Faculty Sponsor(s)
Cara Ray and Yanna Weisberg
Location
Jereld R. Nicholson Library: Grand Avenue
Subject Area
Psychology
Description
To understand the transition into adulthood, it is important to understand people’s perceptions of what it means to be an adult. We began this investigation with a bottom-up approach using the prototype analysis methodology (described by Kearns & Fincham, 2004). In Study 1, we asked 137 participants to list up to 20 attributes of adulthood. Results revealed 1,891 total linguistic units (15.5 per participant on average), which were placed into overarching categories such as “employed”. The current study is a follow-up (Study 2) where we continued the next step in the prototype analysis methodology. In this study participants rated each of the 96 attribute categories generated from 1 (not important at all to the concept of adulthood), to 5 (very important to the concept of adulthood). It was expected that the most frequently mentioned attributes from Study 1 (such as “responsible”, “independent”, “pays bills”) would be rated as more central in Study 2, and less frequently mentioned attributes in Study 1 (such as “optimistic”, “safe”, and “self-disciplined”) would be rated as less central in Study 2. However, the data indicates that there is no correlation between frequency of the attribute and its centrality (r=0.05, p=0.644).
Recommended Citation
Russell, Katie; Green, Paris; Walter, Allie; Weisberg, Yanna; Ray, Cara; and Pillon, Maya, "What is an adult?: Attributes voted most central to the construct of adulthood" (2022). Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement. Event. Submission 23.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/symposium/2022/all/23
What is an adult?: Attributes voted most central to the construct of adulthood
Jereld R. Nicholson Library: Grand Avenue
To understand the transition into adulthood, it is important to understand people’s perceptions of what it means to be an adult. We began this investigation with a bottom-up approach using the prototype analysis methodology (described by Kearns & Fincham, 2004). In Study 1, we asked 137 participants to list up to 20 attributes of adulthood. Results revealed 1,891 total linguistic units (15.5 per participant on average), which were placed into overarching categories such as “employed”. The current study is a follow-up (Study 2) where we continued the next step in the prototype analysis methodology. In this study participants rated each of the 96 attribute categories generated from 1 (not important at all to the concept of adulthood), to 5 (very important to the concept of adulthood). It was expected that the most frequently mentioned attributes from Study 1 (such as “responsible”, “independent”, “pays bills”) would be rated as more central in Study 2, and less frequently mentioned attributes in Study 1 (such as “optimistic”, “safe”, and “self-disciplined”) would be rated as less central in Study 2. However, the data indicates that there is no correlation between frequency of the attribute and its centrality (r=0.05, p=0.644).
