Child Development Exam 1

Front 1

what is a researchable question?

Back 1

a question you can make a hypothesis about!

Front 2

Naturalistic observation =

Back 2

the data is collected in an everyday setting rather than in a lab which increases the external validity of the findings/ systematic obseration of infividuals in their natural environment. It is highly descriptive

Front 3

example of Naturalistic observation =

Back 3

observing children at a playground, possibly through the use of cameras that the children can't see

Front 4

an example of a cultural construct =

Back 4

gender roles

Front 5

1st important insight gained from research on children and families in other cultures:

Back 5

Regards regularities in how parts of a culture work together as a SYSTEM: "The ways children are reared, tend to follow certain aspects of culture"

Front 6

example of how parts of a culture work as a system that effects child development:

Back 6

Children in traditionally agriculturally based societies usually have many household chores

Front 7

2nd important insight gained from research on children and families in other cultures:

Back 7

ALL parents and children everywhere face some of the same problems, experiences and needs.

Front 8

examples of what all parents and children everywhere deal with:

Back 8

All children must learn to walk, to interact with others, to leave their mothers, etc. They must all learn gender roles in their culture

Front 9

Developmental Niche- definition

Back 9

-describes the combo of features of an environment a particular animal or species of animal inhabits and the particular way they fit into and exploit their environment is different. Thus they create their own niche.
- NOT a Theory
- just provides a framework
-bio ecology term

Front 10

Example of Developmental Niche from book:

Back 10

pigeons and robbins: They might live in the same area but where they build nests and from what materials, the food they seek and their vulnerability to various predators all are distinct

Front 11

My example of developmental niche:

Back 11

Skunks, Squirrels, and raccoons on Trinity's campus

Front 12

Tricky example of developmental niche:

Back 12

Members of the same family can be parts of different developmental niches

Front 13

3 major aspects of culture ***

Back 13

1) Physical and social settings
2) Customs of child care and rearing
3) Care taker psychology

Front 14

Examples of aspects of physical and social setting:

Back 14

1) sleep schedule
2) food available
3) Geography
4) family size
5) school attended
6) house size and architecture

Front 15

my example of how physical and social setting can effect child development

Back 15

In the Victorian Era, the new architecture of houses allowed for more privacy. Each individual had their own bedroom for the first time. This contributed to the emergence of the concept of "I"

Front 16

2 examples of customs of child care and rearing

Back 16

1) In rural Kenya, older siblings are caretakers

2) Use of playpens is customary in Holland

Front 17

Examples of caretaker psychology:

Back 17

1) What do you do when a baby is crying in the middle of the night? Go to it or ignore it?

2) Smoking/drinking when you are raising a baby

Front 18

is development a normative process? explain why or why not?

Back 18

No! There's variability across different cultures. Timing and progression are not the same everywhere

Front 19

Is the development of independence in children normative?

Back 19

No. In some cultures, independence is said to never emerge. Instead, interdependence emerges over time

Front 20

Explain how the notion of the "family" is culturally variable?

Back 20

In some families in some cultures, children are expected to work or marry as soon as they can. In the US children serve as a psychological social function! Professor was very into this phrase

Front 21

how do we account for cultural variability?

Back 21

the developmental niche

Front 22

what is the unit of analysis for the developmental niche?

Back 22

the child

Front 23

what's an example of a custom that effects child development?

Back 23

Toilet training standards

How long are you supposed to breast feed

Front 24

Parent's individual psychology examples

Back 24

1) Gender roles: boys and girls are different since birth

2) don't talk to infants until they talk to you

Front 25

direct effects v. indirect effects

Back 25

??? LOOK UP ???

???

Front 26

How does the overall human ecology effect child development?

Back 26

The needs of every child?

??? LOOK UP ???

Front 27

2 descriptions of the family Prof. gave =

Back 27

1) a marker for social change
and

2) a catalyst for social change

Front 28

example of a naturalistic experiment:

Back 28

Question: Are girls or boys more aggressive in play?
1) Define what you mean by "aggressive"
2) Define MEASURE for example, the measure could be the number of physical aggressions
3) find an environment to do the study in (for example, a playroom with doublesided mirrors)
4) choose which children to observe and how: video tape? Multiple observers? etc.

