2.2 Hassett et al (monkey toy preferences)

Question 1

what is the psychology being investigated?

Answer 1

talk about socialisation, play, gender stereotypes and sex differences in toy preferences

Question 2

socialisation

Answer 2

the process of learning to behave in socially acceptable ways. This may differ somewhat for the two genders and in different cultures.

Question 3

play

Answer 3

behaviour typical of childhood, that appears to be done for fun rather than any useful purpose.

Question 4

Aim

Answer 4

investigate whether toy preferences in monkeys resemble those in children
Test whether sex differences in toy choice are biologically determined by sex

Question 5

Research method and design

Answer 5

field experiment
independent measures design used
observation technique was used to measure the dependent variable

Question 6

what correlation was conducted?

Answer 6

a correlation was conducted to look for a relationship between individual monkeys’ ranks within the social hierarchy and the frequency or duration of activities with each toy type

Question 7

IV and DV

Answer 7

IV- sex of the monkey
DV- whether the monkeys interacted more with plush toys or wheeled toys

Question 8

sample and sampling technique

Answer 8

21 males, 61 females living in natal (birth) groups
part of a wider group of 135 monkey troop
Rhesus monkey
Yerkes primate research station in the USA
from 135- 14 were adults who received hormonal treatment, 39 young infants could not be reliably identified
final sample size 34

Question 9

housing conditions

Answer 9

25 X 25-meter outdoor area
access to temperature-controlled indoor environment
water available
standard monkey feed twice a day
additional fruit and vegetables once daily

Question 10

number, size and types of wheeled toys

Answer 10

6 wheeled toys
16-46cm
wagon truck, car, construction vehicle, shopping cart, dump truck

Question 11

number, size and types of plush toys

Answer 11

7 plush toys
14-73cm
Winnie-the-pooh, raggedy-Ann, koala hand puppet, armadillo, teddy bear, Scooby-Doo, turtle

Question 12

trial details

number of trials and length of trial

Answer 12

7 trials conducted each one 25 minutes long

Question 13

give 4 examples of monkey behaviours in the behavioural checklist

Answer 13

extended touch- placing hand or foot on toy
carry in hand- moving with toy in hand and off the ground
destroy- using mouth or hands to bite or tear toy
drag- moving the toy along the ground behind the animal

Question 14

what are hand obs and palm pilots?

Answer 14

Using an app called Hand Obs, observers recorded the frequency and duration using palm pilots (digital devices)

Question 15

Describe the procedure of each trial was conducted

Answer 15

pg.77 Cambridge

Question 16

number of monkeys that were discounted and why

Answer 16

14 male and 3 female because they had fewer than 5 total recorded behaviours

Question 17

mean frequency and mean duration for male monkeys and female monkeys with wheeled toys

Answer 17

mean frequency:
male- 9.77
female- 6.96

mean duration:
male- 4.76
female- 1.27

Question 18

mean frequency and mean duration for male monkeys and female monkeys with plush toys

Answer 18

mean frequency:
male- 2.06
female- 7.97

mean duration:
male- 0.53
female- 1.49

Question 19

percentage of individuals preferring each toy type

Answer 19

% for wheeled toys:
males- 73%
females- 39%

% for plush toys:
males- 9%
females- 30%

no significant preference-
male- 18%
female-30%

Question 20

methodological strengths

Answer 20

reliability- well operationalised behavioural checklist-, checklist describes behaviour as well

validity- seven observational trials using different toys for each trial

use of video camera- monkeys used cameras, if humans were watching their behaviours could change ( become distressed or expect a reward)

objectivity- quantitative data, use of palm pilots to measure the duration of individual behaviours

Question 21

methodological weaknesses

Answer 21

potential observer bias- observers were well acquainted with the monkeys and knew their genders

generalising, lack of adult male monkeys. Findings only generalisable to lower-ranking, non-adult males

generalising to real life- wild monkeys may not have behaved the same way ( more cautious), reduces ecological validity

Question 22

real-life application

Answer 22

the study suggests that some gender differences are inevitable (ex. toy preference)

the study stresses the need for gender-neutral socialization to enable all individuals to have access to all possible opportunities