PSYCHOLOGY 2012: ADULT DEVELOPMENT & AGING KEY FEATURES OF DEVELOPMENT: MULTIDIRECTIONAL (increase/ decrease/both) MULTIDIRECTIONAL (increase/ decrease/both) PLASTIC (improvement, adaptation, environment) PLASTIC (improvement, adaptation, environment) ROLE OF TIME AND PLACE (history, culture) ROLE OF TIME AND PLACE (history, culture) MULTIPLE CAUSES (contributions of many disciplines: biology, sociology, anthropology, etc.) MULTIPLE CAUSES (contributions of many disciplines: biology, sociology, anthropology, etc.) Cannot study development in a vacuum.

Theories and Models: Theories concerned with description and explanation of age-related changes, e.g. drop in IQ scores in old age. Different areas (personality, moral development, etc.) rely on different theories. Theories concerned with description and explanation of age-related changes, e.g. drop in IQ scores in old age. Different areas (personality, moral development, etc.) rely on different theories. Example of theory: psychoanalytic Models cut across content areas and theories. They describe how a specific developmental process occurs and is organized (e.g. the decrement model says that aging means gradual loss). Models cut across content areas and theories. They describe how a specific developmental process occurs and is organized (e.g. the decrement model says that aging means gradual loss). Example of model: history-normative

Most Common Models: increment increment decrement (reversible or irreversible) decrement (reversible or irreversible) stability (no change with age) stability (no change with age) normative: normative: age-graded (biological or social) and age-graded (biological or social) and history-graded (environmental or biological) history-graded (environmental or biological) non-normative: non-normative: unique individual events unique individual events

Important: cohort effects: events that affect a cohort. Important: cohort effects: events that affect a cohort. Cohort: people born around the same time. Cohort: people born around the same time. Generation: 25 year cohort. Generation: 25 year cohort. Smaller cohorts: 5 or 10 years. Smaller cohorts: 5 or 10 years. Wars, famines, pandemics, affluence, etc. Wars, famines, pandemics, affluence, etc.

Time of measurement or period effects: Time of measurement or period effects: affects all ages, e.g. resettlement in NL, Great Depression, commercial flying, etc. affects all ages, e.g. resettlement in NL, Great Depression, commercial flying, etc. Common Issues Studied: Common Issues Studied: continuity vs. discontinuity of development continuity vs. discontinuity of development qualitative vs. quantitative change qualitative vs. quantitative change plasticity vs. rigidity plasticity vs. rigidity multidirectional vs. unidirectional change multidirectional vs. unidirectional change

DOING RESEARCH: Certain unique problems in developmental research: 1. Cannot do experiments: age as a variable cannot be manipulated. 2. Sampling: how random? Importance of SES and health status.

RESEARCH METHODS: Data collection: sampling difficulties. Data collection: sampling difficulties. Biased samples limit external validity: can’t generalize to the whole population. Biased samples limit external validity: can’t generalize to the whole population. Research population: all the individuals in the group you want to study. If very large, you draw a: Research population: all the individuals in the group you want to study. If very large, you draw a: Sample: randomly selected individuals from that population. Sample: randomly selected individuals from that population. Stratified random sample: including specific groups. Stratified random sample: including specific groups.

1. EXPERIMENTS: Manipulation of an independent variable (IV) causes changes in the dependent variable (DV). Main features of experiments: random assignment to conditions random assignment to conditions control group(s) control group(s) double-blind technique double-blind technique Common types of experiments: laboratory laboratory field field quasi-experiment or naturalistic (no control of IV) quasi-experiment or naturalistic (no control of IV)

2. CORRELATIONAL STUDIES: Correlation: association or relationship between two or more variables. Allow predictions but no cause-effect can be established. Allow predictions but no cause-effect can be established. Lack of random assignment: no internal validity Lack of random assignment: no internal validity Two designs based on correlations: cross-sectional cross-sectional longitudinal longitudinal

Cross-sectional: compares several groups of different ages. Advantages: fast, relatively inexpensive. Disadvantages: cohort effects: are the differences among groups due to age or to cohort?

Longitudinal: follows one group over time. Advantages: changes more clearly due to age. Disadvantages: long term, attrition, test-retest effects, expensive, possible age/time of measurement confound, i.e., period effects.

Some disadvantages overcome when using different combinations of both longitudinal and cross- sectional. Also, by using Time-lag design: hold age constant, vary time of measurement.