Front 29

Sigmund Freud's basic view of children:

Back 29

Born with instincts and temperments. Giving a child too much gratification is bad. You have to give a child the appropriate amount of control. LOOK UP MORE ON THIS

Front 30

what were Watson's basic views of Child Development?

Back 30

He was the father of CONDITIONING.

He did an experiment with a boy named Albert and a white rabbit in which he exposed Albert to the rabbit and a frightening noise at the same time so that Albert eventually was conditioned to be scared everytime he saw a white rabbit. Unfortunately, Albert generalized his fear to everything white and furry.

Front 31

generalization in the Albert experiment =

Back 31

???

Front 32

id =

Back 32

animal instinct

Front 33

ego =

Back 33

control

Front 34

deconditioning =

Back 34

desentization - also called "extinction" the child is eventually desensitized to the stimulus

Front 35

HOW MIGHT WATSON AND FREUD DIFFER IN THEIR VIEWS OF TOILET TRAINING?

Back 35

she could totally ask this as an essay! LOOK UP

Front 36

the third variable problem:

Back 36

the correlation between two variables may be the result of some 3rd UNSPECIFIED variable

Front 37

example 3rd variable problem

Back 37

in reading example for instance, perhaps the children who read more and had a higher reading ability lived in intellectual home environments

Front 38

5 stages of Freud's development

Back 38

1) oral
2) anal
3) PHALLIC- I always forget this one
4) latent
5)genital

Front 39

logic of experimental designs * confusing

Back 39

If groups are comparable at the outset and then are exposed to different experiences, then these different experiences are the cause of any diffs in behavior in the two groups

Front 40

random ASSIGNMENT of participants: *

Back 40

Assignment of participants to one group or another BY CHANCE, by flipping a coin for example, so that THE GROUPS ARE COMPARABLE at the outset

Front 41

example random ASSIGNMENT: *

Back 41

Test to see if Curriculum A or Curriculum B is better. Test subjects = students at two different schools. By giving Curriculum A to students through RANDOM ASSIGNMENT, experimenters can ensure that the diffs in the say reading abilities of each experimental group are DUE TO THE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES and not due to environmental diffs in each school system. The test would not work without random assignment

Front 42

Why is the use of random ASSIGNMENT important in the experimental method? *

Back 42

Because this COMPARIBILITY is crucial for being able to INFER that it was the VARYING EXPERIENCE that cause the later differences in the groups

OTHERWISE the diffs might have arisen from some pre-existing diffs btwn the people in the groups

Front 43

2nd example of Random ASSIGNMENT with regard to testing of personality qualities: *

Back 43

If 40 children are divided RANDOMLY between 2 groups, each group is likely to have a few children with very introverted personalities and a few extroverted and many inbetween. Through RANDOM ASSIGNMENT, the groups are COMPARABLE AT THE OUTSET!

Front 44

2nd essential characteristic of the experimental design:

Back 44

EXPERIMENTAL CONTROL

Front 45

experimental control:

Back 45

Refers to the ABILITY of the researcher to determine the specific experiences that children in each group encounter during the study

Front 46

Simplest experimental design:

Back 46

1) Experimental group
2) Control group

Front 47

experimental group

Back 47

the group that is presented the EXPERIENCE OF INTEREST

Front 48

control group

Back 48

the group that does not receive the experience of interest. Otherwise treated identically

Front 49

Independent Variable

Back 49

the experience that the children in the experimental group receive that children in the control group do not

Front 50

Dependent variable *

Back 50

the behavior that is HYPOTHESIZED to be affected by EXPOSURE TO the independent variable

Front 51

example of experimental design:
what are the groups and what is the independent variable being looked at?

Back 51

children in control group don't watch an anti-bullying film. Experimental group is exposed to an anti-bullying film
dependent variable = amount of bullying children subsequently engage in

Front 52

example 2 experimental method

Back 52

Experimental group of children were read stories in which characters solved problems in a certain way and then were presented with problems that could be solved in a similar but not identical manner. Question = do these stories improve children's analogical reasoning skills over time?

Control group was not read the stories.

The experimental group had 6 training sessions and in a comparison of the pretest of their analogical skills and a post test, the experimental group improved while the control group who did not have the sessions did not improve

Front 53

limitations of experimental designs:

Back 53

the controlled circumstances of the labratory are often quite different from the conditions of the everyday world

Front 54

classic naturalistic experiment

Back 54

1) focussed on whether watching violent tv made children more aggressive
2) preschoolers were randomly divided into the experimental and control groups
3) examinations of the children in the 2 groups indicated that their initial levels of aggression were comparable at the outset
4) over a period of several weeks, children in the experimental group hit, kicked and choked their classmates more often during play than the control group

Front 55

CROSS-SECTIONAL APPROACH *

Back 55

a way to study changes and continuities W/ AGE. This method compares children of different ages on a GIVEN BEHAVIOR, ABILITY OR CHARACTERISTIC.

Front 56

example cross sectional approach:

Back 56

Study of friendship:
1) Asked 6th to 12th graders to NAME BEST FRIENDS. and up to 10 of their other friends in their school
3) The research indicated that some aspects of friendship change with age.
-Older children named fewer friends, but those they named were more likely to name them as friends as well.
-Other aspects of friendship did not change during the age span examined: At all ages, children who were part of the ethnic majority at their school were more likely to have their designation of friends RECIPROCATED than were children who were in the minority.

Front 57

drawback of cross sectional approach:

Back 57

They don't yield info about the STABILITYof individual differences OVER TIME or about the PATTERNS OF CHANGE shown by individual children

Front 58

How do children's own actions contribute to their own development? *

Back 58

1) Their attentional patterns
2) Their use of language
3) Their play

Front 59

summary of drawbacks and pros of cross sectional studies:

Back 59

drawbacks: doesn't look at individual changes over time
pros: tells about the general characteristics of groups of people over time

Front 60

An example of how a child can contribute to their own development?

Back 60

A socially precocious child evokes a certain response from adults. Adults may be more likely to treat such a child like an adult as well.

Front 61

What are some problems with NATURALISTIC experiments?

particularly in aggression experiment

Back 61

-observer biases
-open to interpretation
-you need to know what elicited the aggressive response

Front 62

observer conflicts/biases:

Back 62

when two experimental observers have conflicting opinions/interpretations of an event

Front 63

Give an example of an experimental question that is problematic and explain why/

Back 63

"What is the effect of divorce on children?"

It's problematic because how do you measure this effect? Do you measure it in terms of
a) grades
b) relationships- with parents, with peers
c) in terms of emotional problems children experience
etc.

Front 64

BLIND STUDY *

Back 64

The observer doesn't know what hypothesis is being tested

Front 65

DOUBLE BLIND STUDY *

Back 65

both the experimental observer and the experimental paricipants don't know what hypothesis is being tested

Front 66

Why is naturalistic observation problematic?

Back 66

because when children know they're being observed and especially when they know they're being videotaped, they will change their behavior

Front 67

subject reactivity: ???

Back 67

???

Front 68

what is the most serious limitation of naturalistic OBSERVATION:

Back 68

the results are mostly DESCRIPTIVE. You CAN'T deduce RELATIONSHIPS.

Front 69

scale of correlations

Back 69

between -1.0 and + 1

0 = no correlation
-1.0 = neg. correlation
1.0 = pos. correlation

Front 70

positive correlation:

Back 70

As one variable increases, so does the other

Front 71

negative correlation:

Back 71

As one variable increases, the other decreases

Front 72

What could be the 3rd variable effecting a study of the correlation btwn. the watching of violent tv shows and acts of violence?

Back 72

Perhaps children who are naturally violent are drawn to violent tv shows

Front 73

What could be the 3rd (or C Factor) variable in the correlation btwn smoking and heart disease?

Back 73

Perhaps anxious people are both more likely to smoke and more likely to have heart disease. This is what the cigarette companies used to argue.

Front 74

Path analysis: *

Back 74

Tracing the links and correlations

Front 75

C factor

Back 75

a third variable which effects the two variables examined in a correlational study

Front 76

an example of the experimental method regarding sharing behavior:

Back 76

1) Manipulate a variable like put children in a high stress environment
-manipulated variable = experimental variable
-the experimental group is exposed to the manipulated variable: i.e. the high stress environment

-the control group is not exposed to the "high stress" environment

Front 77

How would you create an experiment to answer the question: How many hours of studying is OPTIMAL?

Back 77

1) have groups that each study for different amounts of time
group a) study 0 hours
b) study 2 hrs
c) study 4 hrs
d) control group: not told how long to study

3) comparison to the control group could show that differences in the dependent variable (test grades) = substantial

Front 78

random SAMPLING:

Back 78

The best way to avoid BIAS

goal: to get a sense of the wide breadth of opinions etc.

Front 79

Random assignment let's us show:

Back 79

causality!!

Front 80

subject variables:

Back 80

a characteristic of a subject that you can't and don't MANIPULATE

example: MALE/FEMALE

you can't control for it through random assignment *** difficult concept

Front 81

reliability of a study:

Back 81

repeatability: you can repeat the study and get the same results

consistency of measures

Front 82

validity:

Back 82

the idea that the test MEASURES WHAT YOU SAY IT MEASURES

the research answers your question

Front 83

internal validity ****

Back 83

the results of the dependent variable came about because of the manipulation of the independent variable

Front 84

external validity

Back 84

the results can generalize to the larger population.

Front 85

An example of a question of EXTERNAL validity:

Back 85

Medical research studies of a drug on adults. Can the results generalize to children? example: anti-depressants

the answer is they cannot generalize to children b/c their brains are very different from adults

Front 86

generalizing subjects:

Back 86

most research is done on white upper class individuals of European ancestry. Can these experiments' results generalize to individuals from different socioeconomic situations?

Front 87

Most experiments are high in THIS type of validity. Because __________

Back 87

Internal, because the experimenters exert a great deal of CONTROL OVER the experiment's critical VARIABLES

Front 88

controlling too much in an experiment can decrease ________________

Back 88

the external validity of the experiment. It can make the results not applicable to others. The results cannot be generalized

Front 89

LONGITUDINAL STUDY METHOD:

Back 89

when a COHORT of children are studied over an extended period of time

Front 90

cohort:

Back 90

a group of individuals who go through a similar experience/situation:

1) freshman class
2) more specific: 1 freshman seminar

Front 91

an example of a question which could be examined through a LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Back 91

How do children's cognitive abilities CHANGE OVERTIME?

Front 92

How could you test "how children's cognitive abilities change over time" through a longitudinal study?

Back 92

1) look at IQ scores age 2, 4, 6, etc.

Front 93

problems with longitudinal studies?

Back 93

-people drop out of study or move
-it's expensive
-external variables effect the subjects

Front 94

cohort effect = ???

Back 94

pre/post sesame street generation in experiments with cognitive abilities

Front 95

selective attrition=

Back 95

???

Front 96

cross-sectional design =

Back 96

look at children of different ages at the same point in time

Front 97

an example of a cross sectional design:
how long do these studies usually last?

Back 97

How well do 2 year olds, 4 yr. olds and 6 yr olds remember things?



they last over a month or so usually

Front 98

advantages of the cross sectional design:

Back 98

1) you can COMPARE age groups
2) relatively LOW COST
3) you can find out if a cohort is operating

Front 99

what are some of the ethical dilemas in the research of children?

Back 99

1) they can't give consent
2) children are impressionable and are suceptive to negative outcomes
3) we don't know enough about development to know what might harm children: example- antidepressants

Front 100

most genes are:

Back 100

polygenic/polygenetic

Front 101

Polygenic/Polygenetic:

Back 101

a description of genes which contribute to multiple behaviors, aptitudes, etc.

Front 102

Explain why genes do not determine our destinies?

Back 102

because the environment plays a role as well. Also, genes make horomones which effect neurons, so it is not only the genes that are determining our chemical responses to the world around us. (this is kind of my b.s. answer but I think its accurate)

Front 103

Genes are never _____

Back 103

First sequence causes


i.e. they effect hormones and neurons which then cause changes.

Front 104

geneotype:

Back 104

the sum total of your genetic makeup

Front 105

phenotype:

Back 105

what is OBSERVABLY expressed based on genetic make up

Front 106

Why does geneotype not = phenotype?

Back 106

Because sometimes the genes do not code for a trait or they are blocked by some other influence such as a mutation or hormonal imbalence (as in hermaphrodites?)

Example from prof: Your phenotype can be "brown eyes" but your geneotype does not necessarily code for this ???

another example: albinos ?

Front 107

range of reaction/norm of reaction:

Back 107

-all phenotypes that are related to all the geneotypes
-genetically based variations of an individuals responsiveness to the environment

Front 108

niche-picking ****

Back 108

You take the characteristics you have and put yourself in circumstance that amplify your characteristics.

For example a shy person may be a librarian instead of being a Professor so that they don't have to talk much

Front 109

3 kinds of Niche Picking: **

Back 109

1) passive
2) evocative
3) active

Front 110

passive niche picking:

Back 110

parents set up environment for you

Front 111

evocative niche picking:

Back 111

others set up an environment for you based on your qualities which evoke certain responses from the people around you. For example, a teacher may notice that a student is particularly shy and then pair that student with a verbally precocious child in order to try to give the shy child a companion who is suited to his/her needs

Front 112

active niche picking:

Back 112

You pick your environment

Front 113

Example of passive niche picking in relation to friendships:

Back 113

Parents choose their daughter's playmates based on their views of the children

Front 114

example of evocative niche picking in friendship example:

Back 114

Parents set up playdates with children who they think will play best with their child. They may see/hear who their child like and then invite that friend over

Front 115

active niche picking:

Back 115

child chooses which friends to hang out with, sometimes regardless of what his/her parents say

Front 116

plasticity: ???

Back 116

???

Front 117

Canalization: *** discussed often

Back 117

notion of tendency of an organism to follow 1 SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENTAL PATH as opposed to a range of them

Front 118

An example of a canalized behavior and why?

Back 118

Language aqcuisition. The environment you're in determines the language you speak but almost all humans will develop language in a certain way.

Front 119

what is the name of the girl who never developed lanugage because she was exposed to dire circumstances?

Back 119

Janie

Front 120

WHat did Horowitz believe about Child Development?

***

Back 120

1) Universal form of development
2) Universal Ones are CANALIZED BEHAVIORS i.e. it takes dire circumstances for development to move in an opposite direction

Front 121

phenotypic expressions:

Back 121

walking on the moon


I don't get what she meant :(

Front 122

plasticity:

Back 122

the OPPOSITE of CANALIZATION

= the capacity of the brain to be influenced by experience

Front 123

Universal Ones according to Horowitz:

Back 123

Canalized behaviors. It takes dire circumstances to move development in an opposite direction.

Front 124

without plasticity we wouldn't be able to:

Back 124

adapt

Front 125

non-universals: ***

Back 125

high degree of variation

Front 126

critical/sensitive period:

Back 126

optimal time for certain developments to occur due to circumstances in the environment

ex: language development

Front 127

the sensitive period for language development:

Back 127

18 months to puberty

Front 128

Shared environment:

Back 128

same family and environment. Same set of experiences. Shared by same family

Front 129

non-shared environment:

Back 129

-same family
-different environment
experiences not shared by same family

Front 130

behavioral genetics:

Back 130

a research field or approach to studying behavior by SEPERATING GENETIC from environmental effects

Front 131

classic examples of things that have been examined through behavioral genetics:

Back 131

1) I.Q. scores
2) psychopathology -- ex. from book: Schizophrenia

Front 132

twin studies:

Back 132

all the same genetic material

often compared with non-indentical siblings and with parents

Front 133

adoption studies:

Back 133

measure biological parents and adoptive parents (in relation to children???)

