339 Chapter 2

cohort

a generation of individuals who were born at about the same time, either in a particular year, or within a circumscribed time such as 5 years

contextual metamodel

emphasizes both nature and nurture and that the organism and the environment are continually interacting

cross-sectional research design

a type of research design in which you collect data from many different individuals at a single point in time

descriptive approach

a research method that described the characteristics of the population or phenomenon studied

ecological validity

whether the results obtained with a particular test instrument reflect real-world functioning or real-world behaviour

experimental approach

involves manipulating one variable to determine if this causes changes in another variable

external validity

refers to whether findings obtained from a sample of study participants can be generalized to the population of interest

heterotypic continuity

refers to whether a measure used to assess an underlying characteristic has the same degree of internal validity for different age groups in a cross-sectional study, or for the same people as they are followed over time in a longitudinal study

internal validity

refers to the accurate identification and interpretation of the factor(s), or effect(s), responsible for an observation

life-span developmental perspectives

holds that patterns of change and transition occur throughout the working life

longitudinal research design

the same individuals are followed over time and tested on two or more occasions

mechanistic metamodel

uses a machine metaphor to study development

mega-analytic approach

combines raw data across a variety of studies

meta-analytic approach

synthesizes summary statistics obtained from a variety of individual studies, yielding a quantitative summary of findings

multifactor research design

research with more than one categorical variable

negative correlation

a relationship between 2 variables in which an increase in one variable is associated with a decrease in the other

positive correlation

a relationship between 2 variables in which an increase in one variable is associated with a increase in the other

quasi-experimental approach

a study with the same form as a true experiment but research participants are not randomly assigned to levels of a categorical factor

reliability

the dependability or consistency of the instruments used to measure variables of interest

selective attrition

the tendency of some people to be more likely to drop out of a study than others

sequential research designs

include elements of both longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs

single-factor research design

investigate the effect of one factor on the dependent variable

time of measurement

conditions that prevail when the research is conducted

time-lag research design

individuals of a particular chronological age are tested art two different times, usually years or decades apart

validity

how well the results among the study participants represent true findings among similar individuals outside the study