Sequential Designs: Cohort-Sequential: Cohort-Sequential: Longitudinal + Time Lag Longitudinal + Time Lag Time-Sequential: Time-Sequential: Cross-Sectional + Time Lag Cross-Sectional + Time Lag Cross-Sequential: Cross-Sequential: Cross-Sectional + Longitudinal Cross-Sectional + Longitudinal

Cohort-Sequential: Cohort-Sequential: age vs. cohort ignores historical time effects age vs. cohort ignores historical time effects Time Sequential: Time Sequential: age effects vs. historical or time of measurement age effects vs. historical or time of measurement ignores cohort effects ignores cohort effects Cross-Sequential: Cross-Sequential: cohort vs. time of measurement cohort vs. time of measurement ignores age effects ignores age effects

Schaie’s Most Efficient Design Also Called Combination or Trifactorial Schaie’s Most Efficient Design Also Called Combination or Trifactorial Schaie Adds: Schaie Adds: Independent Subjects Independent Subjects Possible confound for all repeated measurements: Possible confound for all repeated measurements: regression to the mean regression to the mean Drawbacks: Drawbacks: long, cumbersome, expensive long, cumbersome, expensive

3. Self-reports: letters, diaries, questionnaires and interviews. letters, diaries, questionnaires and interviews. Biases in questions: Social desirability Social desirability Yea/nay sayers Yea/nay sayers Biased wording Biased wording Biased interviewer/observer Biased interviewer/observer Cultural biases Cultural biases

4. Systematic Observations: naturalistic naturalistic laboratory laboratory 5.Case Studies (clinical method)

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: Childhood: Childhood: normative events most important (school, etc.). normative events most important (school, etc.). Adulthood: Adulthood: non-normative events accumulate leading to vast individual differences: the usual development theories don’t necessarily apply. non-normative events accumulate leading to vast individual differences: the usual development theories don’t necessarily apply. In adulthood chronological age is a much poorer guide to development studies. In adulthood chronological age is a much poorer guide to development studies. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

Mechanistic Theories: Mechanistic Theories: analogy to machine, computer. Individual is passive. External forces dominate development (e.g. S-R theories) analogy to machine, computer. Individual is passive. External forces dominate development (e.g. S-R theories) Organismic Theories: Organismic Theories: individuals are active, interact with the environment. Developmental change has a goal (e.g. Piaget) individuals are active, interact with the environment. Developmental change has a goal (e.g. Piaget) Dialectic Theories: Dialectic Theories: people interact with a constantly changing environment and they in turn change. Heavy emphasis on history-normative events: the development of someone born in 1890 is different from that of someone born in people interact with a constantly changing environment and they in turn change. Heavy emphasis on history-normative events: the development of someone born in 1890 is different from that of someone born in THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: Study age-related changes in roles within society. Examples: Study age-related changes in roles within society. Examples: how a 25-year old and a 70-year old interact, which also changes at different points in history. how a 25-year old and a 70-year old interact, which also changes at different points in history. how institutions respond to changing social conditions, e.g. divorce rate. how institutions respond to changing social conditions, e.g. divorce rate. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: Developmental patterns across cultures. Example: status of elderly in Japan and its effects on old people’s development. Developmental patterns across cultures. Example: status of elderly in Japan and its effects on old people’s development. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Examples: Changing role of families Changing role of families The word adulthood didn’t exist before 1870 The word adulthood didn’t exist before 1870 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

Approach Author(s) Associated with Approach Topical Area to Which Applied Behavioral, social learning PsychoanalyticHumanistic Individual differences Attribution Information processing DialecticalEcological Bandura (1969, 1977) Seligman (1972) Freud (1946) Erikson (1964, 1979) Maslow (1970) Kohlberg (1973, 1981) Cattell (1971), Horn (1982) Guildford, Zimmerman, and Guilford (1976) Schaie (1977/1978) Whitbourne (1985b) Sternberg (1980) Riegel (1975, 1976) Bronfenbrenner (1979) LearningMotivationPersonalityMotivationMotivation Moral development Intellectual development Personality Self-concept Social psychology Learning, Memory Personality, Life crises Person/environmentPhenomenological

BALTES’ THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE: Life-span approach: development takes a lifetime and each stage is equally important. Life-span approach: development takes a lifetime and each stage is equally important. Dynamic interaction between growth, maintenance and loss. Dynamic interaction between growth, maintenance and loss. Early phase (childhood and adolescence) and later phase (adulthood) have different progress: rapid and slower changes. Early phase (childhood and adolescence) and later phase (adulthood) have different progress: rapid and slower changes. Multidisciplinary approach needed. Multidisciplinary approach needed. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES