Child Flashcards
what is child psychology?
its concerned with understanding the development of human behaviour from before birth, through childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. it explores how experiences in childhood affect later adult development. it focuses on how children develop
what is considered to fall under childrens development?
- development of cognitiion
- moral development
- social behvaiour
- emotional behaviour –> role of attachment infancy and later development
what questions should be considered in child psychology?
- why do children attach to a caregiver?
- do these attchment types differ between children?
- whats the possible impact of disruptions to this attachment on later adult development?
how were children viewed historically?
as ‘mini adults’ whos brains worked in the exact same way
what is attachment?
a close, emotional bond t between chld and caregiver
why is attachment necessary?
it promotes proximity between child and caregiver in order to provide safety and security
what is deprivation?
a loss of an attachment that has been formed
what is privation?
an absence of attachment, an attachment that has never been formed
when does privation occur?
when a child is extremely neglected or in a situation where a caregiver is unable to bond with
what are rules about overt / covert observations regarding child psychology?
child may know or not know they are being observed.
the observation must be overt in the sense that a parent/legal guardian does know their child is part of a psychological study
how could a child psychology observation be participant?
when the adult, rather than getting involved themselves by being one of the children, joins the school class as a TA. they can part but not the same as joint participation.
how can demand characteristics affect children?
the effects of being in an artificial environment depends on the childs age. younger children dont notice.
whats the rules concerning gaining consent in child psychology?
its not okay to observe children in public places. you always need consent to observe children from parents
how can a questionnaire be adapated to children?
- key information in capitals, bold or underlined
- clear, step by step
- simple language and phrasing
- short questions and overall length
- closed qustions
what precautions with interviewing children must be taken?
- need training
- must ensure extra care is taken
- interviews must be shorter as children have shorter attention span
- need to adjust their languauge to suit younger more vulnerable group
- may need to record it and transcribe the interview to seek out common denominators of research interest
how can the intereview effect have an impact on children in interviwes?
the appearance of interviewer and other characteristics (e.g. gender) could influence the way the child responds to questions, depending on topic.
how may demand characteristics impact children in interviews?
they may pick up on suble cues the intervierwe may give as to what and how they want to find out from interviewees. participants may then alter their responses to conform to these percieved expectations and this will have a profound influence on results obtained.
what must be gained before research with children?
parental informed consent
when must you get parental consent?
before carrying out any observations or gaining any information
why isnt a childs consent the same as an adults consent?
because of their comprehenson hevel and vulnerability and age
can children withdraw from a study?
they have a right to withdraw and researchers should have the competence to enforce this withdrawal if they think the child is experiencing difficulties.
parents also have the right to withdraw their child.
when can children be decieved?
when justifiable deceit has been supported by colleagues.
otherwise they should be allowed to ask questions and be fuly informed.
when is information not confidential in children studies?
never
what should happen if information disclosed by the study that affects the child well-being?
it must be referred to an expert who may follow this up with parents.
what shouldnt be offered in exchange for participation?
incentives like sweets or toys
what ethical guidelines should be adhered to in child research?
general ethical guidelines for use wth humans
what guidlines are particularly umportant where children are concerned?
protection from harm, informed consent, confidentiality, decepetion
what is a priority during child research?
their safety and emotional state
what is the uncrc
united nations convention on the rights of the child.
it offers guidelines as to what countries should do to ensure children grow up as healthy as possible, learn at school, are protected, have their views istened to and are treated fairly.
any child research should adhere to this.convention on the rights of the child.
what is the background to our child practical?
looking at adult attachment theory/reationships and seeing if its different to mother child relationships.
are a persons adult relationships affected by early attachment experiences?
what was the aim of our child practical?
to investigate whether early caregiving has an effect on romantic relationships in adulthood
what are the variables of out child practical? how did we operationalise them?
- adult relationship using a questionnaire –> Experiences in close relationships scale: short form (ECR-S)
- attachement style using questionnaire –> Descriptions of parental caregiving style (Hazan and Shaver 1987)
what was the hypothesis of our child practical?
You will be significantly more likely to show a secure adult attachment style if your childhood relationship with caregiver was warm.
what is the target population of our child practical?
adults in a relationship (opportunity sample)
how can we analyse data in our child hypothesis?
- test of difference, nominal, independent groups = chi-squared.
what is the conclusion of our child practical?
in conclusion, we accept the research hypothesis that a person will be significantly more likely to show a secure adult attachment style if their childhood relatioship with caregiver is warm. this can be linked to Bowlbys work on attachment. he suggests a baby forms a special bond with one person (monotropy) and this can impact their attachment to others later in life, formed due to natural selection.
what are the results of our child practical?
for a chi squared test, a one tailed hypothesis, df = 1 and p<0.01, the critical value is 5.02. our observed value of chi was 13.03. since the observed value is greater than the critical value the results are significant at the p<0.01 level. consequently, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the research hypothesis. as such, people who describe their childhood relationship with their caregiver as warm are significantly more likely to show a secure adult attachment style.
describe the construct validity of our child psychology practical
- parental caregiving question (even though it was anonymous) it was incredibily direct.
- the participants may baulk at answering the questions honestly.
- or they may be in a state of denial.
- ecr-s has much more subtely worded questions and so is much less likely to cause SDB ~(although not immune)
describe the ecological validity of our child psychology practical
- self report is an unnatural way to measure people’s behaviour in relationships.
- covert observation of a persons habits in relationships, with their consent, is much more likely to give a realistic, real-life idea of their romatic attachemnt style
describe the population validity of our child psychology practical
- most students tested their parents .
- if you are a sixth form student you are by definition, educationally successful, and its easier to be educationally successful if your home life is stable, and home life is more likely to be stable if your parents are together and securely attached
- as such, we would expect secure attachment types to be over represented in our sample.
- 65% is what we’d expect (we had 79%)
describe the objectivity of our child psychology practical
- high from our side, because once we have teh self report data there is no opinion involved in scoring the questionnaire, classifying the attachment style, or the chi squared that follows
describe the reliability of our child psychology practical
- high because closed questions funnel people towards the same or similar boxes each time.
- in terms of romantic attachment, external reliability may be an issue. if they answer on monday they may be very positive. if they have a huge argument on wednesday this will affect their answers if you repeat the test on thursday.
why do attachments form?
natural selection.
attachment behaviour evolved becasue it benefitted both babies and parents.
how does attachment benefit paretns?
their genes are more likely to be passed on if the children are well protected.
how does attachment benefit children?
they are more likely to survive if they maintain a close proximinty to their caregiver.
what is the sensitive period in terms of human babies and what does this mean?
about 6 months. this means babies form attachments at about 6 months, but if they dont then they may never be able to form attachments.
who do babies attach to?
carers who are most sensitive to their needs - more responsive, cooperative, accessible
what are social releasers?
baby-like behaviours and features that elicit caregiving (things that make the carer want to look after the baby)
they lead to survival and reproductive success
what is monotropy?
When babies form a primary attachment / special emotional bond to / with one caregiver. This relationship is thought to be qualitatively different from relationships to anyone else.
who is the primary caregiver?
the person who responds most sensitively to the babys needs, not the one who spends the most time with them.
traditionally the mother
except monotropy, what else do babies do attachment wise?
they form secondary attachments that provide an emotional safety net - many babies prefer tehir mother if theyre upset but are equally well comforted by their father, grandparent or sibling if the mother is absent.
what is the main consequence of forming attachments?
it forms an internal working model of relationships should be
= expectations about the self, significant others and the relationship between the 2, that stem frm early attachment experiences.
what are the 2 consequences of the internal working model of relationships?
- short term –> gives the child insight inot the carers behaviour and enables the child to influence it (so a true partnership can be formed)
- long term –> a template for future relationships, creating expectations about what good relationships are like
what is the continuty hypothesis?
there is continuty from infancy to adulthood in terms of emotional attachment type
what are the emotional types possible in the continuty hypothesis?
- individuals who are strongly attached in infancy continue to be socially and emotionally competant
- babies who are not strongly attached have more social and emotional difficulties in childhooand adulthood.
what is a strength of bowlby’s work on attachment?
- isabella (1993) observed mother and babies at 1, 4 and 9 months, assessing quality of attachment at 1 year.
- he found that the most strongly-attached babies had mothers who were more sennsitively responsive.
- this supports the importance of sensitivity in the formation of a close attachment
what is a weakness of bowlby’s work on attachment?
- kagan’s (1984) temperament hypothesis says that a baby’s innate temperament (personality) has an important influence on the attachment elationship.
- some babies are emotionally ‘difficult’ from birth and this affects the mother’s ability to form a close relationship.
- this mean that how attachments form depends on more than just the sensitiveity of the mother/caregiver (both nature and nurture matter).
describe an extra strength of bowlby’s work on attachment
- according to bowlby it should be not possible to form attachments beyond the age of 6 months.
- rutter et al (2011) agree that it is less likely attachments form after this period. but they believe it is not impossible (a sensitive period rather than a critical period).
- this means that children are the most receptive to forming certain behaviours at a particualr time, but such developments can still occur outside this period
describe bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves study in terms of support for the critical period
He studied 44 juveniles in a juvenile delinquency Centre. He found that 17 of the 44 had experienced prolonged separation from their mother in the first six months of life. 15 of the 17 have been classified as having affectionless psychopathy, as opposed to 2 of the 24 who had not been separated from their mother. The supports the idea that a lack of attachment within the critical period can lead to never forming an attachment and a psychopathic personality
what is the application of bowlby’s work on attachment?
- bowlby’s theory has had a considerable impact on attitudes mother going out to work
- it implies mother should stay at home to care for children because separation is harmful to emotional develpopment
- therefore some feminits critised bowlby for discouraging women from being a mother and a career woman.
what is a counter argument to the application of bowlby’s work on attachment?
it misses a key part of the attachment theory - atachment is related to the quality of time spent with a baby, not the amount.
fox (1977) tested babies raised on israeli kibbtz (a metapelet looks after all the children during the day). the babies spent less time with their mothers but the attachment bond was almost as strong to the mother as it was to the metapelet.
how does hasan and shaver 1987 support bowlby’s theory of attachment?
they tested whether early attachments formed a template for later romatic relationships using the ‘love quiz’.
the 620 replies were classed as secure or insecure in their parent child relationships and related this to their belief about romatic love. they found secure parent child relationships = trusting relationships.
insecure parent child relationships = romantic relationships based on obsession, attraction and jealously.
this correlation supports bowlby
how does schaffer and emerson contradict bowlby’s theory of attachment?
their longitudinal study of 60 babies until they were 18 months old found that 17% of babies formed multiple attachments as soon as attachemnt behaviours were displayed.
by 4 months 50% of babies had more than 1 attachment, up to 5.
at 18 months, only 13% of children had 1 attachements.
this doesnt support bowlbys idea of monotropy.
what is the usefulness of bowlby’s work on attachment?
- contrinuted to development of new hospital procedures ensuring visting times and access rights of parents to hospitalised children were increases.
- it made a positive contribution to childcare practices to avoid bond distruption.
- day care carefully considers the nature of subsitute care and care-carer ratio are set by government
- howver, it has made working mother fel guilty and anxious about leaving children at daycare.
what is the testability of bowlby’s work on attachment?
it is not a testable theory because in order to test it you would have to vary how much the caregiver loves their child and measure how much it impact thier mental health. this is very unethical. however, we can do animal studies.
what was the name of the experiment ainsworth created?
strange situation procedure (ssp)
what was the ssp for and how is it carried out?
a method of assessing attachment type, structured observation in a new/strange room, 9 x9 foot square is marked off inot 16 squares to track the babies movements.
what are the stages of the ssp?
- mother and baby taken to small room with toys.
- child explores room and plays while the mother is there.
- stranger enters, greets mother, talks to her and then tries to interact with the child through play.
- the mother gets up and leaves the room, leaving the child and stranger alone.
- after a short period (determined by the child’s distress) the mother returns to join the child and stranger. she consoles the child and stranger leaves.
- mother leaves the room, leaving child alone.
- stranger enters the room and attempts to interact with and console the child in the mother’s absence.
- the mother returns to console the child for the second time and the stranger leaves the room.
what is assessed at each stage of the ssp?
- n/a
- use of parent as secure base
- stranger anxiety
- separation anxiety
- reunion behaviour
- separation anxiety
- stranger anxiety
- reunion behaviour
why is a new environment used?
to encourage exploration and thus test the secure base concept
what were the data collection methods?
- used a video recorder and/or a 2 way mirror
- note what the baby is doing every 15 seconds (time sampling)
- use behavioural categories (e.g. contact-seeking behaviours or interaction-avoiding behaviours
- each item is also scored for intensity on a scale of 1 to 7
what was the sample of ainsworth?
106 middle class babies in USA
what are the different attachment types found by ainsworth and their prevalance in the sample?
type a= insecure-avoidant –> 23%
type b= secure –> 65%
type c= insecure resistant –> 12%
what are the characteristics of an insecure avoidant baby? how does the parent behave?
- high willingness to explore, low stranger anxiety, indifferent separation anxiety, indifferent to departure or return of caregiver
parent is inconsistently emotionally available
what are the characteristics of a secure baby? how does the parent behave?
some separation anxiety but easy to sooth, high stranger anxiety, enthusiastic reunion behaviour, used caregiver as a secure base from which to explore, high willingness to explore.
parent is consistenty emotionally available
what are the characteristics of an insecure resistant baby?how does the parent behave?
high stranger anxiety, high separation anxiety (distressed), low willingness to explore, reunion behaviour was angry, resistance to being picked up, also trying other means to maintain proximity (seeks contact then rejects it). parent is consistently emotionally unavailable
describe the strength of using observations in ainsowrth’s study
they are highly reliable.
- used a panel of experienced observers which meant inter-observer reliability could be calculated.
- almost perfect agreement when rating exploratory behaviour (a correlation of +0.94 between raters’ scoring on the SSP)
- this means that the observations can be trusted
- use a standardised procedure
- high internal validity – multiple stages assess the same behaviour, shows consistency of observations
desrcibe the weakness of overlooking other types of attachments in ainsworth’s study
- main and solomon (1990) analysed over 200 SSP videos and found a type d (insecure-disorganised –> lack of consistent patterns of behaviour)
- a 5th type has been indentified - disinhibited attachment, characterisitic of children who have experienced severe privation
- this means the initial research may have oversimplified a more complex situation, therefore lacking validity
describe the weakness of low internal validity in ainsworths study
- the ssp aims to measure the attachment type of the child, but it actually measures the quality of one specific relationship
- main and wetson (1981) found that classification of attachment type depended on which parent the baby was with
- this suggests that attachment type may not be valid because what we are measuring is one relationship rather than a personal characteristic
what is a counter argument to the weakness of low internal validity?
it could be argued the realtionship between child and primary caregiver is the key factor in determining attachemnt type .
so if relationship being measured is with the primary attachment figure the outcome is valid.
what is the application of ainsworth’s research?
processes of attachment can be applied to childcare situations
- in cases of disordered attachments, intervention strategies can be developed (e.g. circle of security teaches carers to understand babies distress signals and increase understanding of how it feels to be anxious.
- in a study of security users, Cooper et al. (2005) found a decrease in the number of caregivers classified as disordered (from 60% to 15%) and an increase in securely attached babies (from 32% to 40%)
- this supports the research on attachment types because such research can be used to improve children’s lives and such strategies can only be trusted if they have a valid theoretical basis.
when might the ssp not be valid?
when using it on children who go to daycare (e.g. those accustomed to separation)
why might the ssp have low EV?
the child may behave differently in more familar surroundings
what are the ethics of the ssp?
