Reconstructing Social Change through Retrospective Questions: Methodological Problems and Prospects

Abstract

Retrospective questions are usually employed in social and psychological research in order to trace individual change over time or to explain the present by past events or behavior. Within this tradition, several studies have, for instance, asked questions about patterns of upbringing and child socialization. The descriptions have then, in turn, been linked with present outlooks and personality variables (see, e.g., Filipp, 1981). The usefulness of this strategy—if considered as a measurement instrument for objective conditions—rests on the individual validity and reliability of the questions.