HDFS 201 LECTURE 3 Developmental Research Methods Theories of Human Development Why Science is NOT Objective Developmental Overview From a Psycho Social perspective development is all about SELF to OTHER orientation Developing a sense of self Self Concept Self Esteem Identity Losing Egocentrism for Allocentrism Theory of Mind Empathy Altruism Maturity moves through intimacy into generativity Sharing the self with others to making others wellbeing your focus In Our Culture We Rely Heavily On the Scientific Method Research is an excellent basis for knowing things What are some other ways of knowing that may be just as valid What are some things that you KNOW for sure but your knowledge is not based on research You know your parents love you Operate now save boy s life knew he needed surgery based on his eyes Research studies are ONE very important but NOT the only way to know something sometimes we devalue other ways of knowing in our technologically advanced culture A seldom questioned cultural value Developmental Research Studies how people change across time and what age related variables are associated with those changes Independent variable what the experimenter manipulates Chronological age you can t manipulate age but you can compare people of different ages Contexts of development It wouldn t be ethical to assign people to the situation manipulating them but you find people already in those contexts Dependent variables are usually selected physical and psychological measures Some Important Constructs Age cohort and time of measurement are central to every study of human development Age effects differences between individuals due to biological psychological or socio cultural processes over time Age is correlated with but does NOT cause development As you age you have encountered more situations that cause your development which is why you can have a very immature 20 year old Cohort Effects Cohort a group of people born at the same general time Because you are going through the different predictable developmental processes with people of the same age socio culture is affecting you Cohort effects differences between individuals that are the result of experiences and circumstances are unique to a person s particular generation Older people might question why women are going to college if they are just going to get married anyway Time of Measurement Effects Differences due to social environmental historical or other events that have occurred at the time that data are collected Being asked if you like the weather in January versus July Being asked about parental relationships and if you haven t seen your dad in a while you d be negative but if you were asked a few days after you saw him you d be more positive Cross Sectional Research Most frequently used Observe people of different ages cohort at the same time Example compare 3 separate groups of 20 30 40 year olds Study of AGE DIFFERENCES You are comparing and contrasting these people of different ages These studies ask if people of different ages are different on some regard Advantages Quick publish or perish Easy Cover large age span in short time more people to study Good overview of development Relatively inexpensive Disadvantages Tells you NOTHING about individual change only age differences Ifyou retheaverage20 year old it doesn t mean you re going to be the average 30 year old It doesn t talk about change just about differences Total confound of age and cohort effects cannot determine if differences are due to age differences or cohort differences Why do Cross Sectional Research quick gross overview of developmental trends Longitudinal Research Follow the same group of people across time can be an individual or a group Used to study AGE CHANGES How did an individual change from time x to time y Links earlier behavior or developmental status to later outcomes Advantages Studies AGE CHANGES Early to late linkages Truly developmental Disadvantages Time effort tracking Publish or perish Only one cohort Time of measurement problems a lot of things could happen in the next x years History has much opportunity to exert itself on you Test retest issues if same test if you give the same test they will probably do better the second time if different test may not be equivalent Selection hard to generalize the population of people who are willing to be part of a 10 year study Attrition or drop out May not be relevant anymore Yeah that s how career development was in 2015 but now that it s 2065 do you really think it s the same Then why do longitudinal research It s the only way to study AGE CHANGES Time Lag Designs Study people the same age born at different times Answers question Do they make then like they used to Studies the effects of history or cohort Sequential Designs Combine cross sectional longitudinal and time lag components in a single research design Complex expensive rare Still have the same problems characteristic of those studies still hard to answer is this the cohort effect or generation effect Research CONCLUSIONS No research is perfect It is possible to design and recognize good research Multiple approaches studies and samples needed What exactly is a theory Theory a set of concepts and propositions designed to organize describe and explain a set of observations Observations facts do not organize or explain themselves Children all over the world at age 1 are beginning to say words This is a fact But why You need a theory to explain why or how they speak