Can cause distress to the child, however this is combatedwhat did fuertes et al. (2006) conduct reseach on by the panel of trained observers knowing to recognise the signals of distress
what did fuertes et al. (2006) conduct reseach on?
48 portuguese babies and mother, studied the sensitive, responsiveness of mother and the attachement bond secured by attentive mothers. they observed the mothers and babies regularly until they reached their first birthday. they assesed the babys personality in the first few months and the mothers sensitivity to the babies needs. when the babies were 12 months old, they used the ssp to categories them into different attachment types.
what did fuertes et al 2006 find and conclude?
it wasnt only the sensitive, responsiveness of the mother that determined the attachment type, but individual temperament or personality of the child had an overwhelming influence on the type of attachment that developed
does fuertes research support or contradict ainsworth’s research?
contradicts the maternal sensitivity hypothesis, highlighting instead the role of individual differences in the personality of the child
do think the ssp works but they think the relationship between mum and child is both to do with the childs temperament and also the sensitivity of the mother.
is ainsworth’s conclusion about senstive, responsiveness and attchment cultrally biased?
it only represents a westernised view of attachment. some cultures encourage independence so it only applies to western child rearing practicies. same for cultures where separation from parent is uncommon (e.g. japan)
why is it important to invesigate whether attachment types differ as a result of changing cultures?.
because it will show the impact of different child rearing practices. it will show whether attachment is universal or a cultrally specific phenomenon.
who studied attachment type in germany?
grossman and grossman (began in 1976-77)
what was the sample and research design of grossman and grossman?
longitudinal study, recruited 49 families at hospitals before the birth of a child. this was 23 girls and 26 boys from typical german native families with traditional divisions of labour within the family (mother tended to be primary caregiver, father was the provider).
how did grossman and grossman record their findings?
- extensive notes from observations of the parent-child interactions within the family at home
- at 2 y/o they were assessed using ssp
what were the findings of grossman and grossman?
49% children were type a (insecure avoidant)
- parental sensitivity was correlated with child-parent attachments formed
why may there be differences between attachment types for german children and american children?
- german children are more idenpendent from an earlier age, they are acustomed to being left with other adults or by themselves
who studied attachment type in japan?
miyake et al (1985) and Takahashi (1986)
what were the findings of miyake et al and Takahashi?
- absence of type a (insecure avoidant)
- greater distribution of type c (insecure-resistant) –> more than 30% compared to the usa
- showed inconsolable, great distress at separation and stranger activity
why may there be differences between attachment types for japanese children and american children?
- theyre rarely separated from their mother and attachment is characterised by close continuous physical contact, so ssp may be the first time theyve ever been left alone or with a stranger
who studied attachment in israeli kibbutz?
sagi et al. (1985)
what is life like in an israeli kibbutz?
theyre separated from the parents in the day, instead looked after in a nursery environment headed by a metapelet.
they often sleep in dorms and are cared for collectively where child rearing is shared
what were the findings of sagi et al?
- high amount of type c (insecure resistant) –> 33%
why may there be differences between attachment types for isreali children and american children?
- because the mother was regularly absent and caregivers rotated shifts so lack of continuous and immediate attention
what were the findings in sagi’s study variation looking at the children sleeping with their parents instead of in dorms?
consistent with attachment proportions in the usa
why might the ssp not be a useful measure of attachment across other cultures?
because it reflects the values and beliefs of child rearing practices of america. its not sensitive to cultrual values
what would be assumed if we applied ainsworths findings to germany, japan and israeli kibbutz?
ainsworth suggests a strong association between sensitive, responsive parenting and type b secure attachments
translating this would assume japanese, german and israeli children are insecurely attached due to lack of maternal sensitive responsiveness (consistently insensitive or inconsistently sensitive).
what conclusion can be drawn from the cross-cultral research?
attachment exists across many culture and to an extent is determined by maternal sensitivity.
supports bowlby’s idea that attachment is an innate process driven by evolutionary adaptness.
however, type od attachment formed is largely dependent on different child rearing practices in different cultures.
what was the aim of our classic study van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg?
to investigate if attachment styles are universal across cultures, or cultrally specific (vary considerably from place to place due to traditions, social environment or beliefs about children)
what kind of study did van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg conduct?
meta analysis, compiling different studies research
what research did van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg compile?
data from 32 separate studies carried out in 8 different countries and in total represented 1990 strange situation classifications.
all used the ssp.
they excluded studies that included children with special educational needs, studies with overlapping samples and studies where children were over 24 months.
what did van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg find to be the most common attachment type across all 8 countries?
secure type b
what attachment type was found in high proportion by van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg in germany and why?
anxious avoidant
because german parents place high value on independence
what attachment type was found in high proportion by van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg in japan and why?
insecure resistant
because the high value placed on dependency
what conclusions were drawn by van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg?
it is ethical
when doing a meta analysis, all the research has already been completed so therefore none of the issues that arise from primary data research apply. this includes ethical issues. they don’t hold responsibility for the ethical concerns of the study as they themselves did not do it or could have affected it in any way because it is secondary research.
what is two weaknesses of van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg?
- ethnocentric
- lacks population validity
how is van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg ethnocentric?
- using the ssp in different countries and assuming it works in all is ethnocentric because it reflects american norms and values regarding child bearing.
- test suggests attachment is related to anxiety on separation and in doing so assumes that behaviour has the same meaning in all cultures
- isnt the case e.g. japan – ainsworth would interpret the high distress elvels as insecure attachment in doing so would impose western values on a different culture
how does van ijenzendoorn and kroonenberg lack population validity?
- majority of data came from studies in individualistic cultures
- only one studys data was used to represent china compared to 18 from america
- many samples used a small or biased number of middle class families which cannot represent the whole culture completely
- urban rather than rural areas were assessed
- likely the studies showed subcultures within the culture they attempted to represent
- oversimplification – great variation within each country e.g. berlin vs Bielefeld was as different as berlin vs isreali kibbutz
what was bowlbys hypothesis on the impact of separation on a child?
he believed that because a child should have a close bond with the mother in the first years of life, if they are separated, this could severely effect their emotional development.
what are the 3 short term effects of separation as suggested by who?
protest, despair, detachment
bowlby and robertson 1952
in what study can the short term effects of relatively temporary separation be seen in?
james robertson’s research
how did roberston complete his research?
by working as an observer for bowlby in a residential nursery and hospital setting, he made notes in the behaviour of the children who came to the institutions where parental visitation was very restricted.
he was able to record the distress at separation exhibited by children.
how long does the protest stage last? what does the child do in the protest stage?
range from several hours to days
cry profusely, throw themself around and seek for the mother figure.
they will actively refuse comfort from other adults or display exaggerated clinging to an adult.
anger and fear evident.
some panic stricken
when does the despair stage start? what are the symptoms of despair in a child?
once the initial protest and screaming stops and the child no longer anticipates the return of the mother and becomes increasingly hopeless.
calmer but indifferent as they show little interest in anything.
they will become withdrawn, apathetic and demonstrates mourning.
the child self-soothes and rejects the comfort of other. often displays rocking, thumb sucking and cuddling inanimate objects.
what does the child do during the detachment phase?
they regain interest in their environment and even accepts comfort and interaction with other adults but still emotionally unresponsive and avoid forming new attachments.
when the mother returns, the child doesn’t display normal reunion behaviour. they reject the mother and doesnt accept her comfort believing she has rejected them.
prolonged or repeated separations can lead to rather superficial interactions between child and other adult figures.
who is the specific example from robertson’s research?
little john, 17 months old.
he was placed in a residential nursery for 9 days while his mother was admitted to hospital to give birth to a 2nd child. his father worked all day and he had no relatives to care for him, although his father did visit him whilst he was in the nurseryhe displayed the 3 stages of distress.
protest - he sobbed and resisted comfort
despair - he played with toys and clung to a soft teddy bear
detachment - wouldn’t look at his mother when she returned, resisting attempts to soothe him.
what do some argue is another explanation for the effects seen in children follwoing the separation from their parent?
rather than the separation, it might be the associated factors around the separation like the introduction to an unfamiliar environment or the length and nature of the separation.
what was the research conducted by Spiro (1958) about?
the case of a boy brought up in an israeli kibbutz who was left for several weeks while his parents were away travelling
what were the findings of spiro?
even since the boy was left by his parents in a familiar environment and with familiar people, he still displayed the same distress documented in the case of john.
suggests the unfamiliarity of the environment alone doesn’t account for the distress shown
what was fagin (1966)’s reseach about?
study of the distress of matched children who were accompanied into hospital by their mother or left in hospital alone.
what were the findings of fagin (1966)?
only the unaccomapnied children showed distress, highlighting how its the absence of the mother figure that casued distress and not the unfamiliarity of the environment
when are the effects of separation the most severe?
if the separation is prolonged and at an early age
where and when did spitz conduct research?
in children’s orphanges in south america during the 1940s
what were the findings of spitz?
