Life Course Perspective Flashcards
(18 cards)
3 requirements for causation, otherwise it’s correlation
must have: covariance, temporal order, and no alternatives (non-spurious)
give one example of how demographic and social change are intertwined
during the 14th century Black Death, many people were open to new ideologies; some people shifted toward individualism + technological advancement began around this time
define the life course perspective
a contextualist perspective using a longitudinal approach to analyze the development of humans.
Starts by looking at age-graded sequences of events through socially-defined roles and events, while drawing on multiple layers of events that impact humans (macro, meso, and micro).
Some of the core conceptual tools are looking at social pathways, trajectories, transitions, duration, turning points, and linked lives
distinguish social pathways from trajectories
social pathways are the sequence of life events typically followed in society
trajectories are the sum of state transitions (path followed by one individual)
what are duration and turning points in the life course perspective
duration: time between state transitions
turning points: big changes in the trajectory of one’s life, whether objective or subjective
describe linked lives and their implications on development
the development of one individual is influenced directly by a close relative or partner in life (e.g. spouse, father)
positive/negative events that impact one’s life may similarly impact the other’s life and their life trajectory
longitudinal vs cross sectional
why is it used
longitudinal repeatedly studies occurrences of events through time (e.g. looking at twin development in 1890-1940 and 1950-2000)
cross sectional studies one point in time to draw conclusions from (e.g. just looking at 1950-2000)
helps understand age effects rather than being affected by period or cohort effects
age, period, and cohort effects
age: using an individual’s age to describe the state their in + trajectory
period: variation in trajectory based on events occurring during a person’s lifetime (affects everyone alive)
cohort: how people born in the same year experience life similarly, e.g. 2003 born people experienced high school & university during COVID
what is the main caveat to looking at APC effects
be careful not to generalize … not everyone experiences life the same just because they were in the same cohort or were the same age
people in 2020 might’ve experienced COVID differently whether they were urban / rural, wealthy / low income, in the US / Ghana
how does collinearity impact regression models when looking at APC effects?
given that the events overlap so closely (your cohort regressed against the time period of events are equally lined up) … it can be hard to distinguish how much of the outcome was influenced by the event vs your given cohort
what are the 5 principles of life course perspective (LATTL)
L: lifespan development
A: agency
T: time and place
T: timing
L: linked lives
describe LATTL: lifespan development
development and ageing are lifelong processes, and thru longitudinal studies over vast time periods we can understand the interplay between social change and individual development
describe LATTL: agency
Agency is the capacity of individuals to act independently, make their own free choices, and impose those choices on the world around them
describe LATTL: time & place
what world did you grow up in and how did that influence your trajectory
emphasis on place, e.g. where you were during a key event (like COVID) likely affected your development
describe LATTL: timing
at what point in your life did you experience a given phenomenon (losing a parent, marriage)
timing affects how we develop
describe LATTL: linked lives
transitions in one person’s life often influence transitions in others’ lives
does generation = cohort?
No … while multiple cohorts may experience similar demographic effects, they are not the same thing
