PSY 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5.1: Habituation, Motor Coordination, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Document Summary
Compares groups of individuals of different ages at the same time. Advantages: it is quick and there is no risk of confusing age effects with effects of changes in society. Disadvantages: there is a risk of sampling error by getting different kinds of people at different ages and there is risk of cohort effects. Follows a single group of individuals as they develop. Advantages: there is no risk of sampling differences, you can study effects of one experience or later development, and you can study consistency within individuals over time. Disadvantages: it takes a long time, some participants quit, and sometimes it is hard to separate effects from changes in society. Selective attrition is the tendency for certain kinds of people to drop out of a study: health problems, moving far away, loss of interest. Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal study where a researcher starts with people of different ages and studies them at later times.
