To obtain reliable data in psychology, a number of special methods of psychological research are used. Sometimes their duration can take 10 or more years, as, for example, in the case of a longitudinal study. This is an organizationally unique study of the same people over an extended period of time, of extraordinary value.
Classification of psychological research methods
According to A. G. Maklakov, in domestic psychology the methodological approach of B. G. Ananiev to the study of the human psyche is one of the most popular. The following methods were allocated to them:
- Organizational: this is a longitudinal study, comparative, comprehensive.
- Empirical: observational, experimental, psychodiagnostic, praximetric, biographical and modeling.
- Data processing: qualitative analysis,quantitative analysis.
- Interpretational: genetic, structural.
Most often in workshops and teaching aids you can find descriptions of individual methods or their lists recommended for use in various psychodiagnostic purposes. The presented classification has a certain degree of generalization and completeness. B. G. Ananiev laid the foundation for the stages of scientific research: preparatory, research, data processing and interpretation. Multi-aspect and multi-level classification proposed by B. G. Ananiev, continues to remain relevant today.
Value of longitudinal research in psychology
The independent value of longitudinal research is the ability to predict the course of a person's mental development. This method originates in child and developmental psychology. It was within the framework of these directions that they first began to use long-term observation of the development of the same group of children - the so-called method of longitudinal sections. It has become a good alternative to the widely used cross-sectional methods that determine the state and levels of development.
The hypothesis underlying the longitudinal study is the idea that human development is determined by a number of factors. These include his age, biology, personal and historical events, environmental conditions.
Longitudinal research is a very long-term and labor-intensive method that involves a systematic study of someand the same subjects. It allows you to determine the ranges of the phases of the human life cycle in relation to age and individual variability. According to B. G. Ananiev, the longitudinal method of research ultimately produces a set of individual monographs and psychological portraits of the subjects.
There is a large longitudinal - lasting 10 years or more, and a small one - the conditional boundaries of which are several years. However, it is believed that for short periods its use is not so effective. In long longitudinal, it is important to provide for a certain margin when forming a sample due to its inevitable reduction due to various life factors.
In psychology, a longitudinal study provides high accuracy in predicting further development, since analysis and comparison occur within the same group of people, it determines the genetic relationships between the phases of a person's mental development. When using this method, distortions associated with intergroup differences in compared samples of different ages are eliminated.
Benefits
The longitudinal method has a number of advantages. Since the study is conducted on the same sample of subjects, the focus of attention is directed to the internal changes of the individual. For each person, they occur in different ways and at different speeds. This method makes it possible to compare subjects from a given sample with each other and to compare changes occurring under the influence of various external conditions. Taken together, this makes it possible to qualitatively explain the changesthat occur with age, and makes it possible to scientifically based prediction of the further course of mental development.
Flaws
The longitudinal method has significant drawbacks. These include large time costs. It takes a very long time to complete the study. The theoretical and methodological base that was used at the initial stage may become outdated, technical difficulties in the analysis may arise, and there is a high probability of dropping out of subjects. For various reasons, they may withdraw from the study or become unreachable. The Hawthorne effect often occurs.
The Hawthorne Effect
The effect got its name from Hawthorn Works, where it was discovered during research. In 1927-1932, the visiting scientist E. Mayo and his team studied the reasons for the decline in productivity in one of the shops. They took into account several variables that could have such an impact, and came to the unexpected conclusion that another variable was needed - participation in the experiment.
Thoughts about the importance of what was happening, a sense of belonging, increased attention from strangers led to a significant improvement in the performance of company employees even when there were no other objective favorable circumstances.
The Hawthorne effect indicates some qualitative changes in the phenomenon under study, due only to the very fact of observation, in particular, positive changes in people's behavior with increased attention tothemselves and their work. Knowing that they are being watched, they strive to live up to expectations, try to look their best. This phenomenon symbolizes a significant distortion of the research results due to increased attention to the object of study.
Taking into account the above advantages and disadvantages, we can safely say that a longitudinal study is a wonderful method for in-depth study of the dynamics of mental development processes, which makes it possible to further forecast and develop psychological support programs during crisis periods in a person's life.