Front 134

2 flaws in family studies:

Back 134

1) when you study peple in a family, they share the same basic environment

2) We don't have a good measure of the environmental conditions

Front 135

Gottlieb's model of child development ***

Back 135

- Developmental systmes model
-environment and behavioral influence on gene activity
-looks at SYSTEMS
ex: a) language
b)respiratory

-explain biological and behavioral systems

Front 136

Species typial development is part of whose view of development?

Back 136

Horowitz

Front 137

species typical development:

Back 137

-a trait that is picked up from a normal developmental pathway
-CANALIZATION DEFINES TENDANCY

Front 138

what leads to species typical development?

Back 138

evolution

Front 139

What is Gottlieb's view of prenatal development?

give an example:

Back 139

It effects development over life times

For ex. Songbirds are exposed to mothers sounds and to their own sounds which leads them to engage in species specific development

Front 140

central dogma of development

Back 140

genes --> hormones--> synapses--> behavior

Front 141

probablistic ***

Back 141

contrast the central dogma- its predetermined- means certain things are more likely to happen then others

Front 142

epigenesis:

Back 142

idea that there's always the EMERGENCE of new developmental systems
-Development's emergence is hierarchical
-It's co-actional
-Increasing complexity of organisms behavioral and psychological systems

-doesn't have to do with genes!

Front 143

co-action:

Back 143

horizontal: within a level i.e. behavioral activity influences another behavioral activity

Front 144

Vertical coaction:

Back 144

interaction btwn two levels

environment can influence neural activty and genetic activity

Front 145

teratagens:

Back 145

can influence developing fetus's genes

Front 146

example of vertical coaction

Back 146

genetic influences neural activity, which influences behavior

Front 147

radiation in hiroshima = example of

Back 147

a teratogen

Front 148

horrowitz's basic model

Back 148

an interactional model

Front 149

what does horowitz's model take into account:

Back 149

1) environment

a) fascilitative
b) non-fascilitative

2) organism:
a) vulnerable
b) invulnerable


2)

Front 150

universals are:

Back 150

species typical ?don't get this

Front 151

if an individual is highly resilient and they are exposed to a non-fascilitative environment, what is the outcome?

Back 151

they are okay

Front 152

If someone is vulnerable and in a fascilitative environment what's the outcome?

Back 152

they're okay

Front 153

characteristics of resilient children:

Back 153

1) verbally precocious
2) able to evoke mentoring from adults/others
3) attractive
4) talented

Front 154

Scarr's model:

Back 154

-a correlational model

UNLIKE HOROWITZ AND GOTTLIEB: which are interactional models

Front 155

Definition of Scarr's model:

Back 155

environment and geneotype both play a role in developmental outcomes. They DON'T INTERACT! They are correlated but they act independently.

Front 156

In scarr's model, how do individuals effect their own development?

Back 156

the individuals shape their environment through niche picking

Front 157

What evidence does Scarr use to support her argument:

Back 157

behavioral genetics studies


especially adoption studies

Front 158

what is a counterintuitive aspect of Scarr's model?

Back 158

Genetic differences become more important as a child develops.

This model says that your geneptype is more important when you're older

Front 159

tricky main point of Scarr's model in relation to differences in families:

Back 159

As we get older, b/c we control the environment we live in much more, the genetic differences in families especially, emerge when members go to non-shared environments

Front 160

cascading effect:

Back 160

???

Front 161

what is a teratogen?

Back 161

-an environmental AGENT that hurts baby

Front 162

examples of teratogens:

Back 162

-aspirin
-alochol
-cocaine
-radiation
-mercury
-lead

Front 163

maternal diseases:

Back 163

???