Exploring schoolchildren’s development in real life using ambulatory assessment and virtual environments

Blume, F.¹, Gawrilow, C.¹, Kühnhausen, J.¹, Reuter, M.¹, Schwarz, U.^1
1Department of Psychology, School Psychology, University of Tübingen, Germany

 

Submission type

Oral and Poster

Scheduled

Room 107, 12-07-2019, 14:00 - 15:30

Keywords

self-regulation, ambulatory assessment, virtual environment, development, variability

Summary

School psychological research is concerned with children’s development in academic contexts. As such, it is interested in the development of cognitive skills (e.g., executive functions such as working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility) that subserve the self-regulation of behavior, motivation, emotions, and thoughts (i.e., paying attention and sitting still when required, completing even challenging tasks, dealing with frustration, coping with peers). Self-regulation is thus considered an important prerequisite for academic and social success.  

Ambulatory assessment (AA) comprises computer-assisted methods to study subjects in their natural environments (e.g., smartphones, accelerometers). As such, it minimizes retrospective bias while allowing to collect data in ecologically valid settings. Virtual reality (VR), in contrast, allows to experimentally manipulate naturalistic contexts similar to real-life ones, which are however computer-generated. Thus, they allow to examine variations in cognition and behavior across standardized contexts. The herewith proposed workshop aims to provide insights into AA and VR as they are currently employed by school psychological research to study self-regulation. Additionally, it aims to illustrate these methods’ potentials for school psychological practice.

Note: Pending acceptance, we prefer to present on July 12th.

Auteurs