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1.5 RESEARCH IN LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT

1.5.1 Methods For Collecting Data

1. Observation
Naturalistic Observation - Scientific and systematic observation should
- means observing behavior
in real-world settings, be done: know who to observe; when, where,
making no effort to
manipulate or control the and how to observe; how to record the
situation
observation.

2. Survey and Interview

Survey - A standard set of - Quickest way to get information about

questions is used to obtain
peoples’ self-reported people is to ask them for it, and one
attitudes or beliefs about a technique is to interview them directly
particular topic.

- Survey (sometimes referred to as a

questionnaire), is especially useful when
information from many people is needed;
clear and unbiased, allowing respondents to
answer unambiguously

Standardized Test - A test 3. Standardized Test

with uniform procedures for
administration and scoring. - One criticism of standardized tests is that
Many standardized tests
allow a person’s performance they assume a person’s behavior is consistent
to be compared with the
performance of other and stable, yet personality and intelligence—
individuals.
two primary targets of standardized testing—
can vary with the situation.

4. Case Study
Case Study - An in-depth
look at a single individual - Case studies are performed mainly by mental
health professionals when, for either practical
or ethical reasons, the unique aspects of an
individual’s life cannot be duplicated and
tested in other individuals.
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5. Physiological Measures
Physiological Measures –
involves using hormone - Hormone levels are increasingly used in
levels, neuroimaging and
EEG in developmental developmental research.
research
- Cortisol is a hormone produced by the
adrenal gland that is linked to the body’s
stress level and has been measured in studies
of temperament, emotional reactivity, mood,
and peer relations (Bangerter & others, 2017).

- Also used is neuroimaging, especially

functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI), in which electromagnetic waves are
used to construct images of a person’s brain
tissue and biochemical activity

- Electroencephalography (EEG) is a
physiological measure that has been used for
many decades to monitor overall electrical
activity in the brain (Najjar & Brooker, 2017).

1.5.2 Research Designs

1. Descriptive Research

- Studies designed to observe and record

behavior.

2. Correlational Research

- Research that attempts to determine the

Correlation Coefficient –
A number based on statistical strength of the relationship between two or
analysis that is used to
describe the degree of more events or characteristics.
association between two
variables - The correlation coefficient ranges from −1.00
to +1.00. A negative number means an
inverse relation.

- The higher the correlation coefficient

(whether positive or negative), the stronger
the association between the two variables. A
correlation of 0 means that there is no
association between the variables.

3. Experimental Research
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- Used by researchers to study causality

Experiment – a carefully
regulated procedure in which - If the behavior under study changes when a
one or more factors believed
to influence the behavior
factor is manipulated, we say that the
being studied are manipulated factor has caused the behavior
manipulated while all other
factors are held constant to change. In other words, the experiment has
demonstrated cause and effect. The cause is
Independent- Variable a
manipulated, influential, the factor that was manipulated. The effect is
experimental factor. It is a
potential cause. The label the behavior that changed because of the
“independent” is used
because this variable can be
manipulation
manipulated independently
of other factors to determine - Experiments include two types of changeable
its effect.
factors, or variables: independent and
Dependent Variable – a dependent.
factor that can change in an
experiment, in response to
changes in the independent - Experiments can involve one or more
variable. experimental groups and one or more control
groups (Gravetter & Forzano, 2017).
Experimental group - is a
group whose experience is
manipulated. 1.5.3 Time Span Of Research

Control group - is a group 1. Cross-Sectional Approach

whose experience is
manipulated.
- A research strategy that simultaneously
compares individuals of different ages.

- The main advantage: the researcher does not

have to wait for the individuals to grow up or
Cross-sectional
Approach - A research become older.
strategy in which individuals
of different ages are
compared at one time. - Drawback: It gives no information about how
individuals change or about the stability of
their characteristics.

2. Longitudinal Approach

- For example, in a longitudinal study of life

satisfaction, the same adults might be
assessed periodically over a 70-year time
Longitudinal Approach -
strategy in which the same
span—at the ages of 20, 35, 45, 65, and 90, for
individuals are studied over a example.
period of time, usually
several years or more.
- Advantage: provide a wealth of information
about vital issues such as stability and change
in development and the influence of early
experience on later development

- Drawback: expensive and time-consuming;

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the longer the study lasts, the more

participants drop out—they move, get sick,
lose interest, and so forth

3. Cohort Effects

- Example of Cohort: Living through the

Vietnam war or growing up in the same City
around the same time. These shared
Cohort Effects -
Characteristics determined by a experiences may produce a range of
person’s time of birth, era, or
generation rather than the differences among cohorts (Ganguli, 2017;
person’s actual age. Messerlian & Basso, 2018; Schaie, 2016a, b).

- Cohort effects are important because they can

powerfully affect the dependent measures in
Cohort- a group of people who
are born at a similar point in a study ostensibly concerned with age
history and share similar
experiences as a result
(Grondahl & others, 2017; MacDonald &
Stawski, 2016).

- Cohort effects are due to a person’s time of

birth or generation but not actually to age

Can you pause for a while and recall what you’ve learned so
far?

1. What methods do researchers use in collecting data on life

span development?
2. How is research conducted on the time span of people’s
lives?

Reflect on your own Personal Journey of Life

Consider some ways that you are different from

your parents. Do you think some of your
differences might be due to cohort effects?
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Assessment No. 1
Answer the following questions and write your answers in the blank sheet
provided for you at the end of this unit. You may use another bond paper (A4) if
you need more. Detach the page as you will need to submit your answers. This
will serve as your assessment for the whole chapter. (This will be collected by
authorized persons upon distribution of the next part of module)

Test 1. Identification:

Identify what is asked or what is being described by the following sentences

of phrases.

1. The characteristic of life-span development that states that families, schools,

peer groups, churches, cities, neighborhood and social and cultural factors,
can influence the development of an individual

2. The pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through the life
span.

3. An approach to studying human development that believes it to be a lifelong

continuous process and doesn’t decline nor stop at certain stages

4. The nature of development that involves changes in the individual’s

relationships with other people, changes in emotions, and changes in
personality.

5. The developmental period from 3 through 5 years of age.

6. Theory of development that describes development as primarily unconscious.

7. Theory of development that believes that people go through four stages of

cognitive development as they actively construct their understanding of the
world.

8. Research that attempts to determine the strength of the relationship between

two or more events or characteristics.

9. Method of collecting data that involves using hormone levels, neuroimaging

and EEG in developmental research

10. A research strategy that simultaneously compares individuals of different

ages.
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Test II. Essay: (10 pts each.)

Explain thoroughly your answers to the following questions:

1. Differentiate Freud’s and Erickson’s theory of development.

2. Referring to your own development, which of the developmental issues do

you appreciate more? Why?

3. Observe any situation or event in your own house hold. Describe the
scenario and explain it in terms of the theories discussed in this chapter.
You may use 1 or two developmental theories that you think is applicable
or that can explain such scenario.

1.3 Reference
Santrock, J. W., (2019) Life-Span Development. 17th Ed. McGraw Hill

1.4 Acknowledgment
The images, tables, figures and information contained in this module were taken from the
reference cited above.
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Assessment No. 1: The Life Span

Perspective Date: _______________

Name: _________________________________ Course, Year & Section: _____________

Instructor: ______________________________

Test I.

1. _____________________
2. _____________________
3. _____________________
4. _____________________
5. _____________________
6. _____________________
7. _____________________
8. _____________________
9. _____________________
10._____________________

Test II. Essay.