Methods and Models for Studying the Individual

Book excerpt: [Publisher-supplied data] 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.