child psychology resumen
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ASSIGNMENT 2
Question 1
What is a naturalistic experiment?
Anaturalisticexperimentisanexperimentinwherebyaresearcher
makesdatahappenoutinthenaturalworld,andthenevaluatesthe
results.Itisanobservationofthebehavioursandeventsofasubject
inthenaturalsetting,withoutinfluenceormanipulation.An
exampleismatchedpairtestingtouncoverdiscrimination.Thistype
ofresearchisoftenutilizedinsituationswhereconductinglab
researchiscostprohibitiveorwouldaffectthesubject'sbehavior.
SomefamousexamplesofnaturalisticobservationsincludeCharles
Darwin'sjourneyaboardtheHMSBeagle,whichservedasthebasis
forhistheoryofnaturalselection,andJaneGoodall'sworkstudyingthebehaviorofchimpanzees (Bernard,1994).
Therearedifferentadvantagesofnaturalisticexperiment.First,the
advantageofthistypeofresearchisthatitallowstheresearcherto
directlyobservethesubjectinanaturalsetting.Second,itallows
researcherstostudythingsthatcannotbemanipulatedinalabdue
toethicalconcerns.Forexample,whileitwouldbeunethicalto
studytheeffectsofimprisonmentbyactuallyconfiningsubjects,
researcherscangatherinformationbyusingnaturalisticobservation
inrealprisonsettings.Third,ttcanhelpsupporttheexternalvalidityofresearchbecausethefindingsofalabstudydonotneedtobe
generalizedtoalargerpopulation,butthereareobservedactually
occurringinanaturalsetting.(Goodwin,1995)
Forexample,thenaturalisticexperimentcanbeusedtostudy
differencesinrisktakingbehaviorbetweenteenageboysandgirls.It
ispossibletochoosetoobservebehaviorinafewdifferentsettings,
suchasonasleddinghill,arock-climbingwall,anice-skatingrink
andabumpercarride.Afteryouoperationallydefine"risk-taking
behavior,"youwouldthenobserveteensinthesesettingsandrecordeveryincidenceofwhatyoudefineasariskybehavior.
Question 2 Explain what is meant by longitudinal study.
Longitudinalresearchisatypeofresearchmethodusedtodiscover
relationshipsbetweenvariablesthatarenotrelatedtovarious
backgroundvariables. Longitudinalstudiesprovidedataaboutthe
sameindividualorgroupatdifferentpointsintimeallowingthe
researchertotrackchangeattheindividuallevel.Longitudinal
studiesaredatasourcesthatcontainobservationsofthesame
researchunitsoveraperiodoftime.Suchdatacanbecollected
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eitherthroughsurveys,orthroughlinkageofadministrativedata.
Thereareanumberofdifferenttypesoflongitudinalstudies,
including:a)individuallevelpanelsurveys,wheresamplesof
individualsaretrackedandinterviewed.b)Householdpanelsurveys,
whereindividualsarefollowedwithinthecontextofthehouseholds
wheretheylive,andinformationisnormallycollectedaboutthe
wholehouseholdateachwave.c)Cohortstudies,wheresamples
fromaparticularagerangearefollowedtoexploretheirdifferent
trajectoriesastheyage.d)Recordlinkagestudies,administrativeor
censusdataarelinkedacrosstime.(Dunning,2012)
Thebenefitofthistypeofresearchisthatitallowsresearchersto
lookatchangesovertime.Becauseofthis,longitudinalmethodsare
particularlyusefulwhenstudyingdevelopmentandlifespanissues.
However,longitudinalstudiesrequireenormousamountsoftime
andareoftenquiteexpensive.Becauseofthis,thesestudiesoften
haveonlyasmallgroupofsubjects,whichmakesitdifficulttoapply
theresultstoalargerpopulation.Anotherproblemisthat
participantssometimesdropoutofthestudy,shrinkingthesample
sizeanddecreasingtheamountofdatacollected.
One example of longitudinal studies linked to language
developmentis thestudy realized by CMBN InfantStudies
Laboratory at Rutgers Universiry. Such research helped to
understandwhychildrenacquirelanguageindifferentways
andspecificallywhysomechildrenhavedifficultylanguage
learning.It alsohelpedto determinewhetheralllanguage
delays have common markers or if there are different
markers depending on particular risk factors. The
Longitudinal Study of Language Development had two
interrelated objectives. First, examining early information
processingskillsasindexedbyperformanceonhabituation,
recognition memory, and rapid auditory processing tasks.
