Sample Masters Childhood Psychology Dissertation Chapter 3

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To What Extent Do Young Children Differ from Older Children in Their Interactions Linguistically, Socially, and Emotionally with Adults in Close Family Relationships?

Methodology

Project Design

In the following research study, the researcher or observer has adopted a quantitative research design to determine how young children are different from older children in their interactions with adults socially, linguistically, and emotionally in close family relationships. According to Maxwell (2012), the qualitative research design is an emotional, formal, and systematic process for acquiring information or data about the world presented theoretically and examined through patterns or trends.

On the other hand, Hennink, Hutter, and Bailey (2010) stated that qualitative research design is used to understand underlying opinions, reasons, and motivations. Moreover, it is indicated by Creswell and Poth (2017) that the qualitative research design considers the emotions and views of people and incorporates them in a study. The qualitative research design enables the investigator to collect data from participants while taking interviews and observing them in the natural phenomenon.

Qualitative research design is concerned with events, patterns, and participants’ relationship with the natural phenomenon (Corbin, Strauss, and Strauss, 2014). The reason behind selecting this project design is that it is helpful during the early phases of research when the researcher or examiner may be uncertain of what will be examined or what to focus on. Best and Kahn (2016) stated that qualitative research design is the primary research design as it gives the researcher the freedom to let the research outspread more naturally.

Another benefit of qualitative research is that it gives the researcher more rich and detailed data in comprehensive visual evidence or written descriptions. The researcher uses different qualitative research approaches such as case studies, observation, focus groups, and interviews. In this particular study, the researcher has adopted an observational research approach.

In the words of Ritchie et al. (2013), the observational research approach is an essential method of qualitative design. The researcher is determined to observe an event and its underlying reasons and trends. The researcher has used observational research to analyze the difference between young children and older children regarding their interaction with adults of close family relationships based on social, linguistic, and emotional behaviour.

Data Collection and Analysis Techniques

In this study, the researcher has adopted an observational research approach to determine the difference between young and older children concerning their interaction with adults. The researcher has used an observational technique for collecting the data to be interpreted. Flick (2014) stated that the observational approach is the essential type of data collection method in qualitative research design in which an investigator observes consistent or ongoing behaviour.

In particular, observational research is prevalent in psychology or social science. The observational approach for data collection is typically divided into participant observation and naturalistic observation. In naturalistic observation, the researcher does not intervene in the research. Naturalistic observation is particularly studying behaviours that happen naturally in natural contexts.

On the other hand, participant observation is also an essential type of observation in which research intervenes in the environment. More importantly, participant observation refers to interfering in the investigation to observe behaviour that could not be accessible by others.

In the following study, the researcher used a naturalistic observation approach to collect data by observing subjects present in their natural environments. The rationale behind selecting a naturalistic observational approach is that it helps the researcher observe natural behaviour without alerting subjects regarding the observation (Mehl, Robbins, and große Deters, 2012). The researcher was determined to analyze the difference between young and older children’s emotional, linguistic, and social behaviour while interacting with adults in close family relationships.

Thus, the researcher preferred to use a naturalistic observational approach for collecting data through observing video-recorded observations of sic children with the age group of 2 months, 4 months, 2 years and 8 months, 3 years and 5 years old. All of the six children were observed in 2 weeks in different positions of their natural environment.

The researcher recorded these observations in six short videos with a total duration of 45 minutes. The researcher used the naturalistic observational approach in this study to best suit collecting data from young children. They cannot participate in the research and respond to the researcher.

After collecting data through observing subjects in six short videos, the researcher was determined to analyze the collected data or observations. The researcher used field notes or coding of observation notes, which entails descriptions and details of observation made by observing children’s videos.

In addition to this, field notes are then analyzed based on the thematic analysis. Observations are analysed through three themes, including linguistic behaviour, social behaviour, and emotional behaviour of young and old children while interacting with adults in close family relationships. Vaismoradi, Turunen, and Bondas (2013) stated that the thematic analysis in the observational approach refers to examining, pinpointing, and recording themes or patterns within the collected data.

Themes are trends across data sets that are significant to the detail of a phenomenon and are related to a particular research question. The researcher used field notes or observational notes and made themes to analyze the difference between linguistic, emotional, and social behaviour of young children and old children while interacting with adults in close family relations.

