UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY AREA OF STUDY 2 LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH METHODS FOR STUDYING DEVELOPMENT Longitudinal Studies / Cross-Sectional Studies Twin Studies Adoption Studies Selective Breeding Experiments

LONGITUDINAL STUDIES A 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

Learning Activity 4.16 (pg.167) HOMEWORK

TWIN STUDIES IDENTICAL TWINS FRATERNAL 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

Learning Activity 4.17 (pg.169) HOMEWORK

ADOPTION STUDIES Using 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 INCLUDE BREEDING HORSES FOR SPEED BREEDING BIRDS TO HAVE PARTICULAR COLOUR FEATHERS BREEDING DOGS TO BE AGGRESSIVE BREEDING CATS TO HAVE CERTAIN TEMPERAMENTS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL

Learning Activity 4.21 (pg.172) HOMEWORK

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY Investigating The Influence Of Heredity & Environment On Musical Ability

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