Second, the study is looking at any differences in
development across and within our control group oftypically developing children and three “at-risk” groups of
children: a) children with a family history of language
impairment, b) children who were born very low birth
weightandpremature,c)childrenwhohadrecurrentmiddle
earinfections(otitismedia)duringtheirfirstyearoflife.The
findings of the study provide strong evidence that rapid
auditoryprocessing(RAP)deficitsmayserveasabehavioral
"marker"oflanguageimpairmentandcouldbeusedaspart
of an early identification battery for language disorders.
(Choudhury&Benasich,2009,pp.9 –23)
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TheresultsoflongitudinalstudiesaboutLanguageAcquisitionby
anotherspecies(likeGardnerandGardner(1972),Premark(1971),
Rumbaugh(1977),orPatterson(1978)haveshownthatapeshave
somesimilaritieswithhumanchildutterances(usingthesign
language).Howevertheycannotcopytheexactpositionofthe
handswithoutexplicitinstructionsashumanchildrendo.
Question 3 How would the results of the above study beinterpreted?
Therearedifferentdefinitionsofintelligencebecausethe
intelligencehasbeenstudiedfromdifferentperspectives.Burt
refersitasa“inbornability”,Spearmanas“theabilitytoeduce,
correlate,anddiscoverrelation”.Guildfordproposed120different
factors.Suchalargedifferenceofopinionsmakesthestudyandthe
testingofintelligenceadifficulttask.Howeverthereisaconsensusaboutwhatanintelligenttestmustmeasure.Themainpurposeof
intelligencetestistoobtainanobjectivemeasureofchild´s
intelligenceincomparisonwithallotherchildrenofhisages.
Intelligencetestestablishesarelationbetweenthementalageand
chronologicalagelinkedtoaspecificrangeofperformances
arrangedbydifficulty.
ThegeneralformulaforcalculatingI.Qis:Mentalagedividedby
ChronologicalAgemultipliedby100.
Therearesometheoriesaboutthedistributionofintelligenceina
population.TheStanford-Binettestshowsanormaldistribution.The
mostoftheintelligencetestareevaluatingthefollowingelements:
1)verbalcomprehension,2)wordfluency,3)number,4)space,5)
memory,6)perceptualspeed,7)reasoning.
Recentdevelopmentsinintelligencetestingcreatenewinstruments
andnewscalesofintelligence(WISC,WPPSI,etc.).Thenew
approachofGardnermultipleintelligencetheoryrequiressome
changeofthemethodologyofstudyandtestingofintelligence.
Question 4Theclassicaltwinstudydesignreliesonstudyingtwinsraisedinthe
samefamilyenvironments.Monozygotic(identical)twinsshareallof
theirgenes,whiledizygotic(fraternal)twinsshareonlyabout50
percentofthem.Moderntwinstudiesalsotrytoquantifytheeffect
ofaperson'ssharedenvironment(family)anduniqueenvironment
(theindividualeventsthatshapealife)onatrait.
Therearedifferentkindoftwinsstudies:a) Twins-reared-apart
designfocusesontwinswhowereadoptedintoseparatehomes
whentheywereinfants.Thesetwinsdonotsharetheir
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environments,sogeneticinfluencesarethoughttoaccountfortheir
similarities.b)Longitudinalstudiesoftwins followtwinsovertimeto
assessthedevelopmentofadult-onsetconditionsandtraits.This
approachallowsforamorecompleteandaccurateassessmentof
environmentalfactorsovertime.
Twinstudydesignsandstatisticalanalysismethodsarealso
constantlyevolvingandimproving.Theoriginaltwinstudydesign
hasexpandedtoincludestudiesoftwins'extendedfamilies,
longitudinalstudiesandothervariations.Someofthesevariations
allowresearcherstoaddresspreviouslimitations.Theassumptions
thosestudiesrestonare:a)Equalenvironments .Twinresearchers
alsoassumethatfraternalandidenticaltwinsraisedinthesame
homesexperienceequallysimilarenvironments.Butsomeresearch
suggeststhatparents,teachers,peersandothersmaytreatidentical
twinsmoresimilarlythanfraternaltwins.b)Gene-environment
interaction.Someresearchersthinkthatinteractionsbetween
genesandenvironment,ratherthangenesandenvironment
separately,mayinfluencemanytraits.ArecentstudyfromScience
(Vol.297,No.5582)byAvshalomCaspi,PhD,ofKing'sCollege
London,forexample,suggeststhatagenemightmoderate
propensityforviolence,particularlyinpeoplewhoareseverely
maltreatedaschildren.Manytwinstudydesignsdon'ttakethistype
ofcomplicationintoaccount.c)Geneticmechanisms.Traitscanbe
inheritedthroughdifferentgeneticmechanisms.Fortraitsgovernedbydominantgeneticmechanisms,adominantgeneinheritedfrom
oneparenttrumpsarecessivegeneinheritedfromtheotherparent:
Ifapersoninheritsarecessivegeneforblueeyesfromoneparent
andadominantgeneforbrowneyesfromtheotherparent,then
thedominantbrowngenewins,andtheperson'seyesarebrown.
Since1979,astudyofmonozygoticanddizygotictwinsseparatedin
infancyhassubjectedmorethan100setsofreared-aparttwinsor
tripletstoaweekofintensivepsychologicalandphysiological
assessment.Smallerstudiesofmonozygotictwinsrearedapartfoundthatabout70percentofthevarianceinIQhasbeenfoundto
beassociatedwithgeneticvariation.
Onmultiplemeasuresofpersonalityandtemperament,
occupationalandleisure-timeinterests,andsocialattitudes,
monozygotictwinsrearedapartareaboutassimilarasare
monozygotictwinsrearedtogether.Thesefindingsextendand
supportthosefromnumerousothertwin,family,andadoption
studies.Itisaplausiblehypothesisthatgeneticdifferencesaffect
psychologicaldifferenceslargelyindirectly,byinfluencingtheeffectiveenvironmentofthedevelopingchild.Theevidenceforthe
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strongheritabilityofmostpsychologicaltraits,however,doesnot
detractfromthevalueorimportanceofparenting,education,and
otherinterventions.
Adoptionstudiesareanotherimportantwayofdisentangling
geneticandenvironmentaleffects.Thesestudiesinvestigate
childrenwhowerebroughtupfromanearlyagebyparentsother
thantheoneswhoconceivedthem(Schaffer,1996).Adopted
childrencanbecomparedtotheiradoptiveparentstodetermine
howsimilarordifferenttheyarefromeachother.Ifadoptive
parentsandchildrenarefoundtobesimilartooneanotherona
givenmeasure,thenthisislikelysupportforenvironmental
influence(becausetheydonotsharegeneticmaterial).Adopted
childrencanalsobecomparedtotheirbiologicalparents(thoseby
whomtheyhavenotbeenreared).Ifbiologicalparentsandadopted
childrensharesimilarcharacteristics,thislendssupporttothe
argumentforgeneticinfluences.However,adoptionstudiesarenot
lackingcriticism.Oftentimesbiologicalparentscannotordonot
wanttobelocated/donotwishtobetested,andchildrenwhoare
goingtobeadoptedareoftenplacedwithinfamiliesthatresemble
orsharecharacteristicswiththeirbiologicalparents(Schaffer,1996).
Studiesofidenticaltwinswhoareraisedseparatelyduetoadoption
arealsoveryimportantinunderstandingthedifferencebetween
geneticandenvironmentaltraits.Inthesestudies,sincetwinshave
almostidenticalgeneticprofiles,themajordifferencesseen
betweenthetwinscanbeascribedtoenvironmentaleffects.
