2011 ; Hill, 2004 ; Zelazo et al., 2002 ); attention and disruptive behavior problems ( Fahie and Symons, 2003 ; Hughes and Ensor, 2011 ); intellectual disabilities ( Nader-Grosbois and Lefèvre, 2011 ; Neece et al., 2011 ; Vieillevoye and Nader-Grosbois, 2008 ); cerebral palsy ( Jenks et al., 2012 ); Turner syndrome ( Mazzocco and Hanich, 2010 ); developmental dyslexia ( Brosnan et al., 2002 ; cf. Romine and Reynolds, 2005 ); and mathematics learning disabilities ( Toll et al., 2010 ).

Other Learning Skills and Dispositions

Other learning skills that are important to early academic achievement include persistence, curiosity, self-confidence, intrinsic motivation, time perspective (e.g., the willingness to prioritize long-term goals over immediate gratifications), and self-control. The growth of emotional and cognitive self-regulation is also fundamentally related to many of these developing learning skills. In addition, social experiences, discussed later in this chapter, are important for the growth of these learning skills. Note also that although these skills are referred to sometimes as dispositions, they are fostered through early experience and can be supported through intentional caregiving and instructional practices; they are not simply intrinsic traits in the child.

A capacity for focused engagement in learning is apparent from very early in life, although it is also true that these learning competencies develop significantly throughout early childhood as processes of neurobiological development interact with children's social experiences to enable greater persistence, focused attention, delayed gratification, and other components of effective learning and problem solving. As a consequence, very young children are likely to approach new learning situations with enthusiasm and self-confidence but at young ages may not necessarily bring persistence or creativity in confronting and solving challenging problems. Older preschoolers, by contrast, are more self-regulated learners. They approach new learning opportunities with initiative and involvement, and they are more persistent and more likely to solve problems creatively, by proposing their own ideas ( NRC, 2001 ).

Considerable research confirms the importance of these skills to early learning. Individual differences in infants' “mastery motivation” skills—persistence, focus, and curiosity in exploration and problem solving—predict later cognitive abilities and achievement motivation ( Busch-Rossnagel, 2005 ; Morgan et al., 1990 ; Wang and Barrett, 2013 ). In preschool-age children, learning skills that include motivation, engagement, and interest in learning activities have been found in longitudinal studies to predict children's cognitive skills at school entry ( Duncan et al., 2005 , 2007 ). Similarly, these characteristics continue to be associated with reading and mathematics achievement in the early elementary grades ( Alexander et al., 1993 ). Differences in these learning skills are especially associated with academic achievement for children in circumstances of economic disadvantage who face various kinds of self-regulatory challenges ( Blair and Raver, 2012 ; Howse et al., 2003a ).

Much of school success requires that children prioritize longer-term rewards requiring current effort over immediate satisfactions. The classic demonstration of this skill comes from a series of studies led by Walter Mischel beginning in the 1960s. Young children were offered the option of choosing an immediate, smaller reward or a larger reward if they waited to receive it later. For several years developmental outcomes for these children were tracked, which revealed that children who were better able to delay gratification at age 4 scored higher on measures of language skills, academic achievement, planful behaviors, self-reliance, capacity to cope with stress and frustration, and social competence measured in adolescence and adulthood ( Mischel et al., 1988 ). Other studies have reported consistent findings. Early development in the ability to prioritize future, long-term goals over short-term lesser gains improves children's chances of academic achievement and securing and maintaining employment ( Rachlin, 2000 ). Conversely, the inability to delay gratification is associated with young children's aggressive behavior, conduct problems, poorer peer relationships, and academic difficulty during preschool and the transition to elementary school ( Olson and Hoza, 1993 ) as well as later outcomes, including academic failure, delinquency, and substance abuse in adolescence ( Lynam et al., 1993 ; Wulfert et al., 2002 ).

The ways that children view themselves as learners are also important. Young children's self-perceived capability to master learning challenges develops early and exerts a continuing influence on their academic success. Early self-evaluations of competence are based on the positive and negative evaluations of children's behavior and competence by parents ( Stipek et al., 1992 ). Parent and educator expectations for children's success remain important. High parent expectations for children's school achievement are associated with children's later academic performance, and this is also true of educator expectations. In one longitudinal study, teacher expectations for children's math achievement in grades 1 and 3 directly predicted children's scores on standardized achievement tests 2 years later, and expectations for reading achievement had indirect associations with later reading scores. There was also evidence in this study that expectations were especially influential for academically at-risk students ( Hinnant et al., 2009 ).

Messages from parents and educators are also important in shaping how children attribute their own success and failure which, in turn, predicts their future effort and expectations of success. Children develop implicit theories in the early years about who they are as a person and what it means to be intelligent. Some children come to view intelligence as a fixed trait (i.e., one is either smart or not), whereas others see it as a more malleable trait that can be changed through effort and persistence. Educators and parents who approach learning goals by promoting and rewarding effort, persistence, and willingness to take on challenging problems increase children's motivation and their endorsement of effort as a path to success. In contrast, children receiving messages that intelligence is stable and cannot be improved through hard work are discouraged from pursuing difficult tasks, particularly if they view their abilities as low ( Heyman and Dweck, 1992 ). These patterns of “helpless” versus “mastery-oriented” motivation are learned in the preschool years and remain stable over time ( Smiley and Dweck, 1994 ).

These perceptions and patterns of motivation can be especially significant as children learn academic subjects, such as mathematics ( Clements and Sarama, 2012 ). People in the United States have many negative beliefs and attitudes about mathematics ( Ashcraft, 2006 ). One deeply embedded cultural belief is that achievement in mathematics depends mainly on native aptitude or ability rather than effort. Research shows that the belief in the primacy of native ability hurts students and, further, it is simply untrue.

Throughout their school careers, students who believe—or are helped to understand—that they can learn if they try working longer on tasks have better achievement than those who believe that either one “has it” (or “gets it”) or does not ( McLeod and Adams, 1989 ; Weiner, 1986 ). Researchers have estimated that students should be successful about 70 percent of the time to maximize motivation ( Middleton and Spanias, 1999 ). If students are directly assured that working hard to figure out problems, including making errors and being frustrated, are part of the learning process it can diminish feelings of embarrassment and other negative emotions at being incorrect. In contrast, students' learning can be impeded if educators define success only as rapid, correct responses and accuracy only as following the educator's example ( Middleton and Spanias, 1999 ). In addition, students will build positive feelings about mathematics if they experience it as a sense-making activity. Most young students are motivated to explore numbers and shapes and have positive feelings about mathematics ( Middleton and Spanias, 1999 ). However, after only a couple of years in typical schools, they begin to believe that only some people have the ability to do math.

A related pattern relating perceptions and emotions to learning is seen with students who experience mathematics anxiety. Primary grade students who have strong math anxiety, even alongside strong working memory, have been found to have lower mathematics achievement because working memory capacity is co-opted by math anxiety ( Beilock, 2001 ; Ramirez et al., 2013 ). Research has shown that primary grade students who “feel panicky” about math have increased activity in brain regions that are associated with fear, which decreases activity in brain regions associated with problem solving ( Young et al., 2012 ). Early identification and treatment of math anxiety may prevent children with high potential from avoiding mathematics and mathematics courses ( Ramirez et al., 2013 ).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The development of social and emotional competence is an important part of child development and early learning. Socioemotional competence has been described as a multidimensional construct that contributes to the ability to understand and manage emotions and behavior; to make decisions and achieve goals; and to establish and maintain positive relationships, including feeling and showing empathy for others. Although their importance is widely recognized, universal agreement is lacking on how to categorize and define these areas of development. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning offers a summary construct with five interrelated groups of competencies that together encompass the areas typically considered to be part of socioemotional competence (see Figure 4-2 ).

Elements of socioemotional competence. SOURCE: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/core-competencies, accessed March 24, 2015).

Socioemotional competence increasingly is viewed as important for a child's early school adjustment and for academic success at both the preschool and K-12 levels ( Bierman et al., 2008a , b ; Denham and Brown, 2010 ; Heckman et al., 2013 ; La Paro and Pianta, 2000 ; Leerkes et al., 2008 ). A growing body of research addresses the relationship between dimensions of socioemotional competence and cognitive and other skills related to early learning and later academic achievement ( Bierman et al., 2008a , b ; Graziano et al., 2007 ; Howse et al., 2003b ; Miller et al., 2006 ). Socioemotional development early in life also increasingly is understood to be critically important for later mental well-being, and for contributing to subsequent mental health problems when there are enduring disturbances in socioemotional functions ( IOM and NRC, 2009 ; Leckman and March, 2011 ).

There are several reasons why socioemotional development is important to early learning and academic success. As discussed in detail later in this section, early learning is a social activity in which these skills are important to the interactions through which learning occurs and is collaboratively shared. Socioemotional competence gives children the capacity to engage in academic tasks by increasing their ability to interact constructively with teachers, work collaboratively with and learn from peers, and dedicate sustained attention to learning ( Denham and Brown, 2010 ). Further, behavioral and emotional problems not only impede early learning but also pose other risks to long-term success. Substantial research has examined the relationship between delays and deficits in children's social skills and challenging behavior, such as serious problems getting along with peers or cooperating with educators ( Zins et al., 2007 ). When challenging behavior is not resolved during the early years, children with persistent early socioemotional difficulties experience problems in socialization, school adjustment, school success, and educational and vocational adaptation in adolescence and adulthood (e.g., Dunlap et al., 2006 ; Lane et al., 2008 ; Nelson et al., 2004 ). Thus attention to socioemotional competence also is important from the perspective of addressing early emerging behavior problems before they become more serious.

A variety of evidence-based approaches can be implemented to strengthen socioemotional competence for young children ( Domitrovich et al., 2012 ; IOM and NRC, 2009 ). These approaches typically entail strategies designed to improve children's emotion identification and understanding combined with the development of social problem-solving skills; practice in simple emotion regulation strategies; and coaching in prosocial behavior through strategies that can involve role playing, modeling, and reinforcement of socially competent behavior. Importantly, as discussed further in Chapter 6 , these strategies can be incorporated into daily classroom practice to provide children with everyday socioemotional learning.

Relational Security and Emotional Well-Being

As noted earlier in the discussion of self-regulation, socioemotional competencies contribute to the development of relationships with parents, educators, and peers. The development of positive relationships enables young children to participate constructively in learning experiences that are inherently social. The emotional support and security provided by positive relationships contributes in multifaceted ways to young children's learning success. Research on the security of attachment between young children and their parents illustrates this point, and provides a basis for considering the nature of children's relationships with educators and peers.

A secure parent–child attachment is widely recognized as foundational for healthy development, and the evolving understanding of the importance of attachment encompasses research in developmental psychology and developmental neuroscience (as discussed in Chapter 3 ) ( Schore and Schore, 2008 ; Thompson, 2013 ). Research has shown that securely attached children receive more sensitively responsive parental care, and in turn develop greater social skills with adults and peers and greater social and emotional understanding of others, show more advanced moral development, and have a more positive self-concept (see Thompson, 2013 , for a review). Securely attached children also have been found to be more advanced in cognitive and language development and to show greater achievement in school ( de Ruiter and van IJzendoorn, 1993 ; van Ijzendoorn et al., 1995 ; West et al., 2013 ). This association has been found for infants, preschool-age children, and older children, suggesting that it is fairly robust.

Most researchers believe that the association between attachment security and cognitive competence derives not from a direct link between the two, but from a number of processes mediating a secure attachment and the development of cognitive and language skills ( O'Connor and McCartney, 2007 ). The mediators that have been studied include the following:

Early confidence and competence at exploration—One of the functions of a secure attachment is to enable infants and young children to better explore the environment, confident in the caregiver's support and responsiveness if things go awry. An extensive research literature, focused primarily on young children, confirms this expectation ( van Ijzendoorn et al., 1995 ). Early in life, exploratory interest is likely to lead to new discoveries and learning.
Maternal instruction and guidance—Consistent with the sensitivity that initially contributes to a secure attachment, considerable research has shown that the mothers of securely attached children continue to respond supportively in ways that promote the child's social and cognitive achievements ( Thompson, in press) . In particular, these mothers talk more elaboratively with their children in ways that foster the children's deeper understanding and in so doing help support the children's cognitive growth ( Fivush et al., 2006 ). Furthermore, increased mother–child conversation is likely to foster the child's linguistic skills.
Children's social competence with adults and peers—Securely attached children develop enhanced social skills and social understanding that enhance their competence in interactions with peers and adults in learning environments. In this light, their greater cognitive and language competencies may derive, at least in part, from more successful interactions with social partners in learning contexts. (See the detailed discussion of social interaction as a forum for cognitive growth later in this section.)
Self-regulatory competence—Several studies suggest that securely attached children are more skilled in the preschool and early grade school years at self-regulation, especially as it is manifested in greater social competence and emotion regulation. Self-regulatory competence also may extend to children's greater attentional focus, cognitive self-control, and persistence in learning situations. In one recent report, the association of attachment security with measures of school engagement in the early primary grades was mediated by differences in children's social self-control; attentional impulsivity also varied with the security of attachment ( Drake et al., 2014 ; Thompson, 2013 ).
Stress management—One of the functions of a secure attachment is that it supports the social buffering of stress by providing children with an adult who regularly assists them in challenging circumstances. The social buffering of stress may be an especially important aspect of how a secure attachment contributes to cognitive competence for children in disadvantaged circumstances when stress is likely to be chronic and potentially overwhelming (see Gunnar and Donzella, 2002 , for a review; Nachmias et al., 1996 ) (see also the discussion of chronic stress and adversity later in this chapter).

In addition to the substantial research on parent–child attachment and the development of cognitive competence, a smaller but significant research literature focuses on the development of attachments between children and educators and how those attachments contribute to children's success in structured learning environments (e.g., Ahnert et al., 2006 ; Birch and Ladd, 1998 ; Howes and Hamilton, 1992 ; Howes et al., 1998 ; Ladd et al., 1999 ; Mitchell-Copeland et al., 1997 ; Pianta and Stuhlman, 2004a , b ). In some respects, the processes connecting children's learning achievement with the supportive, secure relationships they develop with educators are similar to those observed with parent–child attachments. As with their parents and other caregivers, children develop attachments to their educators, and the quality of those relationships has a significant and potentially enduring influence on their classroom success ( Hamre and Pianta, 2001 ). Secure, warm relationships with educators facilitate young children's self-confidence when learning and assist in their self-regulatory competence, and there is evidence that children with such relationships in the classroom learn more than those who have more difficult relationships with educators ( NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2003 ; Pianta and Stuhlman, 2004b ).

