In this article, we will discuss the Research Methods used in Life Span Psychology.
Research Methods used in Life Span Psychology are discussed as follows:
1) Longitudinal method: For the study of developmental changes in an individual or the same group, over a period of time, this method is useful. The same individual is tested at different age groups. For example, a case study of children behaviour in the classroom.
2) Cross-section method: This method studies the development changes by testing individuals of different ages at the same time only once. It helps to get the norms or standards of the typical pattern of development for a different age. This is a faster and cheaper method than the longitudinal method. It doesn’t loose subjects who drop out of the study since the subjects are tested only once. An example of this method is the eating behaviour of 5 years old.
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3) Sequential method: To overcome the drawback of longitudinal and cross-sectional methods this method was used. This is the best method that combines the longitudinal and cross-sectional methods. People in a cross-sectional sample are tested more than once and the results are analysed to determine the differences that show up over time for the different groups of subjects. This method gives a more realistic assessment.
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4) Time lag method: This method is studying the development of different age groups in different years to determine the effect of historical events on behaviour. This method is rarely used in developmental psychology because it takes a long time and large numbers of subjects are required and have to be the same age at the time of testing.
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