Chapter 4: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Change: A Review of Past Research with Recommendations for New Directions

Golembiewski, Billingsley, and Yeager introduced the typology of alpha, beta, and gamma change in 1976. Twenty-five years after its inception, however, we have made little progress toward full integration of this typology into change research. Therefore, the purposes of this paper are first to describe the theoretical premise of the ABG typology. We then review research that has been conducted on ABG and compare methodologies associated with assessing ABG change. Finally, we discuss directions for future research.