In one study, preschoolers identified as academically at risk based on demographic characteristics and reports of problems by their kindergarten teachers were followed to the end of first grade ( Hamre and Pianta, 2005 ). The children with first-grade teachers who provided high amounts of instructional and emotional support had achievement scores comparable to those of their low-risk peers. Support was measured by teacher behaviors such as verbal comments promoting effort, persistence, and mastery; conversations using open-ended questions; encouragement of child responsibility; sensitivity; and a positive classroom climate. O'Connor and McCartney (2007) likewise found that positive educator–child relationships from preschool through third grade were associated with higher third-grade achievement, and that much of this achievement derived from how positive relationships promoted children's classroom engagement.

Positive educator–child relationships are especially important during the transition to school, when children's initial expectations about school and adjustment to its social demands take shape ( Ladd et al., 1999 ; Silver et al., 2005 ). Children who develop more positive relationships with their teachers in kindergarten are more positive about attending school, more excited about learning, and more self-confident. In the classroom they achieve more compared with children who experience more conflicted or troubled relationships with their teachers ( Birch and Ladd, 1997 ; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2003 ; Pianta and Stuhlman, 2004b ). A positive relationship with educators may be especially important for children who are at risk of academic difficulty because such a relationship can provide support for self-confidence and classroom involvement ( Pianta et al., 1995 ).

A similar association is seen for peer relationships. Children who experience greater friendship and peer acceptance tend to feel more positive about coming to school, participate more in activities in the classroom, and achieve more in kindergarten ( Ladd et al., 1996 , 1997 ). Peer rejection is associated with less classroom participation, poorer academic performance, and a desire to avoid school ( Buhs and Ladd, 2001 ).

Taken together, research documenting the association between the security of attachment and the development of cognitive and language competence, as well as the stronger academic performance of securely attached children, highlights the multiple ways in which supportive relationships contribute to early learning. In particular, such relationships with parents, educators, and even peers provide immediate support that helps children focus their energies on learning opportunities, and they also foster the development of social and cognitive skills that children enlist in learning.

Emotion Regulation and Self-Management

Another element of socioemotional competence, touched on earlier in the section on general learning competencies, is self-regulation of emotion, or emotion regulation, which can affect learning behaviors and relationships with adults and peers. As noted in that earlier discussion, emotion regulation is closely intertwined with cognitive self-regulation and executive function. Emotion regulation processes include emotional and motivational responses to situations involving risk and reward (e.g., Kerr and Zelazo, 2004 ). They are frequently inhibitory; that is, they include the ability to suppress one response (e.g., grabbing a toy from another) so as to respond in a better way (asking for or sharing the toy). The development of emotion regulation and other forms of self-management in the early years is based on slowly maturing regions of the prefrontal cortex that continue to develop throughout adolescence and even early adulthood. Thus, early learners are maturationally challenged to manage their attention, emotions, and behavioral impulses effectively in a care setting or classroom.

Because they have difficulty cooperating or resolving conflicts successfully, children who lack effective self-regulation do not participate in a productive way in classroom activities—including learning activities ( Broidy et al., 2003 ; Ladd et al., 1999 ; Saarni et al., 1998 ). Children with poor emotion regulation skills may act disruptively and aggressively; they then receive less support from their peers, which in turn may undermine their learning ( Valiente et al., 2011 ). Poor emotion regulation also diminishes positive educator–child interactions, which, as discussed in the previous section, has been shown to predict poor academic performance and behavior problems ( Hamre and Pianta, 2001 ; Neuenschwander et al., 2012 ; Raver and Knitzer, 2002 ).

Coupled with joint attention and delay of gratification, self-regulation skills are linked to social competence and ease the transition to kindergarten ( Huffman et al., 2000 ; McIntyre et al., 2006 ). Children with difficulty regulating emotion in preschool and kindergarten often display inappropriate behavior, fail to pay attention (affecting whether they recall and process information), and have difficulty following instructions, all of which contribute to learning problems ( Eisenberg et al., 2010 ). Unfortunately, these difficulties tend to be common in preschool and kindergarten. They are an important determinant of whether educators and parents regard young children as “ready for school” ( Rimm-Kaufman et al., 2000 ).

Some researchers also suggest that emotion regulation in preschool and kindergarten serves as an early indicator of later academic success ( Graziano et al., 2007 ; Howse et al., 2003b ; Trentacosta and Izard, 2007 ). In preschool, McClelland and colleagues (2007) found not only that emotion regulation predicted early skills in literacy and mathematics but also that growth in emotion regulation in 4-year-olds over a 1-year period was linked to greater gains in literacy, vocabulary, and math compared with children showing less growth. Reading disability and problem behavior may be a “chicken or egg” problem: students who have behavior problems in first grade are more likely to have reading difficulties in third grade and students who have reading difficulties in first grade are more likely to exhibit behavior problems in third grade ( Morgan et al., 2008 ). Thus a particularly effective learning environment may be one that provides both effective reading instruction and support for behavioral self-regulation ( Connor et al., 2014 ).

Young children are better enabled to exercise self-regulation in the company of educators who have developmentally appropriate expectations for their self-control, provide predictable routines, and offer guidance that scaffolds their developing skills of self-management, especially in the context of carefully designed daily practices in a well-organized setting ( Bodrova and Leong, 2012 ). Indeed, in an intervention for academically at-risk young children, the Chicago School Readiness Project gave Head Start teachers specialized training at the beginning of the year in classroom management strategies to help lower-income preschoolers better regulate their own behavior. At the end of the school year, these children showed less impulsiveness, fewer disruptive behaviors, and better academic performance compared with children in classrooms with teachers who received a different training regimen ( Raver et al., 2009 , 2011 ).

Conclusion About the Ability to Self-Regulate The ability to self-regulate both emotion and cognitive processes is important for learning and academic achievement, affecting children's thinking, motivation, self-control, and social interactions. Children's progress in this ability from birth through age 8 is influenced by the extent to which relationships with adults, learning environments, and learning experiences support this set of skills, and their progress can be impaired by stressful and adverse circumstances.

Social and Emotional Understanding

As described earlier in this chapter, even infants and toddlers have an implicit theory of mind for understanding how certain mental states are associated with people's behavior. From their simple and straightforward awareness that people act intentionally and are goal directed; that people have positive and negative feelings in response to things around them; and that people have different perceptions, goals, and feelings, young children develop increasingly sophisticated understanding of the mental experiences that cause people to act as they do ( Wellman, 2011 ). They realize, for example, that people's beliefs about reality can be accurate or may be mistaken, and this realization leads to their understanding that people can be deceived, that the child's own thoughts and feelings need not be disclosed, and that not everybody can be believed ( Lee, 2013 ; Mills, 2013 ). They appreciate that people's thinking may be biased by expectations, prior experiences, and desires that cause them to interpret the same situation in very different ways ( Lalonde and Chandler, 2002 ). They also begin to appreciate how personality differences among people can cause different individuals to act in the same situation in very different ways ( Heyman and Gelman, 1999 ).

These remarkable advances in social understanding are important to children's developing socioemotional skills for interacting with educators and peers. These advances also are fostered by children's classroom experiences. Children learn about how people think and feel from directly observing; asking questions; and conversing about people's mental states with trusted informants, such as parents ( Bartsch and Wellman, 1995 ; Dunn, 2002 ; Thompson et al., 2003 ). Similarly, interactions with educators and peers provide young children with apt lessons in mutual understanding and perspective taking, cooperation, conflict management, personality differences and similarities, and emotional understanding in an environment where these skills are developing. This is especially so when educators can use children's experiences as forums for developing social and emotional understanding, such as when they explain why peers are feeling the way they do, suggest strategies for resolving conflict over resources or a point of view, or involve children in collective decision making involving different opinions.

Self-Awareness and Early Learning

How young children think of themselves as learners, and in particular their self-perceived efficacy in mastering new understanding, is an early developing and continuously important influence on their academic success. Young children become increasingly sensitive to the positive and negative evaluations of their behavior by parents, which serve as the basis for their self-evaluations ( Stipek et al., 1992 ). In one study, mothers who provided positive evaluations, gentle guidance, and corrective feedback during teaching tasks with their 2-year-olds had children who, 1 year later, were more persistent and less likely to avoid difficult challenges. By contrast, mothers who were intrusively controlling of their toddlers had children who, 1 year later, responded with shame when they had difficulty ( Kelley et al., 2000 ). Gunderson and colleagues (2013) found that 14- to 38-month-old children whose parents praised their efforts during unstructured home observations were more likely, as third graders, to believe that abilities are malleable and can be improved.

An extensive research literature documents the effects of parents' and educators' performance feedback on children's self-concept and motivation to succeed. Most of this research was conducted with older children and adolescents because of their more sophisticated understanding of differences in ability (see Wigfield et al., 2006 , for a review); however, preschoolers and early primary grade students are also sensitive to success and failure and to their imputed causes. In a study by Cimpian and colleagues (2007) , for example, 4-year-old children were represented by puppets whose performance was praised by a teacher using either generic feedback (“You are a good drawer.”) to imply trait-based (ability-centered) success or nongeneric feedback (“You did a good job drawing.”) to imply situation-based (effort-centered) success. The children did not differ in their self-evaluations after hearing praise of either kind, but when their puppet subsequently made a mistake and was criticized for it, the 4-year-olds who had heard generic feedback evaluated their performance and the situation more negatively than did children hearing nongeneric feedback, suggesting that they interpreted criticism as reflecting deficits in their ability. Similar results have been reported with kindergarteners by Kamins and Dweck (1999) and by Zentall and Morris (2010) , with the latter indicating that task persistence as well as self-evaluation were strengthened by the use of nongeneric performance feedback.

Parent and educator expectations for children's academic success also are important influences. High parental expectations for children's school achievement are associated with children's later academic performance, and this association often is mediated by the greater involvement of parents in the preschool or school program and other practices that support children's school success ( Baroody and Dobbs-Oates, 2009 ; Englund et al., 2004 ; Mantzicopoulos, 1997 ). The role of educator expectations in children's success is illustrated by a longitudinal study in which teacher expectations for children's math achievement in grades 1 and 3 directly predicted children's scores on standardized achievement tests 2 years later; teacher expectations for reading achievement had indirect associations with later reading scores. The results of this study also suggest that teacher expectations were especially influential for academically at-risk students ( Hinnant et al., 2009 ).

Social Interaction as a Forum for Cognitive Growth

A wider perspective on the importance of socioemotional skills for academic success is gained by considering the importance of social experiences for early learning. Contemporary research has led developmental scientists to understand the mind's development as deriving jointly from the child's naturally inquisitive activity and the catalysts of social experience. Sometimes these social experiences are in formal teaching and other pedagogical experiences, but often they take the form of adults and children sharing in activities that provide the basis for early learning, in a kind of “guided participation” (e.g., Rogoff, 1991 ). These activities can be as simple as the one-sided “conversation” parents have with their infant or toddler from which language skills develop, or the shared sorting of laundry into piles of similar color, or labeling of another child's feelings during an episode of peer conflict. In short, considerable early learning occurs in the course of a young child's ordinary interactions with a responsive adult.

Social experiences provide emotional security and support that enables learning and can also contribute to the development of language, number skills, problem solving, and other cognitive and learning skills that are foundational for school readiness and academic achievement. Through their interactions with children, adults provide essential stimulation that provides rapidly developing mental processes with catalysts that provoke further learning. Conversely, the lack of these catalysts contributes to learning disparities by the time that children become preschoolers. These processes are well illustrated by considering the growth of language and literacy skills and of mathematical understanding.

It is difficult to think of any child developing language apart from social interactions with others. As discussed earlier in this chapter, variability in these experiences, beginning in infancy, helps account for socioeconomic disparities in language and mathematical skills that are apparent by the time children enter school. In a widely cited study, Hart and Risley (1995) recorded 1 hour of naturally occurring speech in the homes of 42 families at monthly intervals beginning when children were 7-9 months old and continuing until they turned 3 years. They found that by age 3, children living in the most socioeconomically advantaged families had a working vocabulary that was more than twice the size of that of children growing up in the most disadvantaged families. The latter group of children also was adding words more slowly than their advantaged counterparts. The differences in children's vocabulary size were associated, in part, with how many words were spoken to them during the home observations, with a much richer linguistic environment being characteristic of the most advantaged homes. In addition, words were used in functionally different ways, with a much higher ratio of affirmative-to-prohibitive language being used in the most advantaged homes and a much lower ratio (i.e., below 1) being characteristic of the most disadvantaged homes. Differences in the language environment in which children grew up were, in other words, qualitative as well as quantitative in nature. Further research with a subset of 29 families in this sample showed that 3-year-olds' vocabulary size significantly predicted their scores on standardized tests of language skill in third grade ( Hart and Risley, 1995 ).

A later study by Fernald and colleagues (2013) confirms and extends these findings. A sample of 48 English-learning infants from families varying in socioeconomic status was followed from 18 to 24 months. At 18 months, significant differences between infants from higher- and lower-income families were already seen in vocabulary size and in real-time language processing efficiency. By 24 months, a 6-month gap was found between the two groups in processing skills related to language development. A companion study by Weisleder and Fernald (2013) with 29 lower-income Spanish-speaking families found that infants who experienced more child-directed speech at 19 months had larger vocabularies and greater language processing efficiency at 24 months. But adult speech that was simply overheard by infants (i.e., not child directed) at 19 months had no association with later language ( Schneidman et al., 2013 ). These studies indicate that child-directed speech, and perhaps the social interaction that accompanies it, is what strengthens infants' language processing efficiency. As in the Hart and Risley (1995) study, differences in family language environments were both qualitative and quantitative in nature. These findings are important in light of the association between the socioeconomic status of children's families and their language skills ( Bradley and Corwyn, 2002 ).

The findings of these studies are consistent with those of studies of the social experiences in and outside the home that promote language learning in early childhood. (See also the section on language and literacy under “Learning Specific Subjects” earlier in this chapter.) According to one longitudinal study, language and literacy skills in kindergarten were predicted by several aspects of the language environment at home and in classrooms in the preschool years. The characteristics of adult language that stimulated young children's language development included adult use of varied vocabulary during conversations with children; extended discourse on a single topic (rather than frequent topic switching); and diversity of language-related activities, including storybook reading, conversation related to children's experiences and interests, language corrections, and pretend play ( Dickinson, 2003 ; Dickinson and Porche, 2011 ; Dickinson and Tabors, 2001 ). These elements of the early childhood social environment predicted both kindergarten language skills and fourth-grade language and reading abilities. Other studies show that extensive use of descriptive language (e.g., labeling and commenting on people's actions) related to the child's current experience contributes to the quality of children's language development. Shared storybook reading also has been found to enhance the language skills of young children in lower-income homes ( Raikes et al., 2006 ). Stated differently, what matters is not just how much language young children are exposed to but the social and emotional contexts of language shared with an adult.

