UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

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UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

• AREA OF STUDY 2
• LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT

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RESEARCH METHODS FOR STUDYING DEVELOPMENT

• Longitudinal Studies / Cross-Sectional Studies
• Twin Studies
• Adoption Studies
• Selective Breeding Experiments

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LONGITUDINAL STUDIES

• A long-term investigation that follows the same
  group of people over an extended period of time,
  observing any changes in their thoughts, feelings
  and/or behaviour that occur at different ages
• 7-Up Series an example of a longitudinal study
  of development

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Very useful in developmental psychology Examines consistencies and inconsistencies in behaviour over time Studies ways in which early development may affect later development Can be very expensive to conduct Takes a long time to get results Keeping in touch with the same group over a long period of time is difficult
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CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES

• Selects and compares groups of participants of
  different ages over a short period of time
• COHORT SEQUENTIAL METHOD
• Combines the longitudinal and cross-sectional
  study
• (see Figure 4.21, pg.167)

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Relatively inexpensive to conduct Easy to undertake Not too time-consuming Differences found between age groups may be due to factors other than age Generational influence (when you were born) is an extraneous variable
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HOMEWORK

• Learning Activity 4.16 (pg.167)

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TWIN STUDIES

• IDENTICAL TWINS
• (MONOZYGOTIC TWINS) single fertilised egg
  splits into two
• they will have identical genes
• FRATERNAL TWINS
• (DIZYGOTIC TWINS) two separate eggs
  independently fertilised
• not genetically identical, comparable to
  older brothers and sisters

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HOMEWORK

• Learning Activity 4.17 (pg.169)

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ADOPTION STUDIES

• Using information from research with children who
  have been adopted, and therefore have no genetic
  similarity to their adopted parents, to learn
  about the influence of heredity and environment
  on development

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SELECTIVE BREEDING EXPERIMENTS

• Selectively mating males and females from family
  lines with desired characteristics to increase
  the likelihood the offspring will have these same
  characteristics
• EXAMPLES INCLUDE
• BREEDING HORSES FOR SPEED
• BREEDING BIRDS TO HAVE PARTICULAR COLOUR FEATHERS
• BREEDING DOGS TO BE AGGRESSIVE
• BREEDING CATS TO HAVE CERTAIN TEMPERAMENTS
• PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL

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HOMEWORK

• Learning Activity 4.21 (pg.172)

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Investigating The Influence Of Heredity
Environment On Musical Ability

• EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

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HOMEWORK

• Chapter 4 True/False Quiz (pg.174)
• Chapter 4 Multiple Choice Test (pg.175)
• Chapter 4 Short Answer Test (pg.176)