InaParent-OffspringAdoptionStudy(Plomin&DeFries,1985),
RobertPlominandhisfellowresearchersconcludedthatgenetics,
notenvironment,playalargerroleinthedevelopmentofthe
cognitiveprocesses.Theseresearcherswereinterestedincognitive
ability,orthementalprocessofknowing,includingaspectssuchas
awareness,perception,reasoning,andjudgment.Resultsfor
childrenaged1-16showedthatadoptees,althoughresemblingtheir
adoptiveparentsminimallyatfirst,becamemoreandmoreliketheirbiologicalparentsandlessliketheiradoptiveparentsasthey
aged.Byadolescence,therewasastrongresemblancetothe
cognitivefunctioningofthebiologicalparents,tothesamedegree
asinthecontrolfamilies,andnosimilaritytothatoftheadoptive
parents.Despitethefactthatthechildrendidnotspendanytime
withtheirbiologicalparents,theyweremoresimilartothem,
cognitivelyspeaking.Thesefindingssuggestthatthegenesaffecting
cognitiveabilityarenotallexpresseduntiladolescenceand,further,
thatwhateverenvironmentalfactorsmayaffectcognitive
functioningarenotstronglycorrelatedwiththecognitiveabilityof
theparentswhoraisethechild.
Question 5ThemainproblemswithTwinsStudiesarethefollowing:a)the
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sampleofthestudyisverysmallbecausetherearenomuch
identicaltwins.b)whenidenticaltwinsrearedapartarestudied,the
majorityofthecasessharethealmostidenticalenvironmental
circumstances.c)isdifficulttodistinguishbetweenmonozygoticand
dizygotictwins.
Tooverpassthesedifficultiestheresearchersareusingthe
correlationcoefficients .Thegeneralpatternofresultsofthese
studiesindicatesthatthecloserthegeneticrelationship,themore
similartheindividual’sIWscoresare.Fornonidenticaltwinsthe
correlationcoefficientis0.60.Foridenticaltwinsrearedapartis0.74
andforthoserearedtogetheris0.89.Thefindingsofthesestudies
suggestthatthereiscertainlyalargegeneticcomponenttoa
person’sintelligence,butenvironmentalconditionsareextremely
importanttoo..
Question 6 Name and describe the stage which these eight-year oldshave reached according to Piaget’s theory.
ThestagesofcognitivedevelopmentproposedbyJeanPiaget
indicatethataeightyearchildissituatedintheoperationalperiod ,
especiallyconcreteoperationstages.Atthisstage,thechild’s
thinkingbecomesmore logical andmathematical .Thechildisable
toperformreversiblethoughtsoperations,isabletobeattentiveto
severalkindofinformationinthesametime,andhecantodecentre
himself,beingabletoattendtoseveralaspectsofasituationand
looktoanobject fromthepointofviewosomeoneelse.
Atthisagethechildgenerallymasterthe conservationtask s
regardingquantity,mass,andsubstances.Hestartstounderstand
theconservationofweight .However,atthisstagechildrencanonly
thinkintermsofrealworldobjectsandevents,canusethe inductive
logic,sotheycanformgeneralprinciplesfromtheirownactual
experience.Theyarepreparedtostepintothenextstageof
development:thedeductivelogic.
Duringthisstage,thethoughtprocessbecomesmorerational,matureand'adultlike',ormore'operational',Althoughthisprocess
mostoftencontinueswellintotheteenageyears.Theprocessis
dividedbyPiagetintotwostages,theConcreteOperations,andthe
FormalOperationsstage,whichisnormallyundergoneby
adolescents.Beliefinanimismandegocentricthoughttendsto
declineduringtheConcreteOperationalstage,although,remnants
ofthiswayofthinkingareoftenfoundinadults.(Berk,2009)
Children'sideasaboutdifferentobjects,areformedanddominated
bytheappearanceoftheobject.Forexample,thereappearstobemoreblockswhentheyarespreadout,thanwhentheyareina
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smallpile.DuringtheConcreteOperationalStage,childrengradually
developtheabilityto'conserve',orlearnthatobjectsarenotalways
thewaythattheyappeartobe.Thisoccurswhenchildrenareable
totakeinmanydifferentaspectsofanobject,simplythrough
lookingatit.Childrenareabletobegintoimaginedifferent
scenarios,or'whatif'somethingweretohappen.Thisisbecause
theynowhavemore'operational'thought.Childrenaregenerally
firstabletoconserveideasaboutobjectswithwhichtheyaremost
comfortable.(Lightfoot,Cole,&Cole,2009)
Bibliography
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Eswaran(Ed.), Advancesindevelopmentalneuroscienceandimaging(pp.9–23).NewDelhi,
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Dunning,T.(2012).Naturalexperimentsinthesocialsciences:adesign-basedapproach.Cambridge;
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