Language and literacy development is a major focus of instruction in prekindergarten and K-3 classrooms, and the instructional strategies used by teachers are both more formal and more sophisticated than those used in early childhood classrooms. Duke and Block (2012) have noted that in primary grade classrooms, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and conceptual and content knowledge are not adequately emphasized. The practices that would enhance early reading skills are embedded in children's social experiences with educators and peers in the classroom. They involve children interacting with partners throughout reading activity, and teachers explaining and discussing vocabulary terms and encouraging children to make personal connections with the concepts in the text.

Number Concepts and Mathematics

Language and literacy skills are the best-studied area in which early social experiences are influential, but they are not the only skills for which social interactions are important. Social experiences also are important for mathematics, such as for developing an understanding of numbers as well as early number and spatial/geometric language. Infants have an approximate number system that enables them to distinguish different quantities provided that the numerical ratio between them is not small, and this discrimination ability improves with increasing age (see Box 4-5 earlier in this chapter). There is some evidence that early individual differences in this ability are consistent during the first year and predict later mathematical abilities, although the reason for this remains unclear ( Libertus and Brannon, 2010 ; Starr et al., 2013 ). Toddlers also are beginning to comprehend certain number principles, such as one-to-one correspondence ( Slaughter et al., 2011 ). How adults talk about number is important. In one study, everyday parent–child discourse was recorded for 90 minutes every 4 months when the child was between 14 and 30 months old. The amount of parents' spontaneous “number talk” in these conversations (e.g., counting objects, references to time) was predictive of children's cardinal number knowledge (i.e., the knowledge that “four” refers to sets with four items) at 46 months ( Levine et al., 2010 ). Particularly important was when parents counted or labeled fairly large sets of objects within the child's view, providing concrete referents for parent–child interaction over number ( Gunderson and Levine, 2011 ).

Klibanoff and colleagues (2006) found that in early childhood, teachers' “math language”—that is, the frequency of their verbal references to number and geometric concepts—varied greatly for different teachers, but it significantly predicted progress in preschoolers' mathematical knowledge over the course of the school year. Similarly, another study found that parents' number-related activities at home with their young children were highly variable, but parents who engaged in more of these activities had children with stronger mathematical skill on standardized tests ( Blevins-Knabe and Musun-Miller, 1996 ). These practices in the classroom and at home help explain the significant socioeconomic disparities in number understanding by the time children arrive at school ( Klibanoff et al., 2006 ; Saxe et al., 1987 ). In addition to spoken references to numerical and geometric concepts, adults stimulate developing mathematical understanding when they incorporate these concepts into everyday activities, including games and other kinds of play; prompt children's explanations for numerical inferences; probe their understanding; and relate mathematical ideas to everyday experience ( NRC, 2009 ). Unfortunately, the quality of mathematical instruction is highly variable in preschool and early primary grades (discussed further in Chapter 6 ).

Taken together, these studies suggest the diverse ways in which social experiences provide catalysts for children's developing language and number skills that are the focus of later academic work. In these domains, adult practices provide essential cognitive stimulants beginning in infancy. Similar practices—adapted to young children's developing skills—remain important as children proceed through the primary grades.

Relationships and Early Learning: Implications for Adults

The relationship of an adult to a child—the emotional quality of their interaction, the experiences they have shared, the adult's beliefs about the child's capabilities and characteristics—helps motivate young children's learning, inspire their self-confidence, and provide emotional support to engage them in new learning.

Commonplace interactions provide contexts for supporting the development of cognitive and learning skills and the emotional security in which early learning thrives. Applauding a toddler's physical skills or a second-grader's writing skills, counting together the leaves on the sidewalk or the ingredients of a recipe, interactively reading a book, talking about a sibling's temper tantrum or an episode of classroom peer conflict—these and other shared experiences contribute to young children's cognitive development and early learning.

Conclusion About Socioemotional Development Socioemotional development contributes to the growth of emotional security that enables young children to fully invest themselves in new learning and to the growth of cognitive skills and competencies that are important for learning. These capacities are essential because learning is inherently a social process. Young children's relationships—with parents, teachers, and peers—thus are central to the learning experiences that contribute to their later success.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH

Child development and early learning are closely intertwined with child health. Indeed, each is a foundation for outcomes in the other: health is a foundation for learning, while education is a determinant of health ( Zimmerman and Woolf, 2014 ). The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2010) has described three foundational areas of child health and development that contribute to physical and mental well-being:

Stable and responsive relationships—Such relationships provide young children with consistent, nurturing, and protective interactions with adults that enhance their learning and help them develop adaptive capacities that promote well-regulated stress response systems.
Safe and supportive physical, chemical, and built environments—Such environments provide physical and emotional spaces that are free from toxins and fear, allow active exploration without significant risk of harm, and offer supports for families raising young children.
Sound and appropriate nutrition—Such nutrition includes health-promoting food intake as well as eating habits, beginning with the future mother's nutritional status even before conception.

This section examines interrelated topics of physical development, child health, nutrition, and physical activity and then touches on partnerships between the health and education sectors (also discussed in Chapter 5 ).

Physical Development

Physical development goes hand-in-hand with cognitive development in young children, and progress in one domain often relies on progress in the other. Similar to cognitive development, typical physical development follows a common trajectory among children but with individual differences in the rate of development. A child's physical development encompasses healthy physical growth; the development of sensory systems, including vision and hearing; and development of the ability to use the musculoskeletal system for gross motor skills that involve large body movements as well as fine motor skills that require precision and the controlled production of sound for speaking. Sensory and motor development are critical for both everyday and classroom activities that contribute to cognitive development, early learning, and eventually academic achievement.

Young children's growth in gross and fine motor skills develops throughout the birth through age 8 continuum—early on from holding their head up; rolling over; standing, crawling, and walking; to grasping cereal, picking up blocks, using a fork, tying shoelaces, and writing. A number of recent studies have focused on the relationships among the development of fine and gross motor skills in infants and young children, cognitive development, and school readiness. For example, one study found that students showing deficiencies in fine motor skills exhibited lower math and verbal scores ( Sandler et al., 1992 ), and more recent studies have also shown that fine motor skills were strongly linked to later achievement ( Grissmer et al., 2010a ; Pagani and Messier, 2012 ). Some of the same neural infrastructure in the brain that controls the learning process during motor development are also involved in the control of learning in cognitive development ( Grissmer et al., 2010a ). The evidence of the impact of motor skills on cognitive development and readiness for school calls for a shift in curricula to include activities that focus on fine motor skills, to include the arts, physical education, and play ( Grissmer et al., 2010b ).

Child Health

Health has an important influence on early learning and academic achievement. Hair and colleagues (2006) found that poor health can be as important in contributing to struggles with academic performance in first grade as language and cognitive skills, along with lack of social skills. Not only are healthy children better prepared to learn, but participation in high-quality early childhood programs leads to improved health in adulthood, setting the stage for intergenerational well-being. Data from Head Start and from the Carolina Abecedarian Project indicate that high-quality, intensive interventions can prevent, or at least delay, the onset of physical and emotional problems from adolescence into adulthood ( Campbell et al., 2014 ; Carneiro and Ginja, 2012 ). Data from a national longitudinal survey show that involvement in Head Start was associated with fewer behavior problems and serious health problems, such as 29 percent less obesity in males at 12 and 13 years of age. In addition, Head Start participants had less depression and obesity as adolescents and 31 percent less involvement in criminal activity as young adults. Similarly, long-term follow-up of adults who were enrolled in the Carolina Abecedarian Project revealed that males in their mid-30s in the project had lower rates of hypertension, obesity, and metabolic syndrome than controls. None of the males in the project had metabolic syndrome, compared with 25 percent of the control group. Further analysis of growth parameters indicated that those who were obese in their mid-30s were on that trajectory by 5 years of age, indicating the need for emphasis on healthy nutrition and regular physical activity beginning in early childhood. These studies suggest that the impact of early care and education programs on physical and emotional health is long term.

Sufficient, high-quality dietary intake is necessary for children's health, development, and learning. Support for providing healthy nutrition for children and their families, including pregnant and expectant mothers, is vital. Adequate protein, calories, and nutrients are needed for brain development and function. While the rapid brain growth and development that occurs in infants and toddlers may make children in this age group particularly vulnerable to dietary deficiencies, nutrition remains important as certain brain regions continue to develop through childhood into adolescence.

Nutrients, Cognitive Development, and Academic Performance

Deficiencies in protein, energy, and micronutrients such as iron, zinc, selenium, iodine, and omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to adverse effects on cognitive and emotional functioning ( Bryan et al., 2004 ). Research has shown that iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is associated with lower cognitive and academic performance ( Bryan et al., 2004 ; Nyaradi et al., 2013 ; Taras, 2005 ). Children at an early school age who had IDA as an infant were found to have lower test scores than those who did not have IDA. Effects of severe IDA in infancy have been seen in adolescence. These effects include lower scores in motor functioning; written expression; arithmetic achievement; and some specific cognitive processes, such as spatial memory and selective recall ( NRC and IOM, 2000 ). However, it is not clear whether children with iron deficiency but no anemia have similar outcomes ( Taras, 2005 ). A review of daily iron supplementation in children aged 5-12 years studied in randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials showed improvement in measures of attention and concentration, global cognitive scores, and, for children with anemia, intelligence quotient (IQ) scores ( Low et al., 2013 ).

IDA in infancy also has been associated with impaired inhibitory control and executive functioning. Altered socioemotional behavior and affect have been seen in infants with iron deficiency regardless of whether anemia is present ( Lozoff, 2011 ). One study found an association between iron supplementation in infancy and increased adaptive behavior at age 10 years, especially in the areas of affect and response to reward, which may have beneficial effects on school performance, mental health, and personal relationships ( Lozoff et al., 2014 ).

Folate and iodine also have been shown to be important for brain development and cognitive performance ( Bougma et al., 2013 ; Bryan et al., 2004 ; Nyaradi et al., 2013 ), although iodine deficiency is rare in the United States. While there is some evidence that zinc, vitamin B 12 , and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids also may be important for cognitive development, the research on these associations is inconclusive ( Bougma et al., 2013 ; Bryan et al., 2004 ; Taras, 2005 ).

Food Insecurity, Diet Quality, and Healthful Eating

Food insecurity and diet quality in children have both been linked to impaired academic performance and cognitive and socioemotional development. Food insecurity refers to circumstances in which households do not have adequate food to eat, encompassing both inadequate quantity and nutritional quality of food ( ERS, 2014 ). Food insecurity affects development not only by compromising nutrition but also by contributing to a factor in family stress ( Cook and Frank, 2008 ). In 2012, 48 million Americans were food insecure, a fivefold increase from the 1960s and a 57 percent increase from the late 1990s. One in six Americans reported being short of food at least once per year. More than half of affected households were white, and more than half lived outside cities. Indeed, hunger in the suburbs has more than doubled since 2007. Two-thirds of food-insecure households with children have at least one working adult, typically in a full-time job ( McMillan, 2014 ).

A recent review indicates that food insecurity is a “prevalent risk to the growth, health, cognitive, and behavioral potential of low-income children” ( Cook and Frank, 2008 , p. 202). Studies found that children in food-insufficient families were more likely than those in households with adequate food to have fair/poor health; iron deficiency; and behavioral, emotional, and academic problems. Infants and toddlers are at particular risk from food insecurity even at its least severe levels ( Cook and Frank, 2008 ). Cross-sectional studies of children from developing countries have shown an association among general undernutrition and stunting, IQ scores, and academic performance ( Bryan et al., 2004 ). Alaimo and colleagues (2001) found that food insecurity was linked to poorer academic and psychosocial outcomes in children ages 6 to 11 years. Similarly, Florence and colleagues (2008) observed that students with lower overall diet quality were significantly more likely to fail a literacy assessment. Subsequent research has shown that while food insecurity experienced earlier in childhood was associated with emotional problems that appeared in adolescence, cognitive and behavioral problems could be accounted for by differences in the home environments, such as family income and the household's sensitivity to children's needs ( Belsky et al., 2010 ).

Eating breakfast, which can be related to food insecurity, diet quality, and healthful eating habits, has been associated with improved cognitive function, academic performance, and school attendance ( Basch, 2011 ; Hoyland et al., 2009 ; Mahoney et al., 2005 ; Nyaradi et al., 2013 ; Rampersaud et al., 2005 ). According to two reviews of the effect of consuming breakfast in children and adolescents, the evidence suggests that children who consume breakfast—particularly those children whose nutritional status is compromised—may have improved cognitive function, test grades, and school attendance. The positive effects of school breakfast programs may be explained in part by their effect of increasing school attendance ( Hoyland et al., 2009 ; Rampersaud et al., 2005 ). The composition of the breakfast meal may also be important to cognitive performance; a breakfast meal with a low glycemic index, such as oatmeal, has been shown to improve cognitive function ( Cooper et al., 2012 ; Mahoney et al., 2005 ).

In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report documenting the relationship between healthy eating and increased life expectancy; improved quality of life; and fewer chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and inadequate bone health ( CDC, 2011 ). The report documents the high rate of iron deficiency among obese children and emphasizes the link between dental caries and unhealthy diet. Children are unlikely to follow recommendations for the number of servings of various food groups and they consume higher-than-recommended amounts of saturated fats, sodium, and foods with added sugar. Children's eating behavior and food choices are influenced not only by taste preferences but also by the home environment and parental influences, including household eating rules, family meal patterns, and parents' lifestyles. The school environment influences children's eating behavior as well. The availability of unhealthy options in schools leads to poor choices by children, whereas research has shown that efforts to reduce the availability of sugar-sweetened beverages in the schools can have a positive impact on children's choices ( AAP Committee on School Health, 2004 ). There are also rising concerns about food insecurity in association with obesity; inexpensive foods tend not to be nutritious, and contribute to increasing rates of obesity ( IOM, 2011 ; McMillan, 2014 ).

Physical Activity

A recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) study linked increasing physical activity and enhancing physical fitness to improved academic performance, and found that this can be facilitated by physical activity built into children's days through physical education, recess, and physical classroom activity ( IOM, 2013 ). Likewise, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently highlighted the crucial role of recess as a complement to physical education, suggesting that recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits and is a necessary component of a child's development ( AAP Council on School Health, 2013 ). However, fewer than half of youth meet the current recommendation of at least 60 minutes of vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity per day, and recent years have seen a significant downward trend in the offering of daily physical education in schools at all levels ( CDC, 2012 ; GAO, 2012 ). Positive support from friends and family encourages children to engage in physical activity, as do physical environments that are conducive to activity. However, the school environment plays an especially important role. The IOM report recommends that schools provide access to a minimum of 60 minutes of vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity per day, including an average of 30 minutes per day in physical education class for students in elementary schools ( IOM, 2013 ).

