Purpose
A good way to understand how an individual changes over the lifespan is to observe them. However, that takes a long time. An alternative research method that is often used in developmental psychology is a cross-sectional design, where different individuals, at various stages of the lifespan, are studied all at once. The purpose of this assignment is to help you identify and understand the theories and concepts of lifespan psychology using the cross-sectional research method with three individuals at various stages of the lifespan. You will interview each individual and collect raw data (i.e., interview notes) and provide that raw data as well as a summary report that focuses on how this individual exemplifies an aspect of developmental psychology.
Directions
You will be assigned a partner for this project. The two of you will then choose three people to interview from different developmental stages. For each of those people, you will be focused on one domain of lifespan psychology (i.e., physical, cognitive, or social). Since you will be conducting interviews, you can choose any individual who can carry on a conversation. (Yes, young children can carry on a conversation.) For each individual, after you ask a set of common preliminary interview questions (see the following list), you will also ask five domain-specific questions that you develop.
Common Preliminary Interview Questions (should be asked to everyone):
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What is your name?
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How old are you?
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How do you spend most of your time?
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Please tell me about something that is important to you.
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Please tell me about an accomplishment you are proud of.
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Please tell me about something you are looking forward to.
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Please share with me a very important event in your life. Why was it important?
Your final submitted paper will have three sections:
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Developmental Reports (3)
Part 3: Interview Notes from each report (3)
Part 1: Introduction
Please begin your final report with the following information:
Student 1:
Student 2:
Interviewee name and relationship | Developmental stage | Developmental domain | Specific theory or content | |
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Individual 1 | (blank) | (blank) | (blank) | (blank) |
Individual 2 | (blank) | (blank) | (blank) | (blank) |
Individual 3 | (blank) | (blank) | (blank) | (blank) |
Part 2: Developmental Reports
Begin by listing the five (or more) questions that you came up with to better understand some specific lifespan psychology content (i.e., theory or principle). Then write a 500- to 1,000-word report that illustrates your insights and knowledge about the developmental domain. Review the following example.
Developmental Report 1
Individual: Jane Doe, grandmother
Developmental Stage: Late adulthood
Developmental Domain: Social Specific Theory or Content: Erikson’s Integrity vs. Despair
Questions:
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Example: Looking back, how do you feel about the course of your life to now?
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(blank)
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(blank)
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(blank)
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(blank)
Erikson’s integrity vs. despair in Jane Doe (500 to 1,000 words)
Part 3: Interview Notes
These should be typed notes from your interview sessions. They need not be of essay-quality. Bullet points are acceptable.
*Hint: It is highly recommended that you have one student take notes while the other student fully engages in the interview. You must both be present for all three interviews.
Materials
None required.