longatudinal studies

• Longitudinal studies


  Same set of participants is followed over a longer period of time to examine areas such as developmental changes
• Longitudinal studies


  1. Repeat similar tasks once per year

  2. Do not directly manipulate any variables
• Longitudinal design


  • Allows analysis of how behaviour develops over time (eg throughout childhood) + long-term effects (eg of life events on development)
  • Individual differences between people in study are controlled as the same people are tracked over a set amount of time
  • Findings are more likely to be valid
• Longitudinal design (experiments)


  • There has to be some form of IV manipulation to see effects that has on the DV
  • Longitudinal part refers to a gap in time between a first recording of the DV (or baseline measure) + at least a second recording of the DV
  • Time gap can be days, weeks, or even months depending on what the VI manipulation is
  • Often used in clinical psychology settings to see whether following a specific therapeutic treatment is successful over time
• Strengths of longitudinal design

  • There is a baseline measurement that allows for a direct comparison of DV measures over time
  • This can allow an assessment if an intervention, for example, is working and/or when it began to work
  • These studies can yield rich + detailed qualitative data that provides a holistic view about behaviour under study