EFFECTS OF GENDER AND POWER ON IMPACT ATTENUATION IN LANDING

Abstract

In a time of massive social change around the world, a major goal of the present article is to provide interdisciplinary methods for studying social change, culture, and human development and an interdisciplinary theory that can serve as a framework for this research (Greenfield, 2009, 2016). The purpose is to provide developmental researchers with useful theoretical and methodological guidelines to study human development in changing sociodemographic and cultural contexts. Examples of two types of research design for studying social change are presented: Diachronic, in which data are gathered at different points in time; and synchronic, in which all data are gathered at the same point in time. While research designs and techniques vary, the findings that are summarized provide strong support for Greenfield's interdisciplinary theory of social change and human development. One take-away is that researchers should avoid methodocentrism: a strong theoretical framework can be tested, supported, and enhanced using a variety of methods and methodologies. In addition to research designs, the article describes and analyzes data gathering techniques that can be used with participants across the whole sociodemographic spectrum of educational levels, technology experience, agricultural or commercial economy, and rural or urban residence. These techniques are equally useful for both cross-cultural comparison and the study of social change. The article concludes by comparing the WEIRD conceptualization (Henrich, Heine, & Norazayan, 2010) with the theory of social change and human development.