Partnerships Between Health and Education

Each of the domains of child development and early learning discussed in this chapter can be supported through interventions that involve both the health and education sectors (see also the discussion of continuity among sectors in Chapter 5 ). Specific activities include coordinating vision, hearing, developmental, and behavioral screening to facilitate early identification of children with special needs; completing daily health checks; making appropriate referrals and collaborating with the child's medical home and dental health services; ensuring that immunizations for the entire family and for the early care and education workforce are up to date; modifying and adapting services to meet the individual needs of the child; and providing support to the early care and education workforce to promote more inclusive practices for children with special needs. In addition, teaching and modeling skills in sanitation and personal hygiene will contribute to preventing illness. Furthermore, pediatric health care professionals can make an important contribution by promoting literacy. Extensive research documents the positive impact on early language and literacy development when a pediatric professional gives advice to parents about reading developmentally appropriate books with children as early as 6 months of age ( AAP Council on Early Childhood et al., 2014 ).

There is evidence that coordinated efforts between educational settings and health care services lead to improved health. Head Start, the Infant Health and Development Program, and the Carolina Abecedarian Project are examples of early care and education programs that have integrated health care services into the intervention design, leading to positive health outcomes. Schools also can partner with pediatric health care professionals in their communities to identify opportunities to enhance physical activity in the school setting ( AAP Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness and AAP Committee on School Health, 2000 ). CDC (2011) has offered recommendations for promoting healthful eating and physical activity that include the following and, if placed in an appropriate developmental context, can be applied to care and education settings for children aged 0-8:

Use a coordinated approach to develop, implement, and evaluate healthful eating and physical activity policies and practices.
Establish school environments that support healthy eating and activity.
Provide a quality school meal program and ensure that students have only appealing, healthy food and beverage choices offered outside of the school meal program.
Implement a comprehensive physical activity program with quality physical education as the cornerstone.
Implement health education that provides students with the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and experiences needed for healthy eating and physical activity.
Provide students with health, mental health, and social services to address healthy eating, physical activity, and related chronic disease prevention.
Partner with families and community members in the development and implementation of healthy eating and physical activity policies, practices, and programs.
Provide a school employee wellness program that includes healthy eating and physical activity services for all school staff members.
Employ qualified persons and provide them with professional development opportunities in staffing physical education; health education; nutrition services; health, mental health, and social services; and supervision of recess, cafeteria time, and out-of-school-time programs.

School-based health centers are another approach to partnering between health and education. They have been associated with improved immunization rates, better adherence to scheduled preventive examinations, and more treatment for illnesses and injuries, as well as fewer emergency room visits. For example, King and colleagues (2006) found that a school-based vaccination program significantly reduced influenza symptoms in the entire school. School-based mental health services also have been shown to be effective in addressing a wide range of emotional and behavioral issues ( Rones and Hoagwood, 2000 ). School-based health centers have been shown to reduce nonfinancial barriers to health care ( Keyl et al., 1996 ), and families also report more satisfaction with their care than in community or hospital settings ( Kaplan et al., 1999 ).

Conclusion About Health, Nutrition, and Early Learning Safe physical and built environments, health, and nutrition are essential to early learning and academic achievement. Food security and adequate nutrition are important to support cognitive development and participation in education, and food insecurity and poor nutrition can contribute to early learning difficulties. Care and education settings provide an opportunity to promote healthful eating and physical activity in learning environments. Providing appropriate health and developmental screenings and follow-up care and services also is important in supporting development and early learning.

Health and Early Learning: Implications for Adults

Healthy children supported by healthy adults are better prepared to learn. Child health begins prior to conception and extends through pregnancy and throughout childhood. Therefore, the early care and education workforce must be prepared to work across generations to provide education, support, and community linkages to ensure that children grow up poised for success. Ongoing federal support for evidence-based home visiting programs for high-risk families that begin early in pregnancy and continue through early childhood is essential. Professionals working in family childcare, early childhood education centers, preschools, and early elementary schools need to have working knowledge of the relationship between health and children's learning and development. Guidance related to nutrition, physical activity, oral health, immunizations, and preventive health care is essential across all early care and education settings. These professionals also need to be provided with supports and opportunities for close collaboration with health care services and their potential integration into or strengthened linkages with the early care and education setting.

EFFECTS OF CHRONIC STRESS AND ADVERSITY

As detailed in Chapter 3 , one of the most important advances in developmental science in recent years has been the recognition that the brain incorporates experience into its development. Although experience is important at any age, early experiences are especially formative in the development of the brain's structure and function. Human development is the result of the continuous interaction of genetics and experience. This interplay is true not just of brain development but of other aspects of human development as well. Research in this area encourages developmental scientists as well as parents and practitioners to consider how positive early experiences and enrichment, in formal and informal ways, may have a beneficial influence on the developing brain and in turn on the growth of thinking and learning. The brain's openness to experience is, however, a double-edged sword—adverse early experiences can have potentially significant negative consequences for brain development and early learning.

As discussed in Chapter 3 , evidence indicates that experiences of stress and adversity are biologically embedded and that individual differences exist in the health and developmental consequences of stress. A substantial body of evidence now shows that adversity and stress in early life are associated with higher rates of childhood mental and physical morbidities, more frequent disturbances in developmental trajectories and educational achievement, and lifelong risks of chronic disorders that compromise health and well- being ( Boyce et al., 2012 ; Hertzman and Boyce, 2010 ; Shonkoff et al., 2009 ). Children respond to stress differently. Many exhibit withdrawal, anger and irritability, difficulty paying attention and concentrating, disturbed sleep, repeated and intrusive thoughts, and extreme distress triggered by things that remind them of their traumatic experiences. Some develop psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and a variety of behavioral disorders ( NCTSN, 2005 ).

What are the circumstances that contribute to chronic adversity and stress for children? All children can experience forms of chronic stress and adversity, but exposures to stress and adversity are socioeconomically layered. Poverty, discussed in more detail below, has been the best studied and is a highly prevalent source of early chronic stress ( Blair and Raver, 2012 ; Evans and Kim, 2013 ; Jiang et al., 2014 ). Young children in the United States also suffer high levels of victimization through child abuse and exposure to domestic violence. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported for the year 2012 that of all child abuse victims, approximately 60 percent were age 8 or younger ( Children's Bureau, 2013 ). The highest rates of child abuse and neglect, including fatalities related to child abuse, were reported for children in the first year of life. Comparable biological and behavioral effects of chronic stress have been studied in children in foster care, in those who experience significant or prolonged family conflict, in those who have a depressed parent, and in those who are abused or neglected (see Thompson, 2014 , for a review).

It is noteworthy that these circumstances include not only those that most people would regard as sources of extreme stress for children (e.g., child abuse), but also those that an adult might regard as less significant because they may be less severe although persistent (e.g., parents' chronic marital conflict, poverty). This broader range of circumstances that children experience as stressful is consistent with the view that, in addition to situations that are manifestly threatening and dangerous, children are stressed by the denial or withdrawal of supportive care, especially when they are young.

Culture also is closely interrelated with stress and adversity. Culture affects the meaning that a child or a family attributes to specific types of traumatic events as well as the ways in which they respond. Because culture also influences expectations regarding the self, others, and social institutions, it can also influence how children and families experience and express distress, grieve or mourn losses, provide support to each other, seek help, and disclose personal information to others. Historical or multigenerational trauma also can influence cultural differences in responses to trauma and loss ( NCTSN Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma Task Force, 2012 ).

Building on the discussion in Chapter 3 of the biology of chronic stress and adversity, the following sections describe more broadly some of the contributing circumstances and consequences for young children, including the stressors associated with economic adversity; social buffering of stress; and the relationships among stress, learning, and mental health.

The Stressors of Economic Adversity

Children in any economic circumstances can experience stress and adversity, but considerable research on the effects of chronic stress on children's development has focused on children living in families in poverty or with low incomes. The number of children in these conditions of economic adversity is considerable. In 2012, nearly half the children under age 6 lived in poverty or low-income families (defined as up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, 2 which remains a meagre subsistence) ( Jiang et al., 2014 ). During that same year, more than half the children living with their families in homeless shelters were under the age of 6 ( Child Trends, 2015 ).

The research is clear that poverty as a form of early chronic adversity is a risk factor to long-term physical and mental health, and that for children it can be a significant threat to their capacities to cope with stress, socialize constructively with others, and benefit from the cognitive stimulating opportunities of an early childhood classroom. Socioeconomic disparities in children's experiences of socioemotional adversity and challenging physical environments are well documented (see, e.g., Evans et al., 2012 ). Factors other than economic status itself contribute to the challenges and stresses for children living in low-income families ( Fernald et al., 2013 ). Poverty often is accompanied by the confluence of multiple sources of chronic stress, such as food insufficiency, housing instability (and sometimes homelessness), exposure to violence, environmental noise and toxins, dangerous neighborhoods, poor childcare and schools, family chaos, parents with limited capacity (e.g., resources, education, knowledge/information, time, physical or mental energy) to be supportive and nurturing, parents who are anxious or depressed, parents who are harsh or abusive caregivers, impoverished parent–child communication, and home environments lacking cognitively stimulating activities ( Evans et al., 2012 ; Fernald et al., 2013 ).

As discussed in detail in Chapter 3 , the perturbed biological processes that often accompany economic adversity include changes in the structure and function of children's brain circuitry and dysregulation of their central stress response systems. For these children, therefore, the effects of the chronic stresses associated with economic adversity are likely to contribute to academic, social, and behavioral problems. These problems affect not only early learning and the development of cognitive skills (with impacts on the development of language being best documented) but also the development of learning skills associated with self-regulation and persistence, as well as coping ability, health, and emotional well-being ( Blair and Raver, 2012 ; Evans and Kim, 2013 ).

In addition, developmental consequences related to socioeconomic status are not seen exclusively in children from severely impoverished families. Rather, evidence shows a graded effect of deprivation and adversity across the entire spectrum of socioeconomic status, with even those children from the second-highest social class showing poorer health and development compared with those from families of the very highest socioeconomic status ( Adler et al., 1994 ; Hertzman and Boyce, 2010 ). Moreover, as discussed in Chapter 3 , children are not equally affected by early adverse experiences. Genetic and epigenetic influences may have a role in whether some children are more resilient to early adversity than others ( Rutter, 2012 ).

Detrimental prenatal influences may also be important ( Farah et al., 2008 ; Hackman et al., 2010 ). Although this report focuses on children beginning at birth, child development and early learning also are affected by what a child is exposed to before birth, including influences of family disadvantage. Box 4-6 highlights major research findings on the relationships among family disadvantage, fetal health, and child development.

Family Disadvantage, Fetal Health, and Child Development. Children from different family backgrounds—affected by systemic inequities and disadvantage—start life with starkly different health endowments. As but one example, having a low-birth-weight (more...)

Social Buffering of Stress

The neuroscience of stress has yielded greater understanding of how the effects of stress may be buffered through social support. In behavioral and neurobiological studies of humans and animals, researchers have shown how individuals in adversity show diminished behavioral reactivity and better-regulated cortisol response, among other effects, in the company of people who provide them with emotional support. For children, these individuals often are attachment figures in the family or outside the home.

In health psychology, the benefits of social support for the development and maintenance of healthy practices and the control of disease pathology and healing have been studied since the 1970s (e.g., Cassel, 1976 ; Cobb, 1976 ). Social support also has been recognized as a contributor to psychological well-being for children and youth in difficult circumstances ( Thompson and Goodvin, in press) . In recent years, research on the neurobiology of the social buffering of stress has contributed to a better understanding of why social support has these benefits ( Hostinar et al., 2014 ). In human and animal studies, social companionship in the context of adversity appears to have effects on the biological regulators of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) activity, contributing to greater regulation of stress reactivity through cortical and limbic influences. Social support also appears to stimulate the down-regulation of the proinflammatory tendencies induced by chronic stress, as well as processes driven by neurohormones, including oxytocin, that have other positive benefits ( Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2010 ). Stated differently, social support not only counters the negative effects of chronic stress reactivity but also stimulates constructive influences that contribute independently to greater self-regulation and well-being ( Hostinar et al., 2014 ). This research is still at an early stage, and establishing reliable associations between brain and behavioral functioning in this area is a work in progress, but research findings are providing increasing support for these processes. In one study, for example, greater maternal support measured when children were preschoolers predicted children's larger hippocampus volume at school age ( Luby et al., 2012 ).

The potential benefits of social support as a buffer of chronic stress reactivity underscore the plasticity of developing behavioral and biological systems. Children in adversity need not suffer long-term harms arising from the effects of chronic stress exposure. In a study of families living in rural poverty, for example, toddlers' chronic exposure to domestic violence was associated with elevated cortisol reactivity. However, this effect was buffered when mothers were observed to respond sensitively to their children ( Hibel et al., 2011 ). Experimental interventions designed to change stressful circumstances and promote positive relationships have yielded similar findings. For example a program aimed at easing young children's transition to new foster care placements and promoting warm, responsive, and consistent relationships with new foster parents provided individualized sessions with child therapists, weekly playgroup sessions, and support for foster parents. This program resulted in a normalization of the children's HPA hyporesponsiveness (an effect of stress discussed in Chapter 3 ) ( Fisher et al., 2007 , 2011 ). Another example comes from an intervention based on attachment theory, which trained caregivers to better interpret and respond affectionately to infants and toddlers in foster care and similarly resulted in a normalization of HPA activity and lower cortisol reactivity ( Dozier et al., 2006 , 2008 ). There may be limits to these potential ameliorative effects, depending on the severity and duration of the exposure to adversity. Children who lived for an extended period in profoundly depriving Romanian orphanages, for example, did not show recovery of dysregulated cortisol reactivity, even after a prolonged period of supportive adoptive care ( Gunnar et al., 2001 ).

Because interventions that can help children recover from the effects of chronic adversity can be expensive and time-consuming, however, it appears sensible to try to prevent these effects from occurring. This can be accomplished by reducing exposure to influences that cause significant stress for children, and by strengthening supportive relationships that can buffer its effects. The development of warm, secure attachments between parents and children illustrates the latter approach. As discussed earlier in this chapter, attachment theorists argue that the reliable support provided by a secure attachment relationship enables infants and children to explore and learn from their experiences confidently with the assurance that a trusted adult is available to assist if difficulty ensues. In this view, secure attachments buffer stress and significantly reduce the child's need to be vigilant for threat or danger. As noted previously, attachment research documents a range of benefits associated with secure parent–child relationships in childhood, including greater language skill, academic achievement, and social competence (see Thompson, 2008 , for a review; West et al., 2013 ). The view that these accomplishments are explained, at least in part, by how secure attachments buffer stress for children is supported by studies documenting the better-regulated cortisol reactivity of young children with secure attachments in challenging situations (see Gunnar and Donzella, 2002 , for a review; Nachmias et al., 1996 ).