The time was quite enough for the researcher to acquire the expected results. However, results might be improved if the videos’ time intervals were extended from 45 minutes to 1 hour. One of the research limitations encountered by the researcher was that the children were feeling disturbed while recording videos for more than 2 continuous minutes. Hence, the video was recorded in different intermittent intervals.

Findings and Summary of Key Findings

Based on field notes, three different themes have been made to analyze the difference between young and old children in terms of their emotional, linguistic, and social behaviour in interaction with adults in close family relationships, as mentioned demonstrated below:

Difference Between Young and Older Children in Terms of Linguistic Ability

Based on field notes, it has been identified that an infant of 2 months lacks emotional, social, and linguistic ability to interact with their parents and relatives. However, children of 4 months can communicate with their parents and relative by touching, smiling, and babbling. It has also been identified through videos that 1 year and 2 years and 8 months old children have developed their linguistic abilities or competencies to communicate with their close family members or relations.

A study conducted by Hart (2013) supported this observation. It stated that children in the first and second years of their lives are likely to interact with their peers to communicate their feelings and emotions. Furthermore, Weisleder and Fernald (2013) stated that developing linguistic ability promotes children’s early relations with their peers and family members.

In this regard, children’s observation revealed that the 3 years and 5 years of children have completely developed their linguistic abilities to communicate with their close family members. However, young children are more likely to communicate with their parents than other relatives and talkback immediately to parents than to other relatives.

On the other hand, younger children have been more communicative, open, and opinionated with their parents. They feel shy and hesitant while communicating with relatives compared to older children. It is stated by Siller, Hutman, and Sigman (2013) that younger children are more communicative and interactive and make better eye contact while interacting with their parents than older children and feel no distraction during communication.

On the contrary, the observations made through video recording revealed that older children are likely to respond only a few words like “Okay”, “yeah”, “no”, etc. Although older children have developed sufficient linguistic abilities, they are more responsive to other relatives than their parents and found more verbally courteous with other family relations.

In this regard, Durand (2011) stated that older children are likely to keep their opinions and beliefs while interacting with parents and relatives.  It has also been determined that older children usually avoid eye contact with peers and family-like rolling eyes and look away or downward.

Difference between Young and Older Children in terms of Emotional Expression

Based on observational notes regarding emotional expression in young and old children, it has been identified that young children tend to express their feelings and emotions like crying or laughing in front of their parents and other close family relations in comparison to older children.

According to a study conducted by Chen, Lin, and Li (2012), young children are highly emotional for their parents and relations and get emotional attachment easily compared to older children. The observational findings supported this study and indicated that more youthful children hug and greet parents more readily than older children.

This reflects that young children are more emotionally expressive as compared to older children. It has also been indicated that young children physically express affection to their parents, like touching and kissing. However, they often forget to greet relatives at relatives’ homes and require reminders from parents to greet and make eye contact with relatives.

In contrast, older children maintain neutral emotional expression while interacting with their relatives. Barry and Kochanska (2010) emphasized that older children are less emotionally expressive while communicating with peers and relatives than young children and are more conservative in terms of emotional expression or attachment.

Moreover, the findings gathered from field notes revealed that older children do not show affection and readily hug parents and other relatives. They often withhold overt expression or feeling of emotion when they are angry, upset or amused. In addition to this, it has also been determined that older children show their feelings to the younger children and try to keep their emotions hidden from the adults.

Difference between Young and Older Children in terms of Social Interactions

Regarding the behaviour of social interactions, the findings of the observational notes revealed that younger children had found more arguing with children of their age and less fighting and arguing with their parents or adults than older children. Besides, younger children are socially incapable and often require reminders to form their parents or peers for proper social behaviour, like not interrupting others.

While talking, close the mouth while chewing food, don’t talk while eating, and say thank you and please. In Sameroff (2010) study, it is mentioned that younger children require support from their parents and other family relatives for their social development and interaction. The observational notes revealed that the younger children feel affection for their moral and social support with one particular relative or parent, either mother or father.

On the contrary, the study’s findings revealed that older children are less connected with their parents or relatives as, after arriving at a relative’s home, they are likely to sit in a corner and use their phones. Additionally, it has been indicated that older children were usually withdrawn from conversation while sitting in a living area among relatives and parents. Pea et al. (2012) stated that older children avoid social interactions with their relatives and mostly spend time using phones. They are less likely to participate in the conversation with relatives.

