Main Research Methods

Naturalistic Observation

Takes place in child’s own env + no var manip e.g. parent notes child’s behav in diary.

+ high ecol validity- nat behav cos real life, familiar setting.

 – extraneous var- no control so can’t be sure what caused results

Controlled Observation

Child obs by researcher in lab. Some var contr e.g. child given certain toy + obs thr mirror.

 + More control so less extran var + can est cause + effect.

– Obs bias- expectations…