Viewed in this light, it appears that the contributions adults make to children's learning extend significantly beyond their reading, conversing, counting, and providing other direct forms of cognitive stimulation. An essential contribution is the safety and security they provide that not only buffers children against significant stress when this occurs, but also enables children to invest themselves in learning opportunities with confidence that an adult will assist them when needed. Such confidence not only enables children to learn more from the opportunities afforded them in the family and outside the home but also fosters their developing self-confidence, curiosity, and other learning skills that emerge in the context of secure relationships ( Thompson, 2008 ). This is a benefit of secure, warm adult–child relationships for all children, not just those in adverse circumstances. This phenomenon is perhaps analogous to that seen in studies in which rat pups with nurturant mothers show enhanced learning and memory in low-stress contexts, whereas pups with nonnurturant mothers show greater proficiency in fear conditioning ( Champagne et al., 2008 ).

One problem, however, is that children in adverse circumstances usually have parents and other caregivers who are affected by the same conditions of adversity. Thus, their parents may not be able to provide them with the support they need. This realization has led to the growth of two-generation interventions that are designed to assist children by providing support to their parents in difficult circumstances ( Chase-Lansdale and Brooks-Gunn, 2014 ).

Stress, Learning, and Mental Health

Children learn readily in contexts of social support and emotional well-being, which derive from positive relationships with those who care for and educate them in the family and outside the home. In these contexts, adults can support and encourage developing competencies, convey positive values about learning and school, and help instill curiosity and self-confidence in children. By contrast, learning and cognitive achievement are hindered when children are troubled. This is the case for children from infancy through adolescence who are living in homes with significant marital conflict, when mothers are chronically depressed, when parents are hostile and coercive, or in other circumstances of family turmoil (e.g., Bascoe et al., 2009 ; Brennan et al., 2013 ; Canadian Paediatric Society, 2004 ; Davies et al., 2008 ).

Socioemotional hindrances to learning and cognitive achievement are apparent very early, before children have begun school, and continue to be important as children move into the primary grades. In educational settings, the emotional effects of problems in educator–child relationships can undermine children's performance and their academic success ( Hamre and Pianta, 2004 ; Jeon et al., 2014 ; Pianta, 1999 ; Pianta and Stuhlman, 2004b ; Skinner and Belmont, 1993 ). As discussed in Chapter 3 , when children are in circumstances of chronic or overwhelming stress, stress hormones affect multiple brain regions, including those relevant to learning, attention, memory, and self-regulation ( McEwen, 2012 ; Ulrich-Lai and Herman, 2009 ). Over time and with continued exposure to stressful circumstances, these neurocognitive processes become altered as a result of the progressive wear and tear of stress hormones on biological systems as they adapt to this chronic stress. As a consequence, immunologic capacities become weakened (contributing to more frequent acute and chronic illness), self-regulation is impaired (contributing to poorer emotion regulation and impulse control), and cognitive and attentional capabilities are blunted ( Danese and McEwen, 2012 ; Lupien et al., 2009 ; Miller et al., 2011 ). For children, these effects can help account for problems in following instructions, paying attention, managing impulsivity, focusing thinking, and controlling emotions in social encounters—each of which can impair classroom performance and academic achievement.

Young children's vulnerability to stress and their reliance on the support of adults are two central considerations in understanding the foundations for childhood mental health ( IOM and NRC, 2009 ). This relationship among stress, early development, and mental health is relevant to understanding the influences that can threaten the socioemotional well-being of younger children—and to understanding why behavior problems can undermine learning and cognitive growth. One illustration of these effects is the high rates of preschool and prekindergarten children being expelled from their classrooms because of disruptive behavior problems—by one report at a rate more than three times the rate of children in the K-12 grades ( Gilliam, 2005 ; see also U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, 2014 ). In this study, the likelihood of expulsion decreased significantly when educators were provided access to early childhood mental health consultants who could assist them in managing behavior problems.

Another illustration is reports by kindergarten teachers that social, emotional, and self-regulatory problems are a common impediment to children's readiness to achieve in their classrooms ( Lewit and Baker, 1995 ; Rimm-Kaufman et al., 2000 ). Other studies have shown that children's conduct problems and internalizing (anxious, depressed) behavior in the classroom can undermine the development of constructive educator–child relationships and foreshadow later social and academic difficulties ( Berry and O'Connor, 2010 ; Koles et al., 2009 ; Ladd and Burgess, 2001 ).

Consistent with the research concerning the biological and behavioral effects of chronic stress, there is increasing evidence that even very young children show clear evidence of traumatization and posttraumatic stress, anxious and depressive symptomatology, behavioral and conduct problems, and other serious psychological problems ( Egger and Angold, 2006 ; Lieberman et al., 2011 ; Luby, 2006 ; Zeanah, 2009 ). Sometimes these symptom patterns overlap, such as in the comorbidity in which depressive symptomatology appears along with oppositional behavior in preschoolers ( Egger and Angold, 2006 ). The origins of these problems are multifaceted, but certainly include interaction of environmental stresses with genetic factors that heighten or reduce children's vulnerability to these stresses. Often these environmental stresses undermine the social support that would otherwise buffer the effects of stress on children. Diagnosing these disorders in young children is a challenge because the behaviors associated with early mental health problems in young children can be different from those observed in adults and adolescents ( Egger and Emde, 2011 ). But progress has been made in developing reliable diagnostic criteria for preschoolers (e.g., Egger and Angold, 2006 ; Keenan et al., 1997 ; Lavigne et al., 2009 ) and even infants and toddlers ( Zero to Three, 2005 ). This work provides a foundation for further study of the developmental origins of early mental health challenges and therapeutic interventions that might help these children.

Connecting the Socioemotional Health of Children and Adults

The preceding discussion makes clear that children's socioemotional health is linked to the socioemotional well-being of the adults in their lives. Consistent with the research on the social buffering of stress discussed earlier, when parents and other caregivers are managing well, they can help children cope more competently with the ordinary stresses that inevitably occur. When caregivers are stressed, by contrast, they cannot provide this buffering and are instead more often a source of stress for children. When parents are depressed, for example, they can be unpredictably sad, hostile, critical, and/or disengaged ( NRC and IOM, 2009 ). This constellation of behaviors constitutes a difficult combination of threat and withdrawal of support for children. Young children with a depressed mother are more likely, therefore, to exhibit heightened stress reactivity to moderate challenges; to have an insecure attachment to the parent; to show lower levels of cognitive performance and, later, poorer academic achievement; and to be at greater risk of becoming depressed themselves.

The adult's emotional well-being is important in the classroom as well. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, Jeon and colleagues (2014) measured the depressive symptomatology of 761 home- and center-based care providers, as well as overall observed classroom quality, and obtained independent measures of the behavior problems of the 3-year-olds in their classrooms. They found that educator depression was linked to higher levels of behavior problems in children, attributable to the poorer quality of the classroom environment. Notably, this study was conducted with a sample of families in economic stress, with the educators often sharing the same financial difficulties. Nevertheless, the association of educator depression with child behavior problems remained even when family influences, including maternal depression and family poverty status, were controlled for. Similar associations of educator well-being with the quality of the classroom environment and children's learning have been found in studies of children in the early primary grades (e.g., Pianta, 1999 ; Pianta and Stuhlman, 2004b ).

Conclusions About Chronic Stress and Adversity Chronic stress and adversity constitute fundamental risks to learning and academic success as well as to emotional well-being for many young children. The biological and behavioral effects of stress and adversity can disrupt brain circuitry and stress response systems, affect fundamental cognitive skills, undermine focused thinking and attention, diminish self-regulation, and imperil mental and physical health. Trauma, adversity, and chronic stress can arise from many sources, such as poverty, family conflict, parental depression, abuse, neglect, or exposure to violence in the community. Supportive and stable relationships with adults can help develop children's adaptive capacities and provide them with a significant stress buffer. It is important for adults who work with children to recognize and appreciate the effects of adversity and to have the capacity to employ strategies for preventing or mitigating them, as well as for promoting cognitive, social, and emotional strengths for coping with adverse and stressful experiences. Given the importance of stable and responsive relationships that provide consistent and nurturing interactions, the well-being of the adults who care for young children contributes to their healthy development and early learning. The stresses of economic disadvantage are manifested not only in differences in children's early experiences in the family and the community but also in the quality and stability of the out-of-home care and education families can access and afford and the quality of the schools children later attend. Socioeconomic differences in the quality of early learning opportunities place large numbers of children at a learning disadvantage and undermine their potential for academic success. These differences begin early and have a cumulative effect over time. Strengthening early learning and developing competencies requires serious and sustained attention to these socioeconomic disparities in opportunity.

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An ongoing study and forthcoming report of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council focuses on research, practice, and policy for young dual language learners. More information about this study can be found at www .iom.edu/English-DualLanguageLearners .

The 2012 federal poverty threshold was $23,364 for a family of four with two children, $18,480 for a family of three with one child, $15,825 for a family of two with one child.

Cite this Page Committee on the Science of Children Birth to Age 8: Deepening and Broadening the Foundation for Success; Board on Children, Youth, and Families; Institute of Medicine; National Research Council; Allen LR, Kelly BB, editors. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2015 Jul 23. 4, Child Development and Early Learning.
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Research in Developmental Psychology

What you’ll learn to do: examine how to do research in lifespan development.

Desk shown from above, pair of hands seen gesturing towards a graph

How do we know what changes and stays the same (and when and why) in lifespan development? We rely on research that utilizes the scientific method so that we can have confidence in the findings. How data are collected may vary by age group and by the type of information sought. The developmental design (for example, following individuals as they age over time or comparing individuals of different ages at one point in time) will affect the data and the conclusions that can be drawn from them about actual age changes. What do you think are the particular challenges or issues in conducting developmental research, such as with infants and children? Read on to learn more.

Learning outcomes

Explain how the scientific method is used in researching development
Compare various types and objectives of developmental research
Describe methods for collecting research data (including observation, survey, case study, content analysis, and secondary content analysis)
Explain correlational research
Describe the value of experimental research
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of developmental research designs (cross-sectional, longitudinal, and sequential)
Describe challenges associated with conducting research in lifespan development

Research in Lifespan Development

How do we know what we know.

An important part of learning any science is having a basic knowledge of the techniques used in gathering information. The hallmark of scientific investigation is that of following a set of procedures designed to keep questioning or skepticism alive while describing, explaining, or testing any phenomenon. Not long ago a friend said to me that he did not trust academicians or researchers because they always seem to change their story. That, however, is exactly what science is all about; it involves continuously renewing our understanding of the subjects in question and an ongoing investigation of how and why events occur. Science is a vehicle for going on a never-ending journey. In the area of development, we have seen changes in recommendations for nutrition, in explanations of psychological states as people age, and in parenting advice. So think of learning about human development as a lifelong endeavor.

Personal Knowledge

How do we know what we know? Take a moment to write down two things that you know about childhood. Okay. Now, how do you know? Chances are you know these things based on your own history (experiential reality), what others have told you, or cultural ideas (agreement reality) (Seccombe and Warner, 2004). There are several problems with personal inquiry or drawing conclusions based on our personal experiences.

Our assumptions very often guide our perceptions, consequently, when we believe something, we tend to see it even if it is not there. Have you heard the saying, “seeing is believing”? Well, the truth is just the opposite: believing is seeing. This problem may just be a result of cognitive ‘blinders’ or it may be part of a more conscious attempt to support our own views. Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for evidence that we are right and in so doing, we ignore contradictory evidence.

Philosopher Karl Popper suggested that the distinction between that which is scientific and that which is unscientific is that science is falsifiable; scientific inquiry involves attempts to reject or refute a theory or set of assumptions (Thornton, 2005). A theory that cannot be falsified is not scientific. And much of what we do in personal inquiry involves drawing conclusions based on what we have personally experienced or validating our own experience by discussing what we think is true with others who share the same views.

Science offers a more systematic way to make comparisons and guard against bias. One technique used to avoid sampling bias is to select participants for a study in a random way. This means using a technique to ensure that all members have an equal chance of being selected. Simple random sampling may involve using a set of random numbers as a guide in determining who is to be selected. For example, if we have a list of 400 people and wish to randomly select a smaller group or sample to be studied, we use a list of random numbers and select the case that corresponds with that number (Case 39, 3, 217, etc.). This is preferable to asking only those individuals with whom we are familiar to participate in a study; if we conveniently chose only people we know, we know nothing about those who had no opportunity to be selected. There are many more elaborate techniques that can be used to obtain samples that represent the composition of the population we are studying. But even though a randomly selected representative sample is preferable, it is not always used because of costs and other limitations. As a consumer of research, however, you should know how the sample was obtained and keep this in mind when interpreting results. It is possible that what was found was limited to that sample or similar individuals and not generalizable to everyone else.

Scientific Methods

The particular method used to conduct research may vary by discipline and since lifespan development is multidisciplinary, more than one method may be used to study human development. One method of scientific investigation involves the following steps:

Determining a research question
Reviewing previous studies addressing the topic in question (known as a literature review)
Determining a method of gathering information
Conducting the study
Interpreting the results
Drawing conclusions; stating limitations of the study and suggestions for future research
Making the findings available to others (both to share information and to have the work scrutinized by others)

The findings of these scientific studies can then be used by others as they explore the area of interest. Through this process, a literature or knowledge base is established. This model of scientific investigation presents research as a linear process guided by a specific research question. And it typically involves quantitative research , which relies on numerical data or using statistics to understand and report what has been studied.

Another model of research, referred to as qualitative research, may involve steps such as these:

Begin with a broad area of interest and a research question
Gain entrance into a group to be researched
Gather field notes about the setting, the people, the structure, the activities, or other areas of interest
Ask open-ended, broad “grand tour” types of questions when interviewing subjects
Modify research questions as the study continues
Note patterns or consistencies
Explore new areas deemed important by the people being observed
Report findings

In this type of research, theoretical ideas are “grounded” in the experiences of the participants. The researcher is the student and the people in the setting are the teachers as they inform the researcher of their world (Glazer & Strauss, 1967). Researchers should be aware of their own biases and assumptions, acknowledge them, and bracket them in efforts to keep them from limiting accuracy in reporting. Sometimes qualitative studies are used initially to explore a topic and more quantitative studies are used to test or explain what was first described.