- in one insitution, babies were separated from their mothers at 3 months and placed in an orphanage to await fostering.
- in another insitution, annexed to a female prison, babies of inmates were separated from their mothers but recieved regular visits so their mothers could care for them. the prison babies thrived while the orphaned children displayed anaclitic depression and developmental delay
what was goldfarb’s 1943 research about?
the development of children raised in institutions compared to those fostered straight from their mother.
explain the procedure of goldfarb’s research
there was 15 children in each group and they were matched on maternal education and occupation, and studied from the age of about 6 months to 3 years old.
what was the findings of goldfarb (1947)?
at 3, the children who remained in the institution were intellectually and socially behind the fostered group and in adolescence they maintained this development lag and showed problems with relationship formation
what are the conclusions of goldfarb (1947) study?
early deprivation can have long term consequences on social, emotional and intellectual development, although it could have been the nature of the unstimulating and neglectful environment that caused these problems rather than their separation from a mother figure.
what research can also be used to support the long term effects of deprivation?
bowlbys 44 juvenile thieves, 17/44 criminals experienced prolonged periods of maternal separation, 15/17 classified as affectonless psychopaths
what is the problem with stating that maternal deprivation leads to later emotional, social and cognitive difficulties?
it may not have been the deprivation alone.
the circumstances around the separation period or the reason for such separation may be a cause of the long term effects.
- correlatory research cannot establish the cause of later difficulties, just that there is a relationship
-44 of bowlby’s juvenile thieves, 27 didn’t suffer maternal deprivation but were still referred to the clinic for stealing.
this means other factors must contribute to the development of these tendancies.
what other factors except deprivation in goldfarb’s study may have caused some of the long term effects?
other factors associated with the orphanage like emotional neglect, the impoverished environments - they lack stimulation and are associated with developmental retardation and poor language development. therefore long term outcomes could be associated with unstimulating environments rather than lack of mother figure
what point does rutter (1981) make about the long term effects of deprivation?
suggests that effects seen in research involving institutionalised children may be a result of privation rather than deprivation, as many children were for all intents and purposes emotionally neglected, which may explain negative effects in later life.
what time period do short term effects occur across?
1 week
what time period do long term effect occur over?
after 1 week
who did schaffer (1958) study?
67 children undergoing elective surgery
what did schaffer find?
if the child was over 29 weeks old they would be upset and show long term effects of deprivation.
if they were under 28 weeks old they would just be confused.
what is neglect for children?
when they dont get what their brain is expecting to get, like input from those around us
what is serve and return?
when a child does something (serve) and the parent notices and responds (return).
the interactions shape the brain and when its broken this prevents development
why does a baby become distressed when its not attended to?
the lack of attention is a sign of danger
what happens biologically within a child who experiences neglect?
key synapses and connections between nerves fail to form as well as critical regions of the brain. it fails to provide stimulation thats needed for brain development and instead activates stress biology.
how does bowlby suggest that short term effects of deprivation can be ameliorated?
reunion between caregiver and child
what might prevent reunion between care giver and child?
modern society encourages both parents to work, causing child to be put in day care
what did robertson and robertson (1971) do
they combined the role of observer and temporary foster carers for 4 children whose mothers were going into hospital
what was the aim of robertson and robertson (1971)?
to understand the conditions under which negative effects of separation could be ameliorated
what was the procedure of robertson and robertson (1971) study?
fostered each child separately and they made an effort to get to know the habits and developmental stage of each child prior to their separation.
based on observations during time with robertsons and reunion with paresnts, they assessed the effects of deprivation
what were the findings of robertson and robertson (1971)
although stages of protest, despair and detachment could be seen in children’s behaviour, the intensity and distress was significantly reduced when good quality care was substituted
how can negative effects of deprivation be reduced?
provision of a substitute mother figure with concern over the child’s emotional and intellectual needs.
greater contact and comfort from a substitute carer who provides attention and stimulation.
what did the robertsons suggest could help a child cope with separation?
regular contact, letters visits or phone calls, and reminders of the original caregivers, e.g. a jacket or photos
also the unfamiliar environment could be buffered by maintaining home life routines, e.g. same bathtime and bedtime routine
how is the robertson and robertson (1971)’s research applied to real life?
in day care centres and nurseries.
- gov policies for childcare provision regulate the permitted child to staff ratios and key adults for childcare providers to ensure that children recieve a sufficient amount of attention and stimulation from subsitute carers
what 3 things can help to reduce the negative effects of deprivation?
- provision of high quality substitute carers
- regular contact and reminders of the parent
- make the setting more familiar by maintaining home routines
define privation
the complete absence of an attachment figure or when an attachmen between a child and a caregiver is never formed
when does privation occur?
where children have suffred extreme neglect or have been placed in poor quality insitutional care
who published work on the case of genie?
curtiss (1977)
when and where was genie discovered?
los angeles, november 1970
when genie was 13 years old
what had happened to genie before she was discovered?
she had been locked in a room with nothing but a cot, potty chair
- she was seriously neglected by her parents
- she was confined to her cot or tied to her potty chair for most of her early life
- her father repeatedly beat her for vocalising and her mother claimed to be victim to this absuse as well.
only given cotton reels to play with, on special occasions was she allowed to play with 2 plastic raincoats
fed baby food
what did genie’s parents claim about her?
claimed she was mental retardation
she was born with a hip condition leading her to be put in a spica cast until age 1, perhaps making her late to walk and leading her father to believe she was mentally retarded
who was the custody of genie given to?
LA children’s hospital, where researchers and doctors were involved in her care and recovery.
what were the problems with genie upon her discovery?
- severe emotional and intellectual retardation
- virtually mute
- awkward gait and stooped
- seriously malnourished
- scratched and bit herself
-ring of callus on her buttocks - urinated her clothes
- couldnt chew
did genie show any short term signs of improvement?
yes she did and only after a few days in the hospital.
- urinate independently
- form attachments with members of staff
what developments had occurred with genie after several months?
- began to play
- began to utter words, however her language didnt improve beyond the level of a toddler
what eventually happened to genie?
The funding was cut for the study, they argued that Jean Butler and then david rigler, two of genie’s researchers who fostered her after her hospital stay, had crossed the line between researcher and foster parent, and the study and daily life. Genie was firstly returned to her mother and then put into different foster homes, however was beaten after vomiting one time and returned back to a world of silence as she refused to open her mouth out of fear of vomiting again. she was eventually made a ward of the state
what was genie exposed to when attempting to improve her emotional and social skills?
a number of cognitive tests, brain scans and treatments
what concern did some raise about the study of genie?
she was overexposed to testing and this was innappropriate for a vulnerable child. ethical issues.
what is the main weakness of the study of genie?
ethical issues.
concerns as to whether appropriate theraputic and foster care was provided or instead whether ambitions of some researchers were placed ahead of genie’s welfare
was genie mentally retarded from birth?
unsure.
dr shurley measured her brain waves whilst she slept and found she was mentally retarded but wasnt sure if this was from birth or not.
why did some think genie could get better?
she could form attachments
what was impressive about genie’s language development?
she had passed the critical period but had an extensive vocabulary - words for colours, emotions.
however, she couldn’t do grammar.
where is genie now?
in an adult foster home somewhere in southern california
what was the backstory of the czech twins studied by kolechova 1976?
their mum died shortly after their birth and they were placed in a children’s home for 11 months and then cared for by their aunt for 6 months
what happened to the czech twins after being cared for by their aunt?
they were moved back in with their father and his new partner. here they were abused, socially isolated and forced to live in the basement together for 6 years
what happened after the czech twins were discovered at age 7, and then how were they at age 14?
they were fostered by loving parents and showed surprising resiliance and learning ability, catching up on lost education at an impressive rate. at age 14 they had an iq normal for their age. they had an aversion to the dark
what were the 2 strengths of the case of the czech twins (Koluchova, 1972)?
