age effects One of the three fundamental effects examined in developmental research, along with cohort and time-of-measurement effects, which reflects the influence of time-dependent processes on development. ageism The untrue assumption that chronological age is the main determinant of human characteristics and that one age is better than another. biological forces One of four basic […]

1.1 Perspectives on Adult Development and Aging • What are the premises of the life-span perspective? • How are population demographics changing around the world, and what difference does it make? 1.2 Issues in Studying Adult Development and Aging • What are the four basic forces in human development? • What are the major characteristics […]

What approaches do scientists use to measure behavior in adult development and aging research? • Measures used in research must be reliable (measure things consistently) and valid (measure what they are supposed to measure). • Systematic observation involves watching people and carefully recording what they say or do. Two forms are common: naturalistic observation (observing […]

What four main forces shape development? • Development is shaped by four forces. Biological forces include all genetic and health-related factors. Psychological forces include all internal perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and personality factors. Sociocultural forces include interpersonal, societal, cultural, and ethnic factors. Life-cycle forces reflect differences in how the same event or combination of biological, psychological, […]

Creating sound social policy requires good informa­tion. Elected officials and others who create policy rely on research findings to provide the basis for pol­icy. In terms of social policies affecting older adults, the data obtained through the use of the research designs discussed earlier are critical. For example, research such as Schaie’s research on intellectual […]

Choosing a good research design involves more than just selecting a particular method. Researchers must determine whether the methods they plan on using are ethical. That is, when designing a research study, investigators must do so in a way that does not violate the rights of people who participate. To verify that every research project […]

Who was the investigator and what was the aim of the study? In the 1950s, little information was available concerning longitudinal changes in adults’ intellectual abilities. What there was showed a developmental pattern of relative stability or slight decline, quite different from the picture of substantial across-the-board decline obtained in cross-sectional studies. To provide a […]

Several times in the past few pages, we’ve emphasized the value of using different methods to study the same phenomenon. The advantage of this approach is that conclusions are most convincing when the results are the same regardless of method. In reality, though, findings are often inconsis­tent. Suppose, for example, many researchers find that people […]

Once the general design is chosen, most gerontolo­gists must decide how to measure possible changes or age differences that emerge as people develop. Forexample, if we want to know how people continue (or fail) to use imagery or lists in remembering gro­cery items as they get older, we will want to use a design that […]

Having selected the way we want to measure the topic of interest, researchers must embed this mea­sure in a research design that yields useful, relevant results. Gerontologists rely on primary designs in planning their work: experimental studies, correla­tional studies, and case studies. The specific design chosen for research depends in large part on the questions […]