Psychology has always been distinguished by a large number of original methods of influencing an individual under certain conditions, interacting with a person or working with a person’s state of mind. Various technologies were developed in order to facilitate the existence of the individual in society, as well as for the development of empirical skills for each person. The higher the level of such skills, the more stable the psychological state, as well as the higher the degree of well-being of the individual.
A fairly large part of the experiments is carried out in the context of cross-sectional research in psychology. This method is especially popular not only because of the involvement of fairly large groups of people of different ages, but also because of the exact results that result from scientific experiments. With the passage of time and the development of psychology, which is an interdisciplinary branch of scientific knowledge, the method of longitudinal and transverse sections becomes more and more popular, as society is gradually moving into the sphere of universal humanism. In addition, the main value of the new generation is considered to be the mental and psychological health of each individual.
Cross section method
This method, developed in the late sixties of the last century, still remains one of the most effective and efficient methods of interviewing groups of different ages. A distinctive feature of the methodology is that the empirical survey itself is carried out only once, but it extends to several groups of people belonging to different age categories, which allows researchers to see the socio-age picture of human reactions to a particular theoretical statement. The age of the subjects usually becomes a reference point and a common variable for the entire study, and the characteristics studied are recognized as depending on the common denominator of the results.
Fashion creator
The “forefather” of the method of cross-sections in psychology can rightly be considered the French scientist, political scientist and sociologist Rene Zazzo, who not only proposed the very essence of the method, but also held the first seminar on translating the idea into reality. Of course, Rene did not take this technology from scratch. He thoroughly studied the works of his predecessors, who, in turn, referred to the theorists of the past, who believed that the future of modern psychology lies in its collective manifestation, and not in the theory of radical individualism.
Zazzo from the very beginning of work on a new research method preferred to interact with people of different ages in order to achieve maximum accuracy of the results. The scientist presented all practical developments, generalized results, as well as theoretical additions regarding the cross-sectional method at the XVIII International Psychological Congress in 1966. The sociologist's report was published in the official gazette of the congress and caused a great resonance in the scientific community. However, in practical sociology, the method took root far from immediately. The fact is that the psychological science of that time was focused on the psychology of individualism, designed to move towards comprehension of the spiritual reflexes of an individual personality, and the method of cross-sections suggested obtaining the results of collective thinking and social reaction. However, despite some pressure from conservative scientific circles, Zazzo still achieved quite significant successes in practical consolidation of his theoretical positions.
Core scientists
Inspired by the success of their overseas counterpart, some scientists decide to practice the comparative cross-sectional method in their homeland. So, after several years of experiments, Zazzo successfully repeats the scientific tandem, consisting of American academicians L. Schonfeldt and V. Owens, who decided to give a broader interpretation of the method invented by the brilliant Frenchman and add several more age phases, including youth, to the experiment two phases of maturity. This led to the fact that the results of each of the polls became more accurate. Also, researchers could trace the dynamics of changes in the human character based on the variability of opinions expressed by people of different age categories.
Their example was followed by prominent Russian psychologists and sociologists, members of the working group of the legendary academician V. M. Bekhterev, who not only was one of the first to conduct systematic genetic and psychological research in Russia, but also became the first sociologist to use the cross-sectional method in psychology in relation to very young children.
It was at the center of this wonderful teacher that an integrated approach to the study of a certain group of children for several months was implemented. Bekhterev did not suspect that with his trial experiments laid the foundation for a completely new research method, called the longitudinal method. In fact, this is the same method of cross sections, however, the timing of the experiment in this case is extended for a longer time.
In 1928, the academician publishes a joint work together with his assistant N. M. Shchelovanov, which outlined the main provisions of the new research method, as well as the basic criteria of the method, which Bekhterev called "long file", since the study took a rather long time compared to other types of similar experiments.
In modern psychology, the longitudinal method is actively used in working with groups of elderly people. In this case, he gives particularly accurate results, on the basis of which serious conclusions can be drawn, and not just theoretical assumptions. There are cases when the combination of the above method with the psychographic method of differential psychology became the most highly effective. It was this methodology that was applied in his practical studies by the outstanding psychologist V. Stern, who believed that the synthetic nature of psychography would positively affect the impartiality of the results of the experiment, and also emphasize the differences between ideological and conscious attitudes of generations.
The essence of the method
The cross-sectional method involves the interaction of the researcher with people of different age categories, grouped by age group. All of them are asked exactly the same questions and similar tasks are given, which they are obliged to perform within the same period of time. Based on the results of a theoretical survey and practical tasks, researchers form an overall picture of the generation’s consciousness, revealing attitudes, prejudices and a system of principles characteristic of each age group, based on which the necessary conclusions are drawn.
An example of the cross-sectional method is the experiment of the outstanding Soviet psychologist Bekhterev, who interviewed a certain group of children for a long time, observing a change in their social position on a particular issue. In the end, a full-fledged picture of the ideas about the lives of children of a single age group was formed, on the basis of which it was possible to judge the worldview of children from similar social groups, but only if its representatives by gender, age and social status were similar to the children surveyed.
Methodology Issues
The essence of the cross-sectional method is primarily manifested in the fact that it is designed for a large number of people, and not for individual work with a certain personality. It is one of the few effective methods for quickly obtaining information from several individuals at once, which leads to a more fruitful work of a scientist who constantly receives new information and observes the whole picture at once, together with all its changes.
Practical experiments
Since the late sixties of the last century, experiments have been actively conducted on the application of the age-related cross-sectional method. The most widespread method was in the United States of America, the sociological science of which from the very beginning was focused on the identification of universal human needs. It is worth noting that a correct attitude to the latter could neutralize racial and ethnic conflicts in a large country.
Risk factors
The reasons for which the results of the experiment can be canceled include:
- Different living conditions for persons in age groups;
- A significant difference in the age of the selected groups;
- Different social statuses of the respondents;
- Inexperience of the scientist conducting the experiment.
Scope of application
An example of the cross-sectional method can be found in works devoted to psychology, sociology and cultural studies. Usually, it is precisely in scientific disciplines that are somehow related to the study of society and its internal processes that you can find examples of the activities of scientists with this particular research method.
Advantages
The positive aspects of the method include its rather high accuracy, of course, subject to all conditions in the preparation of subjects. Also, the method is simple and easy to use, the ability to immediately display the whole picture of the results of the current period. Large social groups with such a study provide a significant number of opinions, which are gradually formed into a single thesis belonging to the same community. Thus, you can roughly understand the position of the entire age group as a whole by simply transferring the results to people living in real life who have a similar type and living conditions.
disadvantages
A significant drawback of the comparative method (cross-sectional method) can be a significant age difference between the groups. For example, the method gives accurate results if three communities are interrogated, the difference between the ages of which is no more than five years. If the scientist takes a group of fifteen-year-olds and sixty-year-olds, then the method can give not entirely correct, unpredictable results, and it is rather dangerous to draw conclusions based on them.
The quality and purity of the experiment is also affected by the social environment of the subjects. You should not trust the data obtained in the course of experiments with groups of people from different families who differ in the level of social well-being. In this case, the answers to the questions will be too fragmented to bring them to a common denominator.
Reviews
In most works of domestic and foreign psychologists, this method receives mostly positive or neutral assessments, since there are no objective reasons for criticizing the method. The results are influenced by the inexperience of the laboratory assistant or insufficiently qualified preparation of the subjects.