Technological Changes in the Methods Used to Study Child Development - Article Example

Technological changes in the methods used to study child development and impact on our knowledge of the The first concern for any researcher studying child development essentially has been biology and evolution (Harris and Butterworth, 2002: 3-4). Many basic development concepts in the growth of a child have their roots in the framework provided by Darwin’s theory of evolution (Harris and Butterworth:7). For example, when we view the growth and development of a child as a “progressive adaptation.. (to the).. environment”, that approach is very much in correlation with the theory of evolution (Harris and Butterworth, 2002: 7). Hence, theory of evolution has been a very good tool for studying child development. When microscopy evolved and improved in 19th century, embryology developed as a scientific field and thus assisted the process of studying child development (Harris and Butterworth, 2002: 5). Two theories prevailed in that period. One was preformationism, which said that an embryo was a miniature human being which became bigger in due course (Sapp, 2003: 39). The other was recapitulationism which declared that “in embryonic period, organisms pass through the adult form of all species from which they have evolved” (Harris and Butterworth, 2002: 5). It was only after 1950s that molecular biology and developmental biology evolved as a highly technically perfect research field, which in turn, revealed the DNA structure of the specie (Sapp, 2003: 187). From this period onwards, embryology entered a new phase of precision, which helped child development researchers to shed their preconceived wrong notions and base their studies on pure scientific evidence. Genetics thus became a highly contributing field to child development research and molecular technology and bio-technology started to reveal hitherto unknown connection between human development and the genes. The notion of “genotype-environment interaction” in child development was a result of the growth of genetics (Plomin, 1986: 108). For example, it has been found that majority of children having musically inclined parents show the same inclination towards music (Plomin, 1986: 108). But whether this can be attributed to the genotype or the environment is a matter of debate as musically inclined parents usually provide their children an atmosphere of exposure to music (Plomin, 1986: 109). This slowly led to another concept called genotype-environment correlation which was supported by genetic research also (Plomin, 1986: 109). The famous child development researcher, Jean Piaget (Guthrie, 2003: 1894-8) had used pictures to study the cognitive developments of children. The intermodal perceptual abilities of infants were studied using pacifiers by many researchers (Cicchetti and Gunnar, 2009: 37). Simple visual aids had thus become great aid for researchers to study child cognition and behavior. Researchers, to understand the features such as thumb postures extensively photographed many infants (Gessell, 2007: 8). But later on, when researchers could video record the behaviors and conversations with children whom they were studying, the process of data analysis entered another dimension, became far easier and triangulation of results also became possible (Hurlock, 2001: 16). Electronic media, in general has helped greatly to expand the horizon of knowledge regarding child development from social, cognitive and behavioral viewpoints. One major section of child development research itself has been the impact of electronic media on the development of a child (Singer and Singer, 2001: xv of the preface). For example, the aggressive behavior of children which was earlier attributed by the likes of Freud (1923/1962 as quoted by Singer and Singer, 2001: xv of the preface) to instinct and fundamental characteristics, was later on proved to be a learned behavior from parents, siblings and peers as well as television, films and computer games (Singer and Singer, 2001: xv of the preface). Now it has been an acknowledged fact that popular media are “educators and socializers of growing children” (Singer and Singer, 2001: 1). Hence behavioral research also began to make use of popular media as a tool to gain better understanding of the process of development in children. Motion picture cameras were used in a study to “document thousands of behavior patterns and pattern phases at 34 age-levels from the period of fetal infancy through the first ten years of life” (Gessell, 2007: 8). This study showed that “all normal children tend to follow a general ground plan of growth which is characteristic of the species or a cultural growth” (Gessell, 2007: 8). Cinemanalysis was thus, another related method to study child behavior ((Gessell, 2007: 97). This analysis has been termed as a “kind of dissection which anatomizes the patterns of behavior” (Gessell, 2007: 100). While studying the “social and cognitive influences on language acquisition” apart from what is said in linguistic theories, social research techniques and technologies were incorporated into child development research (Reese, 1982: 8). Setting aside Piaget’s orthodox view on cognition, social research methodologies encouraged child development researchers to put talking people instead of objects before the children to interact with (Reese, 1982: 8). Psychometrics was another advanced technology that was used by child development researchers to determine the IQ of a child being studied and compile a child behavior scale (Rao and Sinharay, 2007: 5, 603). The statistical