A good way to become more familiar with these scientific research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, is to look at journal articles, which are written in sections that follow these steps in the scientific process. Most psychological articles and many papers in the social sciences follow the writing guidelines and format dictated by the American Psychological Association (APA). In general, the structure follows: abstract (summary of the article), introduction or literature review, methods explaining how the study was conducted, results of the study, discussion and interpretation of findings, and references.

Link to Learning

Brené Brown is a bestselling author and social work professor at the University of Houston. She conducts grounded theory research by collecting qualitative data from large numbers of participants. In Brené Brown’s TED Talk The Power of Vulnerability , Brown refers to herself as a storyteller-researcher as she explains her research process and summarizes her results.

Research Methods and Objectives

The main categories of psychological research are descriptive, correlational, and experimental research. Research studies that do not test specific relationships between variables are called descriptive, or qualitative, studies . These studies are used to describe general or specific behaviors and attributes that are observed and measured. In the early stages of research, it might be difficult to form a hypothesis, especially when there is not any existing literature in the area. In these situations designing an experiment would be premature, as the question of interest is not yet clearly defined as a hypothesis. Often a researcher will begin with a non-experimental approach, such as a descriptive study, to gather more information about the topic before designing an experiment or correlational study to address a specific hypothesis. Some examples of descriptive questions include:

“How much time do parents spend with their children?”
“How many times per week do couples have intercourse?”
“When is marital satisfaction greatest?”

The main types of descriptive studies include observation, case studies, surveys, and content analysis (which we’ll examine further in the module). Descriptive research is distinct from correlational research , in which psychologists formally test whether a relationship exists between two or more variables. Experimental research goes a step further beyond descriptive and correlational research and randomly assigns people to different conditions, using hypothesis testing to make inferences about how these conditions affect behavior. Some experimental research includes explanatory studies, which are efforts to answer the question “why” such as:

“Why have rates of divorce leveled off?”
“Why are teen pregnancy rates down?”
“Why has the average life expectancy increased?”

Evaluation research is designed to assess the effectiveness of policies or programs. For instance, research might be designed to study the effectiveness of safety programs implemented in schools for installing car seats or fitting bicycle helmets. Do children who have been exposed to the safety programs wear their helmets? Do parents use car seats properly? If not, why not?

Research Methods

We have just learned about some of the various models and objectives of research in lifespan development. Now we’ll dig deeper to understand the methods and techniques used to describe, explain, or evaluate behavior.

All types of research methods have unique strengths and weaknesses, and each method may only be appropriate for certain types of research questions. For example, studies that rely primarily on observation produce incredible amounts of information, but the ability to apply this information to the larger population is somewhat limited because of small sample sizes. Survey research, on the other hand, allows researchers to easily collect data from relatively large samples. While this allows for results to be generalized to the larger population more easily, the information that can be collected on any given survey is somewhat limited and subject to problems associated with any type of self-reported data. Some researchers conduct archival research by using existing records. While this can be a fairly inexpensive way to collect data that can provide insight into a number of research questions, researchers using this approach have no control over how or what kind of data was collected.

Types of Descriptive Research

Observation.

Observational studies , also called naturalistic observation, involve watching and recording the actions of participants. This may take place in the natural setting, such as observing children at play in a park, or behind a one-way glass while children are at play in a laboratory playroom. The researcher may follow a checklist and record the frequency and duration of events (perhaps how many conflicts occur among 2-year-olds) or may observe and record as much as possible about an event as a participant (such as attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and recording the slogans on the walls, the structure of the meeting, the expressions commonly used, etc.). The researcher may be a participant or a non-participant. What would be the strengths of being a participant? What would be the weaknesses?

In general, observational studies have the strength of allowing the researcher to see how people behave rather than relying on self-report. One weakness of self-report studies is that what people do and what they say they do are often very different. A major weakness of observational studies is that they do not allow the researcher to explain causal relationships. Yet, observational studies are useful and widely used when studying children. It is important to remember that most people tend to change their behavior when they know they are being watched (known as the Hawthorne effect ) and children may not survey well.

Case Studies

Case studies involve exploring a single case or situation in great detail. Information may be gathered with the use of observation, interviews, testing, or other methods to uncover as much as possible about a person or situation. Case studies are helpful when investigating unusual situations such as brain trauma or children reared in isolation. And they are often used by clinicians who conduct case studies as part of their normal practice when gathering information about a client or patient coming in for treatment. Case studies can be used to explore areas about which little is known and can provide rich detail about situations or conditions. However, the findings from case studies cannot be generalized or applied to larger populations; this is because cases are not randomly selected and no control group is used for comparison. (Read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Dr. Oliver Sacks as a good example of the case study approach.)

A person is checking off boxes on a paper survey

Surveys are useful in examining stated values, attitudes, opinions, and reporting on practices. However, they are based on self-report, or what people say they do rather than on observation, and this can limit accuracy. Validity refers to accuracy and reliability refers to consistency in responses to tests and other measures; great care is taken to ensure the validity and reliability of surveys.

Content Analysis

Content analysis involves looking at media such as old texts, pictures, commercials, lyrics, or other materials to explore patterns or themes in culture. An example of content analysis is the classic history of childhood by Aries (1962) called “Centuries of Childhood” or the analysis of television commercials for sexual or violent content or for ageism. Passages in text or television programs can be randomly selected for analysis as well. Again, one advantage of analyzing work such as this is that the researcher does not have to go through the time and expense of finding respondents, but the researcher cannot know how accurately the media reflects the actions and sentiments of the population.

Secondary content analysis, or archival research, involves analyzing information that has already been collected or examining documents or media to uncover attitudes, practices, or preferences. There are a number of data sets available to those who wish to conduct this type of research. The researcher conducting secondary analysis does not have to recruit subjects but does need to know the quality of the information collected in the original study. And unfortunately, the researcher is limited to the questions asked and data collected originally.

Correlational and Experimental Research

Correlational research.

When scientists passively observe and measure phenomena it is called correlational research . Here, researchers do not intervene and change behavior, as they do in experiments. In correlational research, the goal is to identify patterns of relationships, but not cause and effect. Importantly, with correlational research, you can examine only two variables at a time, no more and no less.

So, what if you wanted to test whether spending money on others is related to happiness, but you don’t have $20 to give to each participant in order to have them spend it for your experiment? You could use a correlational design—which is exactly what Professor Elizabeth Dunn (2008) at the University of British Columbia did when she conducted research on spending and happiness. She asked people how much of their income they spent on others or donated to charity, and later she asked them how happy they were. Do you think these two variables were related? Yes, they were! The more money people reported spending on others, the happier they were.

Understanding Correlation

Scatterplot of the association between happiness and ratings of the past month, a positive correlation (r = .81)

With a positive correlation , the two variables go up or down together. In a scatterplot, the dots form a pattern that extends from the bottom left to the upper right (just as they do in Figure 1). The r value for a positive correlation is indicated by a positive number (although, the positive sign is usually omitted). Here, the r value is .81. For the example above, the direction of the association is positive. This means that people who perceived the past month as being good reported feeling happier, whereas people who perceived the month as being bad reported feeling less happy.

A negative correlation is one in which the two variables move in opposite directions. That is, as one variable goes up, the other goes down. Figure 2 shows the association between the average height of males in a country (y-axis) and the pathogen prevalence (or commonness of disease; x-axis) of that country. In this scatterplot, each dot represents a country. Notice how the dots extend from the top left to the bottom right. What does this mean in real-world terms? It means that people are shorter in parts of the world where there is more disease. The r-value for a negative correlation is indicated by a negative number—that is, it has a minus (–) sign in front of it. Here, it is –.83.

Scatterplot showing the association between average male height and pathogen prevalence, a negative correlation (r = –.83).

Experimental Research

Experiments are designed to test hypotheses (or specific statements about the relationship between variables ) in a controlled setting in an effort to explain how certain factors or events produce outcomes. A variable is anything that changes in value. Concepts are operationalized or transformed into variables in research which means that the researcher must specify exactly what is going to be measured in the study. For example, if we are interested in studying marital satisfaction, we have to specify what marital satisfaction really means or what we are going to use as an indicator of marital satisfaction. What is something measurable that would indicate some level of marital satisfaction? Would it be the amount of time couples spend together each day? Or eye contact during a discussion about money? Or maybe a subject’s score on a marital satisfaction scale? Each of these is measurable but these may not be equally valid or accurate indicators of marital satisfaction. What do you think? These are the kinds of considerations researchers must make when working through the design.

The experimental method is the only research method that can measure cause and effect relationships between variables. Three conditions must be met in order to establish cause and effect. Experimental designs are useful in meeting these conditions:

The independent and dependent variables must be related. In other words, when one is altered, the other changes in response. The independent variable is something altered or introduced by the researcher; sometimes thought of as the treatment or intervention. The dependent variable is the outcome or the factor affected by the introduction of the independent variable; the dependent variable depends on the independent variable. For example, if we are looking at the impact of exercise on stress levels, the independent variable would be exercise; the dependent variable would be stress.
The cause must come before the effect. Experiments measure subjects on the dependent variable before exposing them to the independent variable (establishing a baseline). So we would measure the subjects’ level of stress before introducing exercise and then again after the exercise to see if there has been a change in stress levels. (Observational and survey research does not always allow us to look at the timing of these events which makes understanding causality problematic with these methods.)
The cause must be isolated. The researcher must ensure that no outside, perhaps unknown variables, are actually causing the effect we see. The experimental design helps make this possible. In an experiment, we would make sure that our subjects’ diets were held constant throughout the exercise program. Otherwise, the diet might really be creating a change in stress level rather than exercise.

A basic experimental design involves beginning with a sample (or subset of a population) and randomly assigning subjects to one of two groups: the experimental group or the control group . Ideally, to prevent bias, the participants would be blind to their condition (not aware of which group they are in) and the researchers would also be blind to each participant’s condition (referred to as “ double blind “). The experimental group is the group that is going to be exposed to an independent variable or condition the researcher is introducing as a potential cause of an event. The control group is going to be used for comparison and is going to have the same experience as the experimental group but will not be exposed to the independent variable. This helps address the placebo effect, which is that a group may expect changes to happen just by participating. After exposing the experimental group to the independent variable, the two groups are measured again to see if a change has occurred. If so, we are in a better position to suggest that the independent variable caused the change in the dependent variable . The basic experimental model looks like this:

The major advantage of the experimental design is that of helping to establish cause and effect relationships. A disadvantage of this design is the difficulty of translating much of what concerns us about human behavior into a laboratory setting.

Developmental Research Designs

Now you know about some tools used to conduct research about human development. Remember, research methods are tools that are used to collect information. But it is easy to confuse research methods and research design. Research design is the strategy or blueprint for deciding how to collect and analyze information. Research design dictates which methods are used and how. Developmental research designs are techniques used particularly in lifespan development research. When we are trying to describe development and change, the research designs become especially important because we are interested in what changes and what stays the same with age. These techniques try to examine how age, cohort, gender, and social class impact development.

Cross-sectional designs

The majority of developmental studies use cross-sectional designs because they are less time-consuming and less expensive than other developmental designs. Cross-sectional research designs are used to examine behavior in participants of different ages who are tested at the same point in time. Let’s suppose that researchers are interested in the relationship between intelligence and aging. They might have a hypothesis (an educated guess, based on theory or observations) that intelligence declines as people get older. The researchers might choose to give a certain intelligence test to individuals who are 20 years old, individuals who are 50 years old, and individuals who are 80 years old at the same time and compare the data from each age group. This research is cross-sectional in design because the researchers plan to examine the intelligence scores of individuals of different ages within the same study at the same time; they are taking a “cross-section” of people at one point in time. Let’s say that the comparisons find that the 80-year-old adults score lower on the intelligence test than the 50-year-old adults, and the 50-year-old adults score lower on the intelligence test than the 20-year-old adults. Based on these data, the researchers might conclude that individuals become less intelligent as they get older. Would that be a valid (accurate) interpretation of the results?

Text stating that the year of study is 2010 and an experiment looks at cohort A with 20 year olds, cohort B of 50 year olds and cohort C with 80 year olds

No, that would not be a valid conclusion because the researchers did not follow individuals as they aged from 20 to 50 to 80 years old. One of the primary limitations of cross-sectional research is that the results yield information about age differences not necessarily changes with age or over time. That is, although the study described above can show that in 2010, the 80-year-olds scored lower on the intelligence test than the 50-year-olds, and the 50-year-olds scored lower on the intelligence test than the 20-year-olds, the data used to come up with this conclusion were collected from different individuals (or groups of individuals). It could be, for instance, that when these 20-year-olds get older (50 and eventually 80), they will still score just as high on the intelligence test as they did at age 20. In a similar way, maybe the 80-year-olds would have scored relatively low on the intelligence test even at ages 50 and 20; the researchers don’t know for certain because they did not follow the same individuals as they got older.

It is also possible that the differences found between the age groups are not due to age, per se, but due to cohort effects. The 80-year-olds in this 2010 research grew up during a particular time and experienced certain events as a group. They were born in 1930 and are part of the Traditional or Silent Generation. The 50-year-olds were born in 1960 and are members of the Baby Boomer cohort. The 20-year-olds were born in 1990 and are part of the Millennial or Gen Y Generation. What kinds of things did each of these cohorts experience that the others did not experience or at least not in the same ways?

You may have come up with many differences between these cohorts’ experiences, such as living through certain wars, political and social movements, economic conditions, advances in technology, changes in health and nutrition standards, etc. There may be particular cohort differences that could especially influence their performance on intelligence tests, such as education level and use of computers. That is, many of those born in 1930 probably did not complete high school; those born in 1960 may have high school degrees, on average, but the majority did not attain college degrees; the young adults are probably current college students. And this is not even considering additional factors such as gender, race, or socioeconomic status. The young adults are used to taking tests on computers, but the members of the other two cohorts did not grow up with computers and may not be as comfortable if the intelligence test is administered on computers. These factors could have been a factor in the research results.

Another disadvantage of cross-sectional research is that it is limited to one time of measurement. Data are collected at one point in time and it’s possible that something could have happened in that year in history that affected all of the participants, although possibly each cohort may have been affected differently. Just think about the mindsets of participants in research that was conducted in the United States right after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Longitudinal research designs

Middle aged woman holding own photograph of her younger self.

