2.2 Hassett et al (monkey toy preferences) Flashcards
what is the psychology being investigated?
talk about socialisation, play, gender stereotypes and sex differences in toy preferences
socialisation
the process of learning to behave in socially acceptable ways. This may differ somewhat for the two genders and in different cultures.
play
behaviour typical of childhood, that appears to be done for fun rather than any useful purpose.
Aim
investigate whether toy preferences in monkeys resemble those in children
Test whether sex differences in toy choice are biologically determined by sex
Research method and design
field experiment
independent measures design used
observation technique was used to measure the dependent variable
what correlation was conducted?
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
IV and DV
IV- sex of the monkey
DV- whether the monkeys interacted more with plush toys or wheeled toys
sample and sampling technique
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
housing conditions
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
number, size and types of wheeled toys
6 wheeled toys
16-46cm
wagon truck, car, construction vehicle, shopping cart, dump truck
number, size and types of plush toys
7 plush toys
14-73cm
Winnie-the-pooh, raggedy-Ann, koala hand puppet, armadillo, teddy bear, Scooby-Doo, turtle
trial details
number of trials and length of trial
7 trials conducted each one 25 minutes long
give 4 examples of monkey behaviours in the behavioural checklist
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
what are hand obs and palm pilots?
Using an app called Hand Obs, observers recorded the frequency and duration using palm pilots (digital devices)
Describe the procedure of each trial was conducted
pg.77 Cambridge
number of monkeys that were discounted and why
14 male and 3 female because they had fewer than 5 total recorded behaviours
mean frequency and mean duration for male monkeys and female monkeys with wheeled toys
mean frequency:
male- 9.77
female- 6.96
mean duration:
male- 4.76
female- 1.27
mean frequency and mean duration for male monkeys and female monkeys with plush toys
mean frequency:
male- 2.06
female- 7.97
mean duration:
male- 0.53
female- 1.49
percentage of individuals preferring each toy type
% for wheeled toys:
males- 73%
females- 39%
% for plush toys:
males- 9%
females- 30%
no significant preference-
male- 18%
female-30%
methodological strengths
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
methodological weaknesses
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
real-life application
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
