Methods and Models for Studying the Individual

1. Auflage 1998
ISBN: 978-0-7619-1452-5
Verlag: Sage Publications, Inc.

Buch, Englisch, 320 Seiten, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 407 g

An international cast of the top names in developmental research explore how researchers can use group data to understand individual patterns and pathways over time. Since the dominant statistical models and sampling methods do not accurately reflect and capture the way in which individuals change, but rather statistically treat the individual as an unchanging constant (e.g., as if a 2-year-oldÆs personality is identical to a 30-year-oldÆs). After an introduction to this methodological dilemma, the book shows how empirical procedures can be employed in a stepwise progression to permit a focus on individual children. The next chapter explains how individuals versus variables are not stable over time and how to adjust analysis to reflect this. This is followed by a discussion that outlines some of the key technical details and illustrates the choices that confront researchers in the application of these procedures to longitudinal data sets. Subsequent chapters cover such issues as the value of methodological focus on extreme groups, such as fearful and very exuberant children; ways to analyze personality changes over time, how to combine the strengths of variable-oriented and categorical procedures to achieve a focus on individuals; how to correlate retrospective reports with actual events, and how developmental methods can be brought into line with the study of individual pathways. Each chapter is followed by a commentary and discussion by Marian Radke Yarrow. Methods and Models for Studying the Individual offers readers a guide for evaluating the methodological merits of the different strategies for studying individuals.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bergman, Lars

Cairns, Robert B.

Kagan, Jerome

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein Empirische Sozialforschung, Statistik
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Entwicklungspsychologie Kinder- und Jugendpsychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Kognitionspsychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Differentielle Psychologie, Persönlichkeitspsychologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Lawfulness in Individual Development - Robert B Cairns, Jerome Kagan and Lars R Bergman
Through Categories towards Individuals - Robert A Hinde
Attempting To Tease Apart the Data
The Logic and Implications of a Person-Oriented Approach - David Magnusson
The Value of Extreme Groups - Jerome Kagan, Nancy Snidman and Doreen Arcus
A Pattern-Orientated Approach to Studying Individual Development - Lars R Bergman
Snapshots and Processes
The Individual in Context - Joan Stevenson-Hinde
The Typological Approach to Studying Personality - Richard W Robins, Oliver P John and Avshalom Caspi
Levels of Longitudinal Data Differing in Complexity and the Study of Continuity in Personality Characteristics - Lea Pulkkinen
A Prospective Replication of Developmental Pathways in Disruptive and Delinquent Behavior - Rolf Loeber et al
Retrospective Recall Recalled - Sir Michael Rutter et al
Phenomena Regained - Robert B Cairns and Philip C Rodkin
From Configurations to Pathways