Longitudinal research involves beginning with a group of people who may be of the same age and background (cohort) and measuring them repeatedly over a long period of time. One of the benefits of this type of research is that people can be followed through time and be compared with themselves when they were younger; therefore changes with age over time are measured. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal research? Problems with this type of research include being expensive, taking a long time, and subjects dropping out over time. Think about the film, 63 Up , part of the Up Series mentioned earlier, which is an example of following individuals over time. In the videos, filmed every seven years, you see how people change physically, emotionally, and socially through time; and some remain the same in certain ways, too. But many of the participants really disliked being part of the project and repeatedly threatened to quit; one disappeared for several years; another died before her 63rd year. Would you want to be interviewed every seven years? Would you want to have it made public for all to watch?

Longitudinal research designs are used to examine behavior in the same individuals over time. For instance, with our example of studying intelligence and aging, a researcher might conduct a longitudinal study to examine whether 20-year-olds become less intelligent with age over time. To this end, a researcher might give an intelligence test to individuals when they are 20 years old, again when they are 50 years old, and then again when they are 80 years old. This study is longitudinal in nature because the researcher plans to study the same individuals as they age. Based on these data, the pattern of intelligence and age might look different than from the cross-sectional research; it might be found that participants’ intelligence scores are higher at age 50 than at age 20 and then remain stable or decline a little by age 80. How can that be when cross-sectional research revealed declines in intelligence with age?

The same person, "Person A" is 20 years old in 2010, 50 years old in 2040, and 80 in 2070.

Since longitudinal research happens over a period of time (which could be short term, as in months, but is often longer, as in years), there is a risk of attrition. Attrition occurs when participants fail to complete all portions of a study. Participants may move, change their phone numbers, die, or simply become disinterested in participating over time. Researchers should account for the possibility of attrition by enrolling a larger sample into their study initially, as some participants will likely drop out over time. There is also something known as selective attrition— this means that certain groups of individuals may tend to drop out. It is often the least healthy, least educated, and lower socioeconomic participants who tend to drop out over time. That means that the remaining participants may no longer be representative of the whole population, as they are, in general, healthier, better educated, and have more money. This could be a factor in why our hypothetical research found a more optimistic picture of intelligence and aging as the years went by. What can researchers do about selective attrition? At each time of testing, they could randomly recruit more participants from the same cohort as the original members, to replace those who have dropped out.

The results from longitudinal studies may also be impacted by repeated assessments. Consider how well you would do on a math test if you were given the exact same exam every day for a week. Your performance would likely improve over time, not necessarily because you developed better math abilities, but because you were continuously practicing the same math problems. This phenomenon is known as a practice effect. Practice effects occur when participants become better at a task over time because they have done it again and again (not due to natural psychological development). So our participants may have become familiar with the intelligence test each time (and with the computerized testing administration). Another limitation of longitudinal research is that the data are limited to only one cohort.

Sequential research designs

Sequential research designs include elements of both longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs. Similar to longitudinal designs, sequential research features participants who are followed over time; similar to cross-sectional designs, sequential research includes participants of different ages. This research design is also distinct from those that have been discussed previously in that individuals of different ages are enrolled into a study at various points in time to examine age-related changes, development within the same individuals as they age, and to account for the possibility of cohort and/or time of measurement effects. In 1965, K. Warner Schaie described particular sequential designs: cross-sequential, cohort sequential, and time-sequential. The differences between them depended on which variables were focused on for analyses of the data (data could be viewed in terms of multiple cross-sectional designs or multiple longitudinal designs or multiple cohort designs). Ideally, by comparing results from the different types of analyses, the effects of age, cohort, and time in history could be separated out.

Challenges Conducting Developmental Research

The previous sections describe research tools to assess development across the lifespan, as well as the ways that research designs can be used to track age-related changes and development over time. Before you begin conducting developmental research, however, you must also be aware that testing individuals of certain ages (such as infants and children) or making comparisons across ages (such as children compared to teens) comes with its own unique set of challenges. In the final section of this module, let’s look at some of the main issues that are encountered when conducting developmental research, namely ethical concerns, recruitment issues, and participant attrition.

Ethical Concerns

You may already know that Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) must review and approve all research projects that are conducted at universities, hospitals, and other institutions (each broad discipline or field, such as psychology or social work, often has its own code of ethics that must also be followed, regardless of institutional affiliation). An IRB is typically a panel of experts who read and evaluate proposals for research. IRB members want to ensure that the proposed research will be carried out ethically and that the potential benefits of the research outweigh the risks and potential harm (psychological as well as physical harm) for participants.

What you may not know though, is that the IRB considers some groups of participants to be more vulnerable or at-risk than others. Whereas university students are generally not viewed as vulnerable or at-risk, infants and young children commonly fall into this category. What makes infants and young children more vulnerable during research than young adults? One reason infants and young children are perceived as being at increased risk is due to their limited cognitive capabilities, which makes them unable to state their willingness to participate in research or tell researchers when they would like to drop out of a study. For these reasons, infants and young children require special accommodations as they participate in the research process. Similar issues and accommodations would apply to adults who are deemed to be of limited cognitive capabilities.

When thinking about special accommodations in developmental research, consider the informed consent process. If you have ever participated in scientific research, you may know through your own experience that adults commonly sign an informed consent statement (a contract stating that they agree to participate in research) after learning about a study. As part of this process, participants are informed of the procedures to be used in the research, along with any expected risks or benefits. Infants and young children cannot verbally indicate their willingness to participate, much less understand the balance of potential risks and benefits. As such, researchers are oftentimes required to obtain written informed consent from the parent or legal guardian of the child participant, an adult who is almost always present as the study is conducted. In fact, children are not asked to indicate whether they would like to be involved in a study at all (a process known as assent) until they are approximately seven years old. Because infants and young children cannot easily indicate if they would like to discontinue their participation in a study, researchers must be sensitive to changes in the state of the participant (determining whether a child is too tired or upset to continue) as well as to parent desires (in some cases, parents might want to discontinue their involvement in the research). As in adult studies, researchers must always strive to protect the rights and well-being of the minor participants and their parents when conducting developmental research.

Recruitment

An additional challenge in developmental science is participant recruitment. Recruiting university students to participate in adult studies is typically easy. Unfortunately, young children cannot be recruited in this way. Given these limitations, how do researchers go about finding infants and young children to be in their studies?

The answer to this question varies along multiple dimensions. Researchers must consider the number of participants they need and the financial resources available to them, among other things. Location may also be an important consideration. Researchers who need large numbers of infants and children may attempt to recruit them by obtaining infant birth records from the state, county, or province in which they reside. Researchers can choose to pay a recruitment agency to contact and recruit families for them. More economical recruitment options include posting advertisements and fliers in locations frequented by families, such as mommy-and-me classes, local malls, and preschools or daycare centers. Researchers can also utilize online social media outlets like Facebook, which allows users to post recruitment advertisements for a small fee. Of course, each of these different recruitment techniques requires IRB approval. And if children are recruited and/or tested in school settings, permission would need to be obtained ahead of time from teachers, schools, and school districts (as well as informed consent from parents or guardians).

And what about the recruitment of adults? While it is easy to recruit young college students to participate in research, some would argue that it is too easy and that college students are samples of convenience. They are not randomly selected from the wider population, and they may not represent all young adults in our society (this was particularly true in the past with certain cohorts, as college students tended to be mainly white males of high socioeconomic status). In fact, in the early research on aging, this type of convenience sample was compared with another type of convenience sample—young college students tended to be compared with residents of nursing homes! Fortunately, it didn’t take long for researchers to realize that older adults in nursing homes are not representative of the older population; they tend to be the oldest and sickest (physically and/or psychologically). Those initial studies probably painted an overly negative view of aging, as young adults in college were being compared to older adults who were not healthy, had not been in school nor taken tests in many decades, and probably did not graduate high school, let alone college. As we can see, recruitment and random sampling can be significant issues in research with adults, as well as infants and children. For instance, how and where would you recruit middle-aged adults to participate in your research?

A tired looking mother closes her eyes and rubs her forehead as her baby cries.

Another important consideration when conducting research with infants and young children is attrition . Although attrition is quite common in longitudinal research in particular (see the previous section on longitudinal designs for an example of high attrition rates and selective attrition in lifespan developmental research), it is also problematic in developmental science more generally, as studies with infants and young children tend to have higher attrition rates than studies with adults. Infants and young children are more likely to tire easily, become fussy, and lose interest in the study procedures than are adults. For these reasons, research studies should be designed to be as short as possible – it is likely better to break up a large study into multiple short sessions rather than cram all of the tasks into one long visit to the lab. Researchers should also allow time for breaks in their study protocols so that infants can rest or have snacks as needed. Happy, comfortable participants provide the best data.

Conclusions

Lifespan development is a fascinating field of study – but care must be taken to ensure that researchers use appropriate methods to examine human behavior, use the correct experimental design to answer their questions, and be aware of the special challenges that are part-and-parcel of developmental research. After reading this module, you should have a solid understanding of these various issues and be ready to think more critically about research questions that interest you. For example, what types of questions do you have about lifespan development? What types of research would you like to conduct? Many interesting questions remain to be examined by future generations of developmental scientists – maybe you will make one of the next big discoveries!

Lifespan development is the scientific study of how and why people change or remain the same over time. As we are beginning to see, lifespan development involves multiple domains and many ages and stages that are important in and of themselves, but that are also interdependent and dynamic and need to be viewed holistically. There are many influences on lifespan development at individual and societal levels (including genetics); cultural, generational, economic, and historical contexts are often significant. And how developmental research is designed and data are collected, analyzed, and interpreted can affect what is discovered about human development across the lifespan.

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Chapter 2: Psychological Research

Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Research

Three researchers review data while talking around a microscope.

When designing a study, typically, researchers choose a quantitative or qualitative research design. In some cases, a mixed-method approach, including both quantitative and qualitative measures, may be appropriate. Which approach used will develop on the research question and the type of information sought. Quantitative methods may be better for understanding what is happening, while qualitative methods may be better for understanding the hows and why of a phenomenon.

Video 2.2 Types of Research explains the difference between qualitative and quantitative research.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research typically starts with a focused research question or hypothesis, collects a small amount of data from each of a large number of individuals, describes the resulting data using statistical techniques, and draws general conclusions about some large population. The strength of quantitative research is its ability to provide precise answers to specific research questions and to draw general conclusions about human behavior; however, it is not nearly as good at generating novel and interesting research questions. Likewise, while quantitative research is good at drawing general conclusions about human behavior, it is not nearly as good at providing detailed descriptions of the behavior of particular groups in particular situations. And it is not very good at all at communicating what it is actually like to be a member of a particular group in a particular situation. But the relative weaknesses of quantitative research are the relative strengths of qualitative research.

Qualitative Research

Although quantitative research is by far the most common approach to conducting empirical research in psychology, there is a vital alternative called qualitative research . Qualitative research can help researchers to generate new and interesting research questions and hypotheses. Qualitative researchers generally begin with a less focused research question, collect large amounts of relatively “unfiltered” data from a relatively small number of individuals, and describe their data using nonstatistical techniques. They are usually less concerned with drawing general conclusions about human behavior than with understanding in detail the experience of their research participants. Qualitative research can also provide rich and detailed descriptions of human behavior in the real-world contexts in which it occurs. Similarly, qualitative research can convey a sense of what it is actually like to be a member of a particular group or in a particular situation—what qualitative researchers often refer to as the ‘lived experience’ of the research participants.

Mixed-Methods

Given their differences, it may come as no surprise that quantitative and qualitative research do not coexist in complete harmony. Some quantitative researchers criticize that qualitative methods lack objectivity, are challenging to evaluate, and do not allow generalization to other people or situations. At the same time, some qualitative researchers criticize that quantitative methods overlook the richness of behavior and experience, and instead answer simple questions about easily quantifiable variables. However, many researchers from both camps now agree that the two approaches can and should be combined into what has come to be called mixed-methods research (Todd, Nerlich, McKeown, & Clarke, 2004). One approach to combining quantitative and qualitative research is to use qualitative research for hypothesis generation and quantitative research for hypothesis testing. A second approach to combining quantitative and qualitative research is referred to as triangulation. The idea is to use both quantitative and qualitative methods simultaneously to study the same general questions and to compare the results. If the results of the quantitative and qualitative methods converge on the same general conclusion, they reinforce and enrich each other. If the results diverge, then they suggest an interesting new question: Why do the results diverge, and how can they be reconciled?

Video 2.3 What are Qualitative and Quantitative Variables explains the difference between quantitative and qualitative variables that may be used in research.

Becoming Familiar with Research

An excellent way to become more familiar with these research approaches, both quantitative and qualitative, is to look at journal articles, which are written in sections that follow these steps in the scientific process. Most psychological articles and many papers in the social sciences follow the writing guidelines and format dictated by the American Psychological Association (APA). In general, the structure follows: abstract (summary of the article), introduction or literature review, methods explaining how the study was conducted, results of the study, discussion and interpretation of findings, and references.

The aftermath of teenage suicide: a qualitative study of the psychosocial consequences for the supervising family

Per Lindqvist and his colleagues (2008), wanted to learn how the families of teenage suicide victims cope with their loss. They did not have a specific research question or hypothesis, such as, what percentage of family members join suicide support groups? Instead, they wanted to understand the variety of reactions that families had, with a focus on what it is like from their perspectives. To do this, they interviewed the families of 10 teenage suicide victims in their homes in rural Sweden. The interviews were relatively unstructured, beginning with a general request for the families to talk about the victim and ending with an invitation to talk about anything else that they wanted to tell the interviewer. One of the most important themes that emerged from these interviews was that even as life returned to “normal,” the families continued to struggle with the question of why their loved one committed suicide. This struggle appeared to be especially difficult for families in which the suicide was most unexpected. This relationship can now be explored using quantitative research. But it is unclear whether this question would have arisen at all without the researchers sitting down with the families and listening to what they themselves wanted to say about their experience.

Child and Adolescent Development Copyright © 2023 by Krisztina Jakobsen and Paige Fischer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Child Development Research

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CDC conducts research to learn more about healthy child development and to better understand certain conditions that affect children. This information is used to

Create prevention, health education, and intervention programs,
Help communities plan for services for children and their families, and
Determine what additional research studies are needed.

This page provides you with an overview of current child development research activities.

Investing in our children is investing in our future. Early childhood investment can reduce costs to society, overall. This includes tangible costs, such as special education, foster care, welfare, medical care, law enforcement, social security, and social services, and intangible costs, such as physical and emotional pain experienced by children with developmental delays and their families.

Children’s Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health

CDC is working with other agencies to collect and monitor information about childhood mental disorders and to better understand and promote children’s mental, emotional, and behavioral health. Childhood mental disorders—for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , Tourette syndrome , behavior disorders , mood and anxiety disorders , autism spectrum disorder , or substance use disorders —affect many children and families. Because of the impact on children, families, and communities, children’s mental disorders are an important public health issue in the United States.

Read more about children’s mental, emotional, and behavioral health.

