UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGYAREA OF STUDY 2LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH METHODS FOR STUDYING DEVELOPMENT

Longitudinal Studies / Cross-Sectional Studies

Twin Studies

Adoption Studies

Selective Breeding Experiments

LONGITUDINAL STUDIESA long-term investigation that follows the same group of people over an extended period of time, observing any changes in their thoughts, feelings and/or behaviour that occur at different ages

7-Up Series = an example of a longitudinal study of development

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES• Very useful in developmental

psychology• Examines consistencies and

inconsistencies in behaviour over time

• Studies ways in which early development may affect later development

• Can be very expensive to conduct

• Takes a long time to get results• Keeping in touch with the same

group over a long period of time is difficult

CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES

Selects and compares groups of participants of different ages over a short period of time

COHORT SEQUENTIAL METHOD:Combines the longitudinal and cross-sectional study (see Figure 4.21, pg.167)

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES• Relatively inexpensive to

conduct

• Easy to undertake

• Not too time-consuming

• Differences found between age groups may be due to factors other than age

• Generational influence (when you were born) is an extraneous variable

HOMEWORK

Learning Activity 4.16 (pg.167)

TWIN STUDIESIDENTICAL TWINS(MONOZYGOTIC TWINS) = single fertilised egg splits into two

they will have identical genes

FRATERNAL TWINS(DIZYGOTIC TWINS) = two separate eggs independently fertilised

not genetically identical, comparable to older brothers and sisters

HOMEWORK

Learning Activity 4.17 (pg.169)

ADOPTION STUDIESUsing information from research with children who have been adopted, and therefore have no genetic similarity to their adopted parents, to learn about the influence of heredity and environment on development

SELECTIVE BREEDING EXPERIMENTS

Selectively mating males and females from family lines with desired characteristics to increase the likelihood the offspring will have these same characteristics

EXAMPLES INCLUDEBREEDING HORSES FOR SPEEDBREEDING BIRDS TO HAVE PARTICULAR COLOUR FEATHERSBREEDING DOGS TO BE AGGRESSIVEBREEDING CATS TO HAVE CERTAIN TEMPERAMENTS

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL

HOMEWORK

Learning Activity 4.21 (pg.172)

Investigating The Influence Of Heredity & Environment On

Musical Ability

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

HOMEWORK

Chapter 4 – True/False Quiz (pg.174)Chapter 4 – Multiple Choice Test (pg.175)Chapter 4 – Short Answer Test (pg.176)