The study’s findings indicated that older children have sufficient social skills but avoids social interactions with their relatives and show sarcastic behaviour to the parents compared to their relatives. Overall results of the study revealed that younger children are more emotionally expressive and have linguistic abilities than older children. They are likely to be socially connected with their relatives; however, they require social support from their parents in developing social skills appropriately.

Reflection

On the reflective account about the data collection process, I have found that data collection went effectively and acquired relevant and expected data from observing my nephew and niece in terms of their linguistic abilities, social interactions, and emotional expression while communicating with the adults.

The observation of subjects in 45 minutes of video recording enabled me to analyze how young children are different from older children in their interaction with adults based on social interactions, linguistic abilities, and emotional expression.

At the initial research stage, I had no sufficient research skills required to conduct the research. However, consistent support from my supervisor and reviewing sources regarding what type of data collection would be helpful for me in conducting this thorough research helped develop my research skills and acquire insight regarding the research process and data collection methods.

My observations related to the subjects have been going well, and I have observed that it is easier for me to know my subjects accurately.  The initial two days of observations were a bit infrequent, and sometimes the children were not attentive when they became frustrated for long periods of video shooting.

Overall, the data collection process went successfully, and I gathered sufficient data and information regarding the behavioural observation of linguistic competencies, social interactions, and emotional expression. The study’s findings revealed that data was analysed accurately and relevant results, as demonstrated in the previous studies and available literature.

However, children’s restrictions limited the study, and results might be improved if children were supportive and agreed on shooting video recording. The hardest part of the research was approaching children to engage in social activities and emotional associations to analyse their linguistic abilities, social interactions, and emotional expressions.

If I can repeat this research, I will use the interview as a data collection approach from parents, relatives, and children. Interviews with parents and relatives give the researcher more insight into the linguistic competencies, social communication, and emotional expressions for young and older children. In addition to this, the interview approach would allow me to analyze young and older children’s behaviour more precisely and accurately.

References

Barry, R.A. and Kochanska, G., 2010. A longitudinal investigation of the affective environment in families with young children: from infancy to early school age—emotion, 10(2), p.237.

Best, J.W. and Kahn, J.V., 2016. Research in education. Pearson Education.

Chen, F.M., Lin, H.S. and Li, C.H., 2012. The role of emotion in parent-child relationships: Children’s emotionality, maternal meta-emotion, and children’s attachment security. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21(3), pp.403-410.

Corbin, J., Strauss, A. and Strauss, A.L., 2014. Basics of qualitative research. Sage.

Creswell, J.W. and Poth, C.N., 2017. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.

Durand, T.M., 2011. Latina mothers’ cultural beliefs about their children, parental roles, and education: Implications for effective and empowering home-school partnerships. The Urban Review, 43(2), pp.255-278.

Flick, U., 2014. An introduction to qualitative research. Sage.

Hart, R.A., 2013.  Children’s participation: The theory and practice of involving young citizens in community development and environmental care. Routledge.

Hennink, M., Hutter, I. and Bailey, A., 2010. Qualitative research methods. Sage.

Maxwell, J.A., 2012. Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (Vol. 41). Sage publications.

Mehl, M.R., Robbins, M.L. and große Deters, F., 2012. Naturalistic observation of health-relevant social processes: The Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) methodology in psychosomatics. Psychosomatic Medicine, 74(4), p.410.

Pea, R., Nass, C., Meheula, L., Rance, M., Kumar, A., Bamford, H., Nass, M., Simha, A., Stillerman, B., Yang, S. and Zhou, M., 2012. Media use, face-to-face communication, media multitasking, and social well-being among 8-to 12-year-old girls. Developmental psychology, 48(2), p.327.

Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Nicholls, C.M. and Ormston, R. eds., 2013. Qualitative research practise: A guide for social science students and researchers. Sage.

Sameroff, A., 2010. A unified theory of development: A dialectic integration of nature and nurture. Child development, 81(1), pp.6-22.

Siller, M., Hutman, T. and Sigman, M., 2013. A randomised clinical trial, a parent-mediated intervention to increase responsive parental behaviours and child communication in children with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(3), pp.540-555.

Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H. and Bondas, T., 2013. Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing & health sciences, 15(3), pp.398-405.

Weisleder, A. and Fernald, A., 2013. Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological science, 24(11), pp.2143-2152.