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For gathering data about individuals or groups at different developmental levels, researchers can use two related research designs: longitudinal and cross-sectional.

A longitudinal study is one that measures a behavior or a characteristic of an individual over a period of time, perhaps decades. An example of such a study is the Berkeley Growth Study begun in 1928 by Nancy Bayley. The study focused on a group of 74 white, middleclass newborns. As they grew older, extensive measures of their intellectual, personality,and motor development were recorded. The subjects were studied for more than thirty years.

The longitudinal research design is a powerful technique for seeking understandings of the effects of early experiences on later development. Also, differences in or stability of behaviors or characteristics at different ages can be determined. Longitudinal studies, however, are expensive to conduct, time-consuming, and heavily contingent on the patience and persistence of the researchers. The findings of a longitudinal study may be jeopardized by relocation of subjects to another part of the country and by boredom or irritation at repeated testing. Another disadvantage is that society changes from one time to another and the subjects participating in the study reflect to some degree such changes. The methods of study or the questions guiding the researchers may also change from one time to another. If properly conducted, however, longitudinal studies can produce useful, direct information about development.

A cross-sectional study is one in which subjects of differing ages are selected and compared on a specific behavior or characteristic. They are alike with respect to socioeconomic status, sex, or educational level. For example, a researcher may be interested in looking at changes in intelligence over a thirty-year period. Three groups of subjects, ages ten, twenty, and thirty, may be selected and tested. Conclusions are drawn from the test data.

The cross-sectional research design has the clear advantage of being less expensive to conduct and certainly less time-consuming. The major disadvantage is that different individuals who make up the study sample have not been observed over time. No information about past influences on development or about age-related changes is secured. Like longitudinal studies, the cross-sectional methods cannot erase the generational influence that exists when subjects studied are born at different time. Psychologists are now beginning to use an approach that combines longitudinal and cross-sectional research methods.

47．Which of the following is NOT one of the disadvantages of a longitudinal research?

A．The subjects may become irritated at repeated testing.

B．The participants in the study may not stay in one place for many years.

C．The behavior of a subject in the study may be measured continuously for many years.

D．Social changes may be reflected in the behaviors of the subjects participating in the study.

48．The word "contingent" in the third paragraph probably means ______.

A．dependent        B．consecutive        C．determined        D．continual

49．Which of the following statements is true?

A．The subjects in a cross-sectional research are not of the same age group.

B．The methods of study in longitudinal research will not change over time.

C．Longitudinal research is reliable only in seeking understandings of the effects of early experiences on later development.

D．Cross-sectional methods are not usually adopted in studying, for example, the changes in intelligence over a thirty-year period.

50．One of the differences between cross-sectional research and longitudinal research is that ______.

A．the latter usually focuses on only one subject, while the former involves groups of subjects

B．the former can be free from the influence of social changes

C．the latter can be free from the influence of social changes

D．the former costs less money and takes less time

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