Legacy for Children™

Legacy for Children™: Cognitive outcomes through age 8

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Bringing Families Together: Building Community Video

See Legacy for Children™ in action, highlighted in the Head Start Best Practices for Family and Community Engagement Video Series “Bringing Families Together: Building Community Video”

The Legacy for Children™ ( Legacy ) intervention program, designed to prevent developmental delays among children living in poverty, focuses on the role of parents and ways that they can positively influence their children. CDC developed the Legacy model, which was then adapted to provide intervention at two research sites in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California. Legacy activities were designed to build on sensitive and responsive parenting skills, enhance parent-child interactions, and promote a sense of community. Legacy’s goal is to have children grow up emotionally healthy and ready to be productive members of society.

The Legacy program was evaluated in a research study held in Los Angeles and Miami, targeting low-income mothers and their children. The program enrolled women before birth in Los Angeles and at birth in Miami, and lasted until children were 3 or 5 years of age, respectively. Mothers met weekly in parenting groups. Guided by a group leader, mothers talked about child development, supported each other, learned different parenting skills, and practiced them with their child. Both Legacy sites piloted the program for a period of time, followed by a main study phase in order to develop and refine how the Legacy curricula were used.

Results of the Legacy intervention study showed an overall positive effect on children living in poverty. There were improvements in the child’s thinking, learning, and behavior as well as the interaction between the mother and child.

Read more about the Legacy for Children™ program and implementation.

Learning About Specific Conditions

CDC conducts research and tracking of certain birth defects, disabilities, and blood disorders that affect children. Click on the following links to learn more:

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Developmental Disabilities
Muscular Dystrophy (MD)
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs)
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An Innocent Question Packed with Opportunity

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Being Brave Advocates: Critical Ethnographic Action Research (CEAR) Project Approach for Social Justice and Advocacy in Early Childhood Education

From Feeling Like an Imposter to Knowing I Am Indispensable: Embracing My Identity as an Educator

Introduction: Using Identity Narratives to Inform ECE Practice

Introduction to Athina Ntoulia’s “Tapping Playful Research to Create an Inclusive Classroom Community”

the cover of the publication, young children, fall 2023

Viewpoint. Mind the Mindsets: A Case for More Coherent and Relevant Narratives from the Field

Voices of Practitioners, Fall 2022, Volume 17

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The Play’s the Story: Creating Play Story Booklets to Encourage Literacy Behaviors in a Preschool Classroom

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Viewpoint. Asking and Answering Ethical Questions with the Youngest Learners

Voices of Practitioners, Fall 2021, Volume 16

A classroom space children turned into a command center

مشروع مركز القيادة: التخلص من التوتر المرافق للمنهاج الدراسي المستجد The Command Center Project: Resolving My Tensions with Emergent Curriculum

The play’s the story: creating play story booklets to encourage literacy behaviors in a preschool classroom (voices).

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Voices of Practitioners, Fall 2020, Volume 15

Children outside learning about city buildings

تطبيق نهج التعلم القائم على المشاريع في فصول الدمج: المحاولة الأولى لإحدى المعلمات لاستخدام التعلم القائم على المشاريع Implementing the Project Approach in an Inclusive Classroom: A Teacher’s First Attempt With Project-Based Learning (Voices)

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Understanding Vivian Paley as a Teacher Researcher

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Becoming Victor Paley

Learning from One Another

Searching for the Meaning of Play

Needing to know.

Developing a Research Question

by acburton | Mar 22, 2024 | Resources for Students , Writing Resources

Selecting your research question and creating a clear goal and structure for your writing can be challenging – whether you are doing it for the first time or if you’ve done it many times before. It can be especially difficult when your research question starts to look and feel a little different somewhere between your first and final draft. Don’t panic! It’s normal for your research question to change a little (or even quite a bit) as you move through and engage with the writing process. Anticipating this can remind you to stay on track while you work and that it’ll be okay even if the literature takes you in a different direction.

What Makes an Effective Research Question?

The most effective research question will usually be a critical thinking question and should use “how” or “why” to ensure it can move beyond a yes/no or one-word type of answer. Consider how your research question can aim to reveal something new, fill in a gap, even if small, and contribute to the field in a meaningful way; How might the proposed project move knowledge forward about a particular place or process? This should be specific and achievable!

The CEWC’s Grad Writing Consultant Tariq says, “I definitely concentrated on those aspects of what I saw in the field where I believed there was an opportunity to move the discipline forward.”

General Tips

Do your research.

Utilize the librarians at your university and take the time to research your topic first. Try looking at very general sources to get an idea of what could be interesting to you before you move to more academic articles that support your rough idea of the topic. It is important that research is grounded in what you see or experience regarding the topic you have chosen and what is already known in the literature. Spend time researching articles, books, etc. that supports your thesis. Once you have a number of sources that you know support what you want to write about, formulate a research question that serves as the interrogative form of your thesis statement.

Grad Writing Consultant Deni advises, “Delineate your intervention in the literature (i.e., be strategic about the literature you discuss and clear about your contributions to it).”

Start Broadly…. then Narrow Your Topic Down to Something Manageable

When brainstorming your research question, let your mind veer toward connections or associations that you might have already considered or that seem to make sense and consider if new research terms, language or concepts come to mind that may be interesting or exciting for you as a researcher. Sometimes testing out a research question while doing some preliminary researching is also useful to see if the language you are using or the direction you are heading toward is fruitful when trying to search strategically in academic databases. Be prepared to focus on a specific area of a broad topic.

Writing Consultant Jessie recommends outlining: “I think some rough outlining with a research question in mind can be helpful for me. I’ll have a research question and maybe a working thesis that I feel may be my claim to the research question based on some preliminary materials, brainstorming, etc.” — Jessie, CEWC Writing Consultant

Try an Exercise

In the earliest phase of brainstorming, try an exercise suggested by CEWC Writing Specialist, Percival! While it is normally used in classroom or workshop settings, this exercise can easily be modified for someone working alone. The flow of the activity, if done within a group setting, is 1) someone starts with an idea, 2) three other people share their idea, and 3) the starting person picks two of these new ideas they like best and combines their original idea with those. The activity then begins again with the idea that was not chosen. The solo version of this exercise substitutes a ‘word bank,’ created using words, topics, or ideas similar to your broad, overarching theme. Pick two words or phrases from your word bank, combine it with your original idea or topic, and ‘start again’ with two different words. This serves as a replacement for different people’s suggestions. Ideas for your ‘word bank’ can range from vague prompts about mapping or webbing (e.g., where your topic falls within the discipline and others like it), to more specific concepts that come from tracing the history of an idea (its past, present, future) or mapping the idea’s related ideas, influences, etc. Care for a physics analogy? There is a particle (your topic) that you can describe, a wave that the particle traces, and a field that the particle is mapped on.

Get Feedback and Affirm Your Confidence!

Creating a few different versions of your research question (they may be the same topic/issue/theme or differ slightly) can be useful during this process. Sharing these with trusted friends, colleagues, mentors, (or tutors!) and having conversations about your questions and ideas with other people can help you decide which version you may feel most confident or interested in. Ask colleagues and mentors to share their research questions with you to get a lot of examples. Once you have done the work of developing an effective research question, do not forget to affirm your confidence! Based on your working thesis, think about how you might organize your chapters or paragraphs and what resources you have for supporting this structure and organization. This can help boost your confidence that the research question you have created is effective and fruitful.

Be Open to Change

Remember, your research question may change from your first to final draft. For questions along the way, make an appointment with the Writing Center. We are here to help you develop an effective and engaging research question and build the foundation for a solid research paper!

Example 1: In my field developing a research question involves navigating the relationship between 1) what one sees/experiences at their field site and 2) what is already known in the literature. During my preliminary research, I found that the financial value of land was often a matter of precisely these cultural factors. So, my research question ended up being: How do the social and material qualities of land entangle with processes of financialization in the city of Lahore. Regarding point #1, this question was absolutely informed by what I saw in the field. But regarding point #2, the question was also heavily shaped by the literature. – Tariq

Example 2: A research question should not be a yes/no question like “Is pollution bad?”; but an open-ended question where the answer has to be supported with reasons and explanation. The question also has to be narrowed down to a specific topic—using the same example as before—”Is pollution bad?” can be revised to “How does pollution affect people?” I would encourage students to be more specific then; e.g., what area of pollution do you want to talk about: water, air, plastic, climate change… what type of people or demographic can we focus on? …how does this affect marginalized communities, minorities, or specific areas in California? After researching and deciding on a focus, your question might sound something like: How does government policy affect water pollution and how does it affect the marginalized communities in the state of California? -Janella

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100 Exiting Child Development Research Topics
However, we believe the following list of ideas contains some of the best research topics on child development: Coronavirus lockdown and its effects on children. Peers' influence on child development. Children understand life through play. A green environment and its effects on children.
40 Impressive Child Development Research Paper Topics
Social, personal and emotional development. Physical development. Literacy skills. Understanding the world around them. Communication and language. Therefore, if you want a top-rated child development research paper, start with these simple steps: Conduct thorough research on various aspects of child development.
315 Child Development Research Topics & Essay Examples
Development. "Baby Milestones: 24-36 Months". Psychology essay sample: The investigation of behavior in this essay will provide an analysis of the development and behavior of a two to a three-year-old child based on the video "Baby Milestones". Piaget's Work and Legacy in Child Development.
178 Current Child Development Research Paper Topics For 2023
Here are some child development project topics you could try: Research asynchronous development. A project on physical growth. A project on gender role. A project on language and communication. Talk about the effects of malnutrition. Postnatal depression and child development.
178 Child Development Research Topics & Essay Examples
Biological factors that can affect a child's growth include several elements, for example, genetic influences, the level of nutrition, exposures during the prenatal period. Child Development: Motor and Cognitive Developments. Genetic and Environmental Factors Affecting Fetus and Child Development.
Top 10 Research Questions Related to Children Physical Activity
Physical activity is critical to the healthy development of children. According to the recent youth behavior surveillance data (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2012), only half of U.S. adolescents are able to meet the 60-min daily physical activity guideline, and about 14% do not participate in any physical activity at all.In this era of information explosion and fast information ...
10 Research Question Examples to Guide your Research Project
The first question asks for a ready-made solution, and is not focused or researchable. The second question is a clearer comparative question, but note that it may not be practically feasible. For a smaller research project or thesis, it could be narrowed down further to focus on the effectiveness of drunk driving laws in just one or two countries.
Developmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young children: a
It emphasises the strengths of an IDS approach for child development research and the opportunity to advance the field of population data science through multi-site investigations of COVID-19 impacts on young children using a common conceptual data model. ... it outlined research considerations and provided examples of priority questions that ...
Example Research Questions
Example Research Questions. The ECLS-K was designed to address a variety of research questions, including the ones listed by topic area below. ... How does children's development vary by age (in months), sex, race-ethnicity, separately and in interaction? How are variations in children's developmental status at kindergarten entry through ...
251 questions with answers in CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Sep 19, 2021. Answer. Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on the earlier work of cognitive theorist Jean Piaget to explain the moral development of children, which he believed follows a series of stages ...
Developmental Psychology Topics
Topics you might pick can range from prenatal development to health during the final stages of life. Developmental psychology is a broad topic that involves studying how people grow and change throughout their whole lifetime. Topics don't just include physical growth but also the emotional, cognitive, and social development that people ...
Theories of Child Development and Their Impact on Early Childhood
Developmental theorists use their research to generate philosophies on children's development. They organize and interpret data based on a scheme to develop their theory. A theory refers to a systematic statement of principles related to observed phenomena and their relationship to each other. A theory of child development looks at the children's growth and behavior and interprets it. It ...
Research Question Examples ‍
A well-crafted research question (or set of questions) sets the stage for a robust study and meaningful insights. But, if you're new to research, it's not always clear what exactly constitutes a good research question. In this post, we'll provide you with clear examples of quality research questions across various disciplines, so that you can approach your research project with confidence!
Qualitative Research in Early Childhood Education and Care
In fact, the strengths of qualitative ECEC research are many, and their importance for government, considerable. Qualitative research has been done in all aspects of ECEC operations and policies, from coordinating mechanisms at a national level (OECD, 2006), curriculum frameworks (Office for Children and Early Childhood Development, 2008), and determining the critical elements of preschool ...
Posing a Researchable Question
These questions serve primarily as a means to help children recall information, to check on children's thinking, and to assess children's understanding of certain material. Teaching questions. May be open or closed, but are usually closed. Are typically phrased as yes or no questions. Seek answers to specific problems.
149+ Interesting Child Development Research Topics
1. Cognitive development. It includes the ability of the child to acquire and solve problems. 2. Social and emotional development. It includes the ability of the child to interact with others, learn how to help others when they are in a problem, and develop self-control. 3. Speech and language development.
Research Methods
Each of these research methods has unique strengths and weaknesses, and each method may only be appropriate for certain types of research questions. For example, studies that rely primarily on observation produce incredible amounts of information, but the ability to apply this information to the larger population is somewhat limited because of ...
Writing Strong Research Questions
A good research question is essential to guide your research paper, dissertation, or thesis. All research questions should be: Focused on a single problem or issue. Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources. Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints. Specific enough to answer thoroughly.
4 Child Development and Early Learning
The domains of child development and early learning are discussed in different terms and categorized in different ways in the various fields and disciplines that are involved in research, practice, and policy related to children from birth through age 8. To organize the discussion in this report, the committee elected to use the approach and overarching terms depicted in Figure 4-1.
Research in Developmental Psychology
Lifespan development is a fascinating field of study - but care must be taken to ensure that researchers use appropriate methods to examine human behavior, use the correct experimental design to answer their questions, and be aware of the special challenges that are part-and-parcel of developmental research.
Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Research
Which approach used will develop on the research question and the type of information sought. Quantitative methods may be better for understanding what is happening, while qualitative methods may be better for understanding the hows and why of a phenomenon. Media error: Format (s) not supported or source (s) not found.
Child Development Research
CDC conducts research to learn more about healthy child development and to better understand certain conditions that affect children. This information is used to. Create prevention, health education, and intervention programs, Help communities plan for services for children and their families, and. Determine what additional research studies are ...
Research
Advances in Understanding Child Development and Learning: Through a Lens of Equity. This issue of Young Children highlights key child development concepts, such as agency and funds of knowledge, emphasizing the need to deepen our knowledge of child development and learning through a lens of equity. Article. Young Children. June 1, 2023. Viewpoint.
Developing a Research Question
We are here to help you develop an effective and engaging research question and build the foundation for a solid research paper! Examples. Example 1: In my field developing a research question involves navigating the relationship between 1) what one sees/experiences at their field site and 2) what is already known in the literature. During

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