What is a longitudinal study?
- Data collected repeated over time,
- same participants at multiple points over a time period
What is a cross sectional study?
- snapshot in time
- one group of pp representing one section of society are compared to participants from another group
- working and middle class
Evaluate cross sectional
+ cheap, practical, quick
+ easy to obtain participants
+ more ethical
- less detailed data collected compared to longitudinal
- difficult to assess trends, snapshot in time
Evaluate longitudinal
+ same group of participants followed through the study, participant variables do not affect data collected
+ good for spotting Trent’s
- participants may no longer want to participate
- risk of withdrawal
- expensive
Sample of kohlberg
- 75 American boys
- 10/16 - 22/28
- studied from GB, Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, Turkey
Methodology
- use of interviews to assess moral reasoning of boys
- qualitative data
- longitudinal study over 12 years, meeting every 3 years
- cross cultural comparisons, studied in GBMCTT
Procedure
- Kohlberg created nine hypothetical moral dilemmas
- each dilemma presenting a conflict between two moral issues
- open ended questions about dilemmas
- three of the dilemmas were discussed prompted by a set of 10 or more open ended question’s
- following analysis of boys answers, common themes were identified and supported the stage theory
What was the Heinz Dilemma
- Woman near death cancer
- drug which costed £2000
- could only get £1000
- Heinz breaks in
- should he of done that?
Findings of Kohlberg
- participants progressed through the stages as they aged
- no regression in stages, only going up
- same results in Mexico and Taiwan, but slower rate
Conclusions of kohlberg
- states were invariant and universal
- some individuals may not reach final stage
- children at particular stage of development may progress when confronted by views of a child one stage along. Child from one stage along will not regress
Evaluation of kohlberg sample
+ cross cultural comparisons, more population validity
- mostly western culture
- only American boys
Evaluation of kohlberg methodology
+ longitudinal, shows development
- long, expensive, loss of contact
+ cross cultural, allows us to see moral development is universal
- changed Taiwanese dilemma from drugs to food
+ interviews allowing boys to give reasoning on dilemmas
- social desirability bias
- difficult for younger boys to grasp the idea of a wife
- only hypothetical
Evaluation of kohlberg of ethics
- right to withdraw, children may feel obliged to stay in study for 12 years
- too young to understand study, may not understand they can leave
- no informed consent, assumed that parents gave consent
+ dilemmas were just hypothetical, less harmful than putting children in real
- issues if harm, dilemmas were sensitive and may be stressful to children
Gender bias kohlberg
Gilliagan (1982) male morality may be different to female
Male = justice
Female = relationships