precision provided by this method was very helpful to arrive at results compiled from huge databases. An analytic android called robot Freud was developed by artificial intelligence researchers to carry out and analyze psychiatric interviews (Cohen, 1988: 75). Another interesting area of technological intervention in child development research is the ability to measure multisensory integration (MSI) scientifically and precisely using brainwave electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings (Science Daily, August 20, 2010). An brainwave electroencephalogram can detect abnormalities in the brain waves created by the activities of the brain cells. Using this technology, behavioral research was conducted at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and this study “provided concrete evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) process sensory information such as sound, touch and vision differently than typically developing children” (Science Daily, August 20, 2010). New equipments like facereader and observerXT help collect and analyze data regarding behavior of children (Science Daily, August 20, 2010). These equipments have been used in behavioral research to analyse the meanings of muscle fluctuation on a human face while he or she is being interviewed. Recently, “a team led by the Georgia Institute of Technology” was awarded “a $10 million Expeditions in Computing award” by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for developing a novel computing technology “for measuring and analyzing the behavior of children” (Medical News Today, August 23, 2010). A new area of research called computational behavioral science is evolving through this kind of technologies (Medical News Today, August 23, 2010). Vision, speech and wearable sensor technologies are being used in this computing technology so that child behavior can be analyzed thoroughly (Medical News Today, August 23, 2010).  Medical News Today (August 23, 2010) has also reported that: Data will be collected from interactions between caregivers and children, children playing and socializing in a daycare environment, and clinicians interacting with children during individual therapy sessions. Multiple sensing technologies are necessary to obtain a comprehensive and integrated portrait of expressed behavior. Developmental pediatrics is a purely clinical area, which give its own special contribution to child development studies (Gessell, 2007: 205). It addresses all the three aspects of child development namely, social, cognitive and behavioral to an extent. In other words, a pediatric examination, diagnosis and treatment involve anatomic, physiologic and behavioral aspects of child development (Gessell, 2007: 207). Hence, the advancements in medical technologies in general, have helped child development studies as well. In child development research, child development practices themselves have evolved as an integral part of the research process itself (Harris, 6). Hence each and every technology employed in child development practices tend to duplicate as research tools as well (Harris, 1986: 6). This special situation in social research is caused by the fact that all the subjects or respondents of this kind of research are minors and not adults who can give informed consent to the research and who can understand the scope and implications of such research. Thus while doing research with children, the researcher is shouldering a higher responsibility which makes it his/her duty to help the development of the child through the research process itself and not to hamper the development of the child in any way by the same. It is in this context that, particularly, the new communication technologies have acquired a special use in child development research. Thus research and practice has become mutually inclusive here and the technologies as well. References Cicchetti, D. and Gunnar, M.R. (2009) Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology:  Meeting the Challenge of Translational Research in Child Psychology, Volume 35, John NJ: Wiley and Sons. Cohen, D. (28 April 1988) Why psychologists lie so much, New Scientist, Vol. 118, No. 1610, New York: Reed Business Information. Gessell, A. (2007) Studies in child development, Read Books. Guthrie, J. W. (2003) "Piaget, Jean (1896-1980)." Encyclopedia of Education. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA. Harris, J. (1986) Child psychology in action: linking research and practice, London: Taylor & Francis. Harris, M. and Butterworth, G. (2002) Developmental psychology: a students handbook, London: Psychology Press. Hurlock (2001) Child development, New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Medical News Today (August 23, 2010) Autism Research: For Measuring And Analyzing Child Behavior, NSF Awards $10M To Develop Computing Techniques, www.medicalnewstoday.com, accessed 23 August 2010, Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/198544.php Plomin, R. (1986) Development, genetics and psychology, London: Routledge. Rao, C. R. and Sinharay, S. (2007) Psychometrics, Rio de Janeiro: Elsevier. Reese, H.W. (1982) Advances in Child Development and Behavior, Volume 16, Maryland Heights: Academic Press. Sapp, J. (2003) Genesis: The evolution of biology, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Science Daily (August 20, 2010) Autism Linked to Multi-sensory Integration, Science Daily, accessed 22 August 2010, retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100819173840.htm Singer, D.G. and Singer, J.L. (2001) Handbook of children and the media, New Delhi: SAGE. Read More