- number of different measures - tested at multiple ages
- useful as it shows that unconditional love and care can help progress
what is a weaknesses of the case of the czech twins (Koluchova, 1972)?
- may be a serious case of deprivation rather than privation due to the time they spent with their aunt and the fact they had each other
what was the aim of rutter and the English and Romanian Adoptees (era) 1990?
to compare the development of Romanian children adopted into UK families in a longitudinal study
what was the sample of rutter and the ERA 1990?
random sample of 165 romanian orphans rasied in appalling insitutional conditions for the first few weeks of life.
what was the procedure of rutter and the ERA 1990?
the sample was divided into those who were adopted before the age of 6 months and between the age of 6 months and 2 years.
a comparison was made against 52 adopted children who had not spent any time in institutional care.
they were assessed on physical factors and social, cognitive and emotional development.
what was the findings of the romanian adoptees adopted before age of 6 months?
despite being developmentally delayed at age 6 months, they had caught up in weight, height, head circumference and cognitive ability at 11 y/o. they were on par with the UK adoptees
what was the findings of the romanian adoptees, adopted after age of 6 months?
they made progress.
they continued to show problems with overactivity, forming attachments and social interactions, which warranted attention from psychological services.
these difficulties persisted until age of 15, particularly those stemming from attachment disorders.
what was the conclusion of rutter and the ERA 1990?
early privation experienced by romanian orphans only seemed to have a prolonged effect if they were adopted after the age of 6 months
what were 3 strengths of rutter and the ERA 1990?
- better understanding of effects of institutionalisation. it can change
- longitudinal allows changes to be monitored
- fewer ev’s becasue they didnt suffer trauma beforehand
what are 3 weaknesses of rutter and the ERA 1990?
- long term effects arent clear
- lack of generalisability since romanian orphanages aren’t typical of institutionalised care
- longitudinal studies are time consuming
what were the 3 aims of hodges and tizard (1989)?
- to investigate the effects of institutional upbringing on later attachments
- to investigate the effects of privation on later social and emotional development
- to investigate if the effects of privation could be reversed
what was the sample of hodges and tizard (1989)?
65 children who had been in residential nurseries from only a few months old. they recieved good quality care but carers were discouraged from forming attachments with the children
what was the procedure of hodges and tizard (1989)?
followed the development of the children.
by age 4, 24 children were adopted, 15 returned to their natural home and 26 stayed in institutional care.
the children were compared with a control group who spent their entire lives with their families.
they were assessed for social and emotional competence at 4, 8 and 16 years old.
what was the iv of hodges and tizard (1989)?
what happened at age 4, whether they were adopted, returned home or stayed in insitutional care
what kind of experiment did hodges and tizard (1989) do?
naturalistic, they didnt manipulate the iv themselves
what were the control group in hodges and tizard (1989)’s study matched on?
- number of siblings
- home location
- parental occupation
- age
- gender
what was the dv of hodges and tizard (1989)?
whether they were socially and emotionally competent at age 8 and 16
what did the assessment of social and emotional development in hodges and tizard (1989)’s study involve?
interviewing children and their parents and teachers and a set of questionnaires.
what was hodges and tizards findings regarding the children who were institutionalised at 4?
- at age 8, they were attention seeking and struggled to make friends
- at 16, most out of all groups experienced instability and trouble forming attachments
what was hodges and tizards findings regarding the children who were adopted at 4?
- they had formed good attachments by the time they were 8
- at 16, still good attachments which compared well with a new matched control group of those who were with families since birth
what was hodges and tizards findings regarding the children who were returned to their nature home at 4?
- at age 8, they had weaker attachments, more behavioural problems and less social and intellectual development
- at 16 fewer than the adopted children were reported as having good attachments
what was the conclusions of hodges and tizard?
- bowlby correct in emphasis of importance of the early years
- effects caused by the delay in forming attachments dont necessarily persist into adulthood or lead to affectionless psychopathy
- difference between adopted and restored group could be due to the adoptive parent’s enthusiasm to care for the child whereas the biological ones were uncertain
what were 3 strengths of hodges and tizard?
- longitudinal study allows change to be monitored
- matached control group
- useful as it shows problems experienced by insitutionalised children so can be used to suggest how they should be looked after. shows success of adoption
what are the 4 weaknesses of hodges and tizard?
- social desirability bias (use of interviews and questionnaires)
- longitudinal studies are time consuming, expensive and subject attrition can occur
- subject attrition - 6 of orginal 51 families of 8 year olds refused to take part, could be the ones experiencing difficulties
- effects could be due to poor physical care
what was the sample of freud and dann (1951)?
6 jewish orphans who had been raised in a concentration camp in thereienstadt. their parents had been deported in poland and killed in concentration camps during the nazi occupation
what happened to the children at the start of their life?
they were placed in a ‘ward for motherless children’ and were raised by the inmates.
there was limited space and no toys. they struggled to form good attachments.
what happened after the ward for motherless children in the bulldog’s bank, freud and dann study?
they were sent to the bulldogs bank at age 3, a clinic for treating orphaned children of war
how did the children in bulldog’s bank, freud and dann study intially react to the staff and environment?
- they were aggressive towards staff (e.g. biting and verbally)
- destroyed toys.
- they responded in a cold or hostile way.
- they only turned to the adults if they needed something.
why was it hard to treat the children separately in the bulldog’s bank, freud and dann study?
they were very attached to each other and they had a tight knit connection, trauma bonded
what dialect did the jewish orphans speak in when at bulldogs bank?
german and czech when they first arrived but when staff stopped speaking german after 1 week, they did too
what bonds did the jewish orphans form and why?
-each other –> experienced a lot togehter
- adults –> this was after a while and only showed signs of it. because they were consistently available and sensitive to their needs
what kind of progress had the jewish orphans made by the time they were put into foster care and later on?
- more successful in forming relationships.
- developed normal intelligence, apart from one who needed psychiatric help as an adult and another who said they felt lonely
what conclusions were made from the bulldog’s bank, freud and dann study?
- negative effects of privation may be reduced by attachment to peers
- young children are able to develop a sense of fairness e.g. they shared leadership throughout the group
- negative effects of privation can be reduced
- can form attachments especially with each other
what were the strengths of bulldog’s bank, freud and dann?
