The Journey Of Adulthood, 5/e Helen L. Bee & Barbara R. Bjorklund Chapter 1 Defining the Journey: Some Assumptions, Definitions, and Methods The Journey

The Journey Of Adulthood, 5/eHelen L. Bee & Barbara R. Bjorklund

Chapter 1 Defining the Journey: Some Assumptions, Definitions,

and Methods

The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Multiple Factors contribute to universal adult development and individual differences:

Biological Influences

Shared Experiences

Internal Change Processes

Cultural and Cohort Effects

Timing of Experiences



Biological Influences

● Some biologically influenced changes are universal (e.g., loss of muscle tone).

● Sequence of physical changes is highly similar.

● Rate of physical changes varies greatly from one individual to another.

● There are direct and indirect effects of biological change.



Shared Experiences

● Social clock produces shared changes by dictating timing and sequence of normal adult experiences.

● Age stratification is prominently seen in patterns of experience associated with marriage and family life.



Internal Change Processes

● Psychological changes result from biological and social clocks.

● Common tasks and biological changes create an agenda for psychological change.



Cultural and Cohort Effects

● Cultures are the social environment in which change takes place.

● Cultures vary enormously in expected life patterns.

● There are also significant variations in adult life experiences from one generation to the next within a given culture.



Cultural and Cohort Effects (cont’d)

● A cohort is a group of persons born within some narrow band of years.

● Explains the similarity in attitudes, values, skills, or life experiences of individuals within the same generation and differences in these dimensions across generations.

● Helps us differentiate between apparent age-related change and real developmental change.

● Has implications for research on development (Cohort effect).



Timing of Experiences

● On-time events are easier to cope with then off-time events.


Adult development is characterized by periods of stability.

Biological Factors

Environmental Factors



Biological Factors

● Heredity is a source of stability (e.g., personality patterns).



Environmental Factors

● Inherited qualities do not develop in a vacuum.

● Initial patterns are perpetuated by choices we make.


Basic terms relevant to the study of adulthood include:

Aging: The passage of years.

Maturation: Changes with age that are governed by underlying physiological processes and largely determined by genetic code (e.g., menopause).

Development: Systematic changes within an individual or group of individuals that results from the dynamic interaction between heredity and environment.

Change: Systematic process that occurs overtime. Includes patterns of both development and maturation, as well as both slow and continuous and more abrupt stage-like differences over time.


Choosing the appropriate research design is essential to the scientific study of development.

Cross-sectional Designs

Longitudinal Designs

Sequential Designs




● Includes different groups of subjects at different ages.

● Can tell us about potential age differences.

● Do not provide direct information regarding age-related changes.

● Limited by cohort effects.




Advantages:

● Relatively quick

● Highlight possible age differences

Disadvantages:

● Age and cohort are confounded.

● Cannot draw conclusions individual consistency and change over time.




● Solve many problems of cross-sectional studies.

● Follow the same subjects over time.




Advantages:

● Age and cohort not confounded.

● Changes seen can be inferred to be real changes.

● Non-change reflects real stability.

● Enable researcher to look at change or stability within individual.

Disadvantages:

● Selective attrition can weaken findings.

● Weakened by time-of-measurement effects.

● Often have smaller samples. The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.


Sequential Designs

● A family of research designs each of which involves either multiple cross-

sectional comparisons or multiple longitudinal comparisons, or both.

● Used to mitigate cohort and time-of-measurement effects.

● Time-Lag Design

● Time-Sequential Design

● Panel Studies



Sequential Designs

Advantages:

● Can analyze age changes and their variations.

● Separate the impact of unique cohort experiences from that of more enduring developmental patterns.

Disadvantages:

● Complex, expensive and time-consuming


Knowledge of strategies for collecting and analyzing data is important to understand research on adult development.

Subject Selection

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Study Type



Subject Selection

● Goal is sample that enables depth and generalizability of findings.

● Small samples increase depth of study but limit generalizability.

● Larger samples (if representative) can increase generalizability, but often limit

depth due to practical considerations (time, expense, etc.).



Data Collection

Observation

Interviews

Questionnaires

Standardized Tests



Data Analysis

● The two most common ways of looking at the results of studies of adult change and stability are: comparison of mean scores and correlational analysis.



Data Analysis

Comparison of Means:

● The means (averages) are analyzed to look for differences or continuities.

●Comparison of means can highlight possible age changes, but cannot determine stability or change within individuals.



Data Analysis

Correlational Analysis:

● A correlation indicates the extent to which two sets of scores covary.● Correlations (r) can range from +1.00 to –1.00.● A positive correlation shows that high scores on the two dimensions occur together.● A negative correlations tells us that high scores on one dimension go with low scores on the other.● The closer the number is to 1.00, the stronger the relationship.● Correlational analysis is the main tool used to identify continuities or discontinuities in individual patterns over adulthood.



Study Type

● The type of study that is used determines what conclusions can be formed.

Correlational Studies

Experimental Studies

Quasi-Experimental Studies



Study Type


Correlational Studies

● Can be very useful to show that two factors are related, but further studies are necessary to prove causality.



Study Type


Experimental Studies:

● If the group receiving the treatment shows a significant difference in the resulting measure (dependent variable), the experimenter can state that the independent variable caused the change in the dependent variable.

● Key to experimental design is random assignment of groups.



Study Type


Quasi-Experimental Studies:

● Conducted as if true experiments, but no random assignment of groups.

● Can provide valuable information, but can never tell us if the factor of interest causes the change in a dependent variable.


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The Journey Of Adulthood, 5/e Helen L. Bee & Barbara R. Bjorklund Chapter 1 Defining the Journey: Some Assumptions, Definitions, and Methods The Journey