- high ecological validity – based on real experiences, couldn’t have been set up due to ethical issues
- longitudinal study shows long term effects of privation and whether it is reversible
what is a weakness of bulldog’s bank, freud and dann?
they may not actually have experienced privation as they were constantly with each other
what methods do case studies often employ when researching privated children?
variety of methods, e.g. self-report, observations, cognitive tests and EEG recordings. these can be triangulated to ensure valid findings
what are the methodological issues associated with the information gained from case studies of privated children?
retrospective
- not always accurate account of the child’s history (cant be sure)
- come from family and friends
- uncertainty, invalid
one off investigations
- individual characteristics make it hard to generalise
what is example case studies of privation of the issue of retrospectivity?
genie and the bulldogs bank children and czech twins
explain how the case of genie shows the issue of retrospectivity in case studies of privation
researchers couldnt determine whether she was retarded from birth or if difficulties arose due to her treatment.
a sleep spindle study suggested retardation but Curtiss said that retardation from birth would be uncharacteristic of somone who could make genies developmental progress.
explain how the case of the bulldog bank children shows the issue of retrospectivity in case studies of privation
cant be sure the extent of their privation
- had each other and the prisoners of war
explain how the case of the czech twins shows the issue of retrospectivity in case studies of privation
cant be sure of the extent of their privation
- had each other
- good quality care from children’s home
what factors can affect the outcome of children who have been privated?
age, quality of relationships formed after having been discovered, availability of others to bond with
what are some issues of case studies of privated children when looking at later development?
can’t be matched on every characteristic.
may be reasons one child was adopted instead of another who was left institutionalised.
what is a critism of hodges and tizard’s research?
didnt take into account the temperament of the child.
those adopted may have been more stable which may explain why they formed better relationships
what are significant factors in whether effects of privation can be reversed?
- age.
—> the younger a child is rehabilitated/gets foster care, the better the outcomes. - length of the privation period
- nature of their isolated
—> e.g. other attachment figures - quality of care following a period of privation
what case studies prove age is important to consider when questionning if privation is reversible?
czech twins were found at 6 and recovered.
genie was found at 13 and had limited recovery.
romanian orphans adopted before 6 months old recovered.
romanian orphans adopted after 6 months old recovered less.
what case studies prove the nature of isolation is important to consider when questionning if privation is reversible?
bulldogs bank children and czech twins had other attachment figures (transient adults or other children).
genie had no one and she showed much less recovery.
what case studies prove quality of care following a period of isolation is important to consider when questionning if privation is reversible?
czech twins cared for by 2 sisters who provided excellent care and they recovered.
hodges and tizard showed that when children were adopted into loving familities they fared better than those restored to biological parents. (this assumes the biological parents were reluctant to have their child back).
define day care
any formal or informal arrangement to provide substitute care for a child which is not provided by the biological parent.
informal e.g. with a grandparent, formal e.g. at a nursery
how is social development measured in children?
through their ability to interact with others (peers), this includes how independent, shy or aggressive they are
how is emotional development measured in children?
through the attachments they form and their ability to cope with situations
how is cognitive development measured in children?
through the intellectual growth of a child, can be measured with IQ tests
what was anderssons study about?
effects of day care on social and cognitive deelopment
sample and research design on andersson
longitudinal study of 119 swedish children until their 8th birthday
what were children who attended day care before 1 rated in teacher assessments in andersons study?
- more socially advanced, had more friends
- did better at school between 8 and 13, higher reading ability etc
why does day care inmprove social ability?
offered opportunity to develop social skills
whats bad about anderssons study being in sweden?
it has unusally well funded day care.
maternity and paternity leave in sweden is extended compared to the UK so children spend longer with paresnts before they have to return to work
what was the name of sylva et al 2004’s project?
EPPE - effective provision of preschool education
sample and research design of sylva 2004
longituduinal study of 3000 children in the UK
how were children assessed in the eppe
researchers created developmental profiles for each child, from 3 - 7 based on SATs results and what preschool staff, parents and school teachers said.
also recorded parental qualifications, social background, birth weight to see effects of these varibales
what was the findings of the eppe?
children benefitted socially and intellectually from preschool care, particularly if they started day care before 3, effects were still evident at end of ks1 as they got better scores in maths and literacy.
what are the advantages of day care contingent on?
provision of good quality day care:
- good staff to child ratios
- positive interaction between staff and children
- low staff turn over
- highly qualified staff
what did belsky and rovine do?
they used findings of 2 longitudinal studies in America to look at effect of day care on attachments between parents and children in first year of life using the ssp
what did belsky and rovine find?
-more insecure avoidant attachment types with mother (43%) among children who spent 20 or more hours at day care a week during first year of life than those who spent less time at day care.
- boys who spent 35+ hours at day care had more insesure attachments with dad
who cristised the belsky and rovine?
clarke-stewart (1989)
ssp isnt a good measure of attachment for day care children as theyre used to being left away from parents or with strangers
what does nichd stand for?
national insitute of child health and human development
what was the sample of the nichd?
1364 american familes from birth to 1st grade
what was the nichd looking at?
the relationship between day care and development of children from range of backgrouds
what did the nichd conclude?
hgih quality day care is associated with cognitive development
day care associated with dehavioural problems especially of low quality
what is the main problems of investigating day care?
- correlatory evidence - not cause and effect.
- you cant assign a child to a specific type of day care to control extraneous varibales because its unethical -impractical as researcher have to do stastical tests to isolate effects of daycare
- each day care is different
does day care have a good or bad effect on social development and says who?
good
andersson 1990
does day care have a good or bad effect on cognitive development and says who?
good
sylva 2004
does day care have a good or bad effect on emotional development?
bad
belsky and rovine 1988
what is the aim of our cognitive study li et al (2013)
to investigate the effect of the quality of day care on children’s cognitive, language and pre-academic performance.
what was the sample of li et al?
1364 families from 10 sample sites around north america in 1991 from various hospitals at the birth of a child.
at what age were the children was data was collected in li et al’s study?
1, 6, 15, 24, 36 and 54 months old
data collected at 1 month, children and familes being assessed using a variety of research method - questionnaires, observations, family background
data collected in the other months,quality of childcare was assessed using the observational record of the caregiving environment (ORCE) in a range of settings like home and nursery.
this involved a 44 min observation over 2 days.
how was day care classified?
quality of day care was scored.
more than 3.0 = high quality
- care givers sensitive to children’s needs, provided greater cognitive stimulation, fostered greater exploration.
how was data collected in li’s study at the end of the infant toddler period?
the bayley mental developmental index was used to assess the children’s cognitive development (including langauge)
how was data collected in li’s study at the end of the preschool period
woodcock johnson cognitive and achievement batteries and the preschool language scale (PLS) was used to measure language, memory and intelligence
what 4 groups was every child categorised into in li’s study?
1) low - low = low quality nfant toddler, low preschool period care
2) high - low = high quality infant toddler, low preschool period care
3) low - high = low quality infant toddler, high preschool period care
4) high - high = high quality infant toddler, high preschool period care
what measures were taken in li et al’s study at varying intervals?
- ethicity
- gender
- birth order
- child temperament
- maternal attitudes on raising children
- maternal age
- material and parental education level
- child’s health
- maternal separation anxiety
- maternal employment status
- family income
what was the finding of li regarding childcare quality during infant toddler period and cognitive outcomes?
significant positive relationship between childcare quality during infant toddler period and cognitive outcomes at 24 months
what was the findings of li et al
the positive effect of high quality infant-toddler care would decline if high quality care wasn’t continued.
high-high would produce better 54 month outcomes than any of the other combinations.
study supports this. high - high pattern produced the best outcomes and low - low produced the worst outcomes and there was little observable difference between outcomes produced by high-low and low-high.
however memory development seemed to benefit from early high quality care (infant toddler period) but maths benefitted from high quality care in the preschool period.
what was the conclusion of li et al’s study
- high quality care during the first 24 months is important for memory development but not as beneficial for academic skill development.
- high quality preschool care prepared children for scholastic achievement and children who were also exposed to high quality infant-toddler care benefitted most.
- early exposure to good quality care that was not maintained didn’t benefit the children but maintained high-quality care resulted in the greatest gains.
what are 2 strengths of li et al’s study
practical application
-it shows policy makers how to invest in childcare in the USA.
- important to prevent unequal distribution of childcare provision into either early or preschool years
- encourages provision that is equally distributed throughout childhood
- acknowledging high quality daycare is costly, a preference to provide high quality day care during preschool years is probably more cost effective.
what are 2 weaknesses of li et al’s study
low population validity: - data comes from NICHD study of early child care which is not a representative sample, limiting generalisability
- response rate at the 6 month interviews was around 50% and tended to be biased towards economically advantageous, white families who didn’t represent the american population in general.
low construct validity: - quality of childcare was categorised may be over simplified as it didn’t include a wide range of characteristics when creating groups
- didnt distinguish between types of care or the quantity of care recieved
what are 3 indicators of good quality day care provision?
- low staff turnover
ensures consistency of care - good staff to child ratios
it helps children form substitute attachments - staff training and qualifications
ensures staff are competent enough to provide good care
what current rules are in place to ensure all day care is of an adequate standard?
the current early years foundation stage statutory framework (2014) requires that the manager of the day care centre should hold a relevant level 3 qualification as a minimum and half of the staff should hold a relevant level 2 qualification.
what does the early years foundation stage (eyfs) do?
they set out a statutory framework for the quality of care provided by day care provision in the uk, to include the provision of a key worker within the environment for each child
what is meant by a key worker for each child (as outlined by the eyfs)?
the key worker is someone who can help the child settle into the environment, provide tailored care, track progress and build relationships with the parents.
what is the lack of consistent findings about the benefits and problems of the onset and duration of day care explained by?
the quality of provision.
safer to assume only good quality day care is benefical for children at an early age
what does asd stand for
autism spectrum disorder
what are the 2 broad categories of symptoms considered for a disagnosis of asd?
- social communication difficulties
- restrictive and repetitive behaviours
what 3 subcategories of social communication difficulties are there?
- social-emotional reprocity difficulties
- non-verbal commication defecits
- problems developing and maintaining relationships
what does social-emotional reprocity difficulties involve?
- may not use communication to share interests or emotions initiate interactions or respond to others
- lack back and forth every day communication
what does non-verbal communication deficits involve?
- use non verbal signals (e.g. eye contact and social smiling) inappropriately
- facial expressions can be limited or exaggerated gestures may be used in the wrong contexts
- mismatch between facial expression and tone of voice
what does problems developing and maintaining relationships involve?
- lack of understanding that other people have minds, so have trouble seeing the world from another’s viewpoint
- unaware of social norms which makes it hard to change behaviour to suit the context (e.g. laughing at the right time)
- lack of understanding means difficulty making friends (e.g. children with asd dont play cooperatively)
what 3 subcategories of restrictive and repetitive behaviours are there
- repetitive behaviours
- routines and rituals
- unusual reactions to sensory input
what does repetitive behaviours involve?
- use language unusually, e.g. repeating what has just been heard
- physical movements can be repetitive (e.g. rocking)
what does routines and rituals involve
-inflexibly to routines (e.g. step by step sequence)
- use verbal rituals, insisting other people use words in a set pattern (e.g. when answering questions)
- can be resistant to change and variation in routines
what does unusual reactions to sensory input involve
- find touch adversive so try to avoid it (e.g. hair brushing)
- may be obsessively interested in movement of objects (opening, closing) looking at them for long periods
- first response to an object, or in some cases a person, may be to lick or sniff it
- can be easily distressed by stimuli theyre not used to yet and may appear indifferent to pain (both their own and other people’s)
what research evidence supports the idea that asd diagnosis is valid
frazier et al (2012) support the division of asd symptoms into the 2 broad categories.
they found that the dyadic (2 category) model of asd was confirmed by a statisitical technique called factor analysis. this measn the DSM-5’s classification is valid because it reflects the reality of the disorders symptoms.
valid classification is the first step in planning an effective treatment program. it improves the accuracy of diagnosis so symptoms can be more effectively targeted.
explain why the dsm-5’s classification of autism is unreliable
in an australian study (taylor et al 2017), 27 clinicians used the dsm-5 criteria to classify symptoms observed in 9 video clips.
the findings were mixed.
reliability was 100% for 3 of the clips but poor for the other 6. this suggests that the reliability of a diagnosis of asd under the dsm-5 hasnt yet been fully established.
what is a weakness of the diagnosis of asd
it focuses on deficits which overlooks the strengths of people with asd and maintains the stigma associated with it.
frith (2003) rejects the focus on what people with asd cannot do in favour of a focus on superior abilities
while they struggle with global processing, they are more skilled in local processing (i.e. they can identify and understanf details such as specific information in a conversation.
what is the connection between asd and the amygdala?
amydala development differs between children with and without asd (nordahl et al 2012)
amygdala of children with asd is 6-9% larger from 2 years of age than in those without.
as children with asd get older, volume growth stalls, but it continues in children without.
by late adolesence, there is no difference in volume.
what effect can abnormal amygdala development have?
it has a central role in influencing behaviour so may be responsible for any abnormal neural organisation and impaired functioning
how did baron-cohen et al (2000) apply the idea of the amygdala playing a role in social behaviour to asd
the amygdala has neural connections with the frontal/prefrontal cortex which has a major role in processing social information.
abnormal amygdala development in childhood affects the operation of these parts of the brain due to altered attachment to the pfc
this is a key cause of social and behavioural deficit in asd. (e.g. impairments of social-emotional reprocity).
how did baron cohen et al (1999) prove that people with asd struggle to understnd the emotional expressions of others was because of amygdala dysfunction impairing social processing?
gave participants with and without asd the ‘eye test’. this was photos of people making various facial expressions showing just the eye area.
found that people with asd found it hard to choose the correct description of each expression from a choice of 2.
fMRI scans showed that relative to controls people with asd had an underactive left amygdala.
explain how kennedy et al (2009) supports the explanation of autism being amygdala dysfunction
they studied ‘SM’ who did not have ASD but a rare genetic disorder which impaired her amygdala function.
her preferred personal space distance was about half that for matched control participants.
this shows that amygdala dysfunction is associated with social deficits that are similar to those found is asd
what is a counter argument to a strength of explanation of autism being amygdala dysfunction (namely support from clinical studies)
findings about the role of the amgydala are inconsistent.
herbert et al. (2003) reported smaller amygdala volumes in children with asd compared to controls. other research findings from various age groups differ. casts doubt on the validity of the theory and means role of amygdala is unclear.
explain the weakness of asd-amygdala dysfunction link may be indirect
- people with amygdala damage cannot process anxiety related information normally, so social functioning is impaired (anxiety is co-morbid with asd, i.e. they often occur together).
- white et al (2009) suggests there may be a link between amygdala dysfunction and social behaviour deficits that are due to abnormal processing of anxiety.
this shows that the role of the amygdala in asd is more complex than the conventional dysfunction explanation suggests.
explain the weakness of neural factors in asd are oversimplified
- several other brain structures are just as dysfunctional in asd as the amygdala
- paul et al (2010) studied 2 women who only had amygdala damage. their social behaviour wasn’t impaired to the extent found in asd.
- therefore, amygdala dysfunction alone is not enough to fully account for symptoms of asd
what is the application of an explanation of autism being amygdala dysfunction
it offers a potential target for treatment
- more research required to identify biochemical abnormalities associated with amygdala dysfunction that may explain asd symptoms.
- drug treatment that corrects amygdala functioning is possible.
- could lead to earlier diagnosis too
- may help shorten the ‘diagnstic journey’ which is drawn out and stressful for many families
what does it mean to have a theory of mind
you are aware that other people are able to represent the world in their minds.
you can recognise other people
have thoughts, emotions and intentions of their own.
you can infer people’s mental states from their behavior
how does a theory of mind develop
understanding other people’s internal mental states means we can interpret and predict their behaviour. when we develop this understanding we possess a theory of mind.
who suggests the abilities that comes with having a theory of mind are impaired in asd
baron-cohen 1995
- people with asd have mind blindness - a reduced understanding of the internal mental states of other people
- dysfunctional ToM is a central deficit of asd, accounting for social and communication impairments
what was used to test ToM deficits
the sally-anne test
children listen to the sally anne story
Sally has a marble and puts it in a box, Sally leaves the room and Anne takes the marble out and puts it into the basket. Sally them returns to look for her marble.
children are asked questions to check understanding and tests ToM - “where will sally look for her marble?”. ‘where is the marble’ ‘where was the marble before’
baron-cohen tested 3 groups of children (27 neurotypical, 14 down syndrome - low intelligence, control group - and 20asd)
neurotypical 4 year olds = 85% correct
children with down syndrome = 86% correct
children with asd = 20% correct
what was the conclusion of the sally anne test
processing tasks that require a ToM are hard for people with asd, these skills are independent from intelligence
describe the strength of experimental support for the ToM
Baron-Cohen et al 2001 tested theory of mind using the eyes test, where participants identify emotions by selecting a response from four options.
Adults with ASD performed worse than controls, suggesting an impaired ability to infer emotional states from facial expressions.
describe the weakness that Theory of mind dysfunction is an incomplete explanation
Deficits don’t account for the non social features of ASD, including the repetitive behaviours and interests to uphold the diagnosis under the DSM 5 (Tager-Flusbery 2007)
describe the weakness that Theory of mind lacks explanatory power
Theory of mind dysfunction may be a symptom of ASD and not a cause.A neurological impairment could be the underlying cause of the theory of mind deficit and thus the cause of ASD. Genes could be responsible for development of brain organisation. For example, older fathers could lead to genetic issues and which leads to synaptic pruning which leads to the brain remaining over connected, leading to sensory issues, repetitive behaviour and theory of mind not developing.
describe the application of the ToM (it offers a target for intervention
Kasari et al (2012) studied children with ASD in a programme to improve their joint attention skills.
Compared with controls, language skills of these children were significantly improved and this improvement was apparent even after five years.
This shows that treating ASD’s theory of mind deficit produces beneficial outcomes, especially when children can start school with better language skills.
what are the two therapies for autism
applied behaviour analysis aba
cognitive behavioural therapy cbt
how does aba work
on the basis of operant conditioning
by demonstrating effective ways to interact with others and rewarding the improved behaviour when its displayed. e.g. decide on reward they like best (sticker) and reward them for e.g. stop tiptoe walking, asking others questions about themselves)
includes providing opportunities, both planned and naturally occurring to acquire and practice skills in both structured and unstructured situations
unwanted behaviours are ignored
what makes aba a very individual approach
its a very idocincratic (peculiar behaviours) thearpy which means it is hard to judge effectively becasue it differs for each individual.
therapists tailor for each child. they customise the intervention to their skills or needs. one aba program will look very different to another.
explain how cohen et al’s (2006) research is a strength of aba
- he compaerd the effects of aba with special education provided at local public schools for children with autism
- in the follow up assessment (conducted about 3 years after the treatment began) the aba treatment group scored significantly higher on IQ and adaptive functioning
- 6/21 aba children were fully included into regular education without assistance
- 11/21 were included with support
- only 1 from other treatment group was included.
what is a weakness of aba
the need for consistency and routine is important and operant conditioning is effective when all positive behaviour is consistently rewarded.
if this isn’t adherred to, the effectiveness is compromised. this kind of things won’t be possible in every day society and later in the workplace
how does cbt work
by exploring the child’s thoughts and feelings about the source of their anxiety, giving them skills to manage their anxiety so that stressful situations or experiences become less distressing for them
give an example of how cbt might be adapted to a child with autism
children with autism are able to distinguish thoughts, feelings and behaviours and to work on altering their thoughts which are all skills required within cbt. however, they struggle to recognise emotions and working with hypothetical or abstract thoughts.
using a picture of a thermometer to encourage a child to rate their anxiety levels rather than a 10 point verbal rating scale.
what did wood et al. (2009) find
improvement in 78.5% of children with autism who undertook 16 cbt sessions for their anxiety
- improvement in 8.7% of those in a control group, waiting to undertake treatment
- improvements upheld when reassessed 3 months after
what is a weakness of cbt
it requires children to talk to the therapist to explain their thoughts or respond to visual cues.
not all children with autism are verbal or have a wide undertanding of language and so the treatment is less accessible for non-verbal children
what are biomedical interventions
restrictive diets, supplements, hormone interventions and drugs
why is biomedical interventions not used to a large extent to treat autism
there is limited scientific evidence to show how effective it is.
it can be used to support symptoms like anxiety but doesn’t treat autism directly.
why do individual differences exist in child psychology
becasue babies arent blant slates upon which experience is written. they each have individual temperaments which influences their relationships and thus experiences with others.
other than the internal working model, what is an alternative explanation for the association between childhood and adulthood
kagan’s (1984) temperament hypothesis - the innate individual temperament of a child can dictate whether a secure or insecure attachment is formed.
- a child with a difficult temperament will impact the quality of the relationship formed with a parent and equally this temperament can influence subsequent relationships.
what was the findings of fuertes
it was not only the sensitive resposiveness of the mother that determined the attachment type, but also the temperament of the child, which differs between individuals
how can individual differences have an effect on day care
some are more resilient and able to cope better with separation than others.
outgoing children are provided with social skills by dare care.
while shy children may be adversely affected by a constant background of social activity
what did pluess and belsky (2010) find
children rated as having difficult temperaments were affected differentially by both good and poor quality day care and parenting.
- difficult chidlren bennefitted most from good quality day care and sensitive parenting
- difficult children suffer most negative effects in poor quality environments
how does good quality care help children with difficult temperaments
helps them to regulate their emotion within a supportive and sensitive environment but such children can become overwhelmed by poor-quality environments, leading to academic and behavioural problems and teacher-child conflicts
What is Betari Box?
how is deprivation and separation influenced by individual differences
- age
- resillience to separation
give an example of how individual differences affect reactions to separation and deprivation
john was a shy child while others are more assertive or aggressive which may account for john’s distress at separation. he was only 17 months old.
what 5 areas is development of a child affected by
attachment, deprivation, privation, day care and autism
how does quality of day care influence a child’s development
- good infant toddler day care and good preschool care = good cognitive outcomes, language, reading and maths skills.
- low-high = not great reading, good maths, not great memory
- high-low = bad cognitive outcomes and good memory
- low-low = worse all round
how does day care in general affect development
early day care = more social development
- longer day care = bad attachments
- earlier day care = better cognitive development
how can attachment impact a child’s development
- maternal deprivation can lead to affectionless psychopathy due to emotional issues
- supported by study of 44 juvenile thieves
how can autism impact a child’s development
- limited social development as they struggle with commication and are unable to decentre
- issues with cognitive development –> theory of mind never develops
what is the key question?
what is the best configuration of day care?
describe the issue
can have positive or negative effects of a childs social emotional and cognitive development
finding a balance between economic factors and the benefit/defecit to the child
these potential defecits can cause behavioural and social issues in adulthood so important to reduce them as much as possible
day care is good: sylva (key question)
eppe
longitudinal study of 3k UK children, made developmental profiles for childern ages 3-7 off SATS and teacher reports
children reported more socially confident at age 3, reading and writing scores end of ks1 were also higher
day care is bad: belsky and rovine (key question)
used findings from 2 longitudinal american studies of the ssp on babies who had been in daycare before or after the age of 1
45% anxious avoidant if attended 20h+ per week before age 1 compared to expected 23% in ainsworth
boys who attended more than 35h+ per week had more insecure father son relationships
day care is good: clark stewart (key question)
ssp doesnt work on day care children because theyre used to stangers, reaction wont be reflective of true attachment
day care is bad: li et al
if quality is low, development will be hindered; low-high would leadto bad memory but slightly better maths/english, high-low would mean good memory but worse maths and english. highlights importance of high quality daycare but that is not always accessible for people
day care is good: anderssen
119 swedish children studied age 0-13, children who attended daycare under age 1 were rated more socially outgoing by teachers, and early daycare attendees also performed better at reading/writing
day care is bad: anderssen not generalisable
swedish daycare is particularly well funded so will be of high qualkty, not guaranteed elsewhere so results won’t generalise
conclusion of key question
ideal daycare is a high quality daycare with early onset (before age 3) and for less than 20h per week
