child psychology Flashcards
what is crystallised intelligence (gc)?
knowledge we have learnt
what is fluid intelligence (gf)
knowledge that is innate
aim of van leeuwen
to investigate the genetic relationship between family members and IQ
participants of van leeuwen
112 families from the Netherlands
had either monozygotic/dizygotic twins plus a sibling aged between 9 and 14, and all had 2 parents
all passed screening for disabilities, mental illness and metal materials (that may affect MRI scans)
method of van leeuwen
parents signed consent forms. the children got a present for taking part.
they collected biological data, hormonal data and did MRI scans
the cognitive testing was based on Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices for the children, and their parents did Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices
They arrived between 9 and 11 am
they got 3 breaks
the whole testing procedure took 5 hours
what is a raven matrices test?
a non-verbal ‘cultural fair’ multiple choice IQ test out of 60 that measures fluid intelligence. this includes reasoning and problem solving
it gets more difficult as it progresses
what were the result of van leeuwen
no differences in IQ scores between males and females across parents, siblings and twins
MZ twins had more similar IQ scores compared to DZ twins and also compared to their siblings and parents
high correlation between parents’ IQ and children’s IQs. found the heritability estimate for intelligence was about 67% (the rest could be down to environmental factors)
parents had similar IQ scores– do parents seek each other with similar intelligence levels? (called assortative mating)
for lower IQ groups, environment seemed to have more of an effect on their IQs compared to high IQ groups
what are the ways of assessing intelligence?
stanford binet test
wechsler intelligence scale
sternberg triarchic test (STAT)
human figure drawing test (goodenough-harris)
conclusions of van leeuwen
the more similar the genetic makeup, the more similar IQ– IQ could be inherited
environment could be more important for children with a genetic predisposition for low IQ
what is the wechsler intelligence scale
created as wechsler said the stanford-binet relied too much on verbal ability
there is a version for adults, children, and pre-school children
looks at factors such as verbal comprehension, processing speed, visual puzzles etc
what is the stanford binet test
one of the first tests developed to identify children’s cognitive ability
the fifth edition can be administered to individuals as early as two years of age. it assesses both verbal and nonverbal domains
these factors include fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory
what is the sternberg triarchic test
consists of multiple choice questions that assess the 3 aspects from the triarchic theory: analytic (conventional), practical and creative
what is the human figure drawing test? (goodenough-harris)
a cognitive test used to measure intelligence through drawings
when used on children, they may be asked to draw a man, a woman, or themselves
pictures are scored using a scale
when does brain development happen
begins at conception and continues throughout childhood until the age of about 25. the brain continues to develop during adulthood and old age
how can we investigate brain development
one way of investigating brain development is to study the development of structures in the brain and then see if this changes with specific behaviours (to see if the two are linked)
however, we must also take into account individual differences: not everyone’s brain and behaviour develop at the same rate
ethically, we cannot manipulate brain development so research is restricted
another way of studying brain development is to look at behavioural disorders and then trying to identify brain abnormalities associated with it
what is grey matter
is made up of nerve cells and makes up about 40% of the adult brain
what is white matter
white matter carries messages to and from grey matter
how do volumes of white and grey matter change over time
volumes of grey matter tend to begin to decline around 6-7 years old and this continues through adolescence, whereas white matter volumes increase over the same time period
how is the prefrontal cortex and risk taking behaviour related
prefrontal cortex less developed in the adolescent brain
acts as an ‘emergency brake’
it is involved with decision making, high level reasoning and self control
the lack of development in adolescents may explain why they’re more predisposed to risky behaviour than adults
what is the role of the ventral striatum
this matures earlier than the prefrontal cortex, and involves rewards
perhaps with the excitable reward centre overly active in adolescents, and the prefrontal cortex unable to control it, this may explain why adolescents engage in more risky behaviours
what was the sample of eshel 2007 (risk taking)
18 adolescents aged 9-17, and 16 adults aged 20-40
recruited through newspaper advert
what was eshel’s study
the ps did a monetary decision making task (gambling) whilst doing an fMRI scan
group comparisons revealed greater activation in the frontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex in adults than adolescents when making risky decisions
reduced activity in these areas correlated with greater risk taking performance in adolescents and in the combined group
aim of barkley-levenson and galvan
to investigate the influence of brain development on risk taking behaviour
to see if there are biological and behavioural differences between adults and adolescents when gambling
sample of barkley levenson
19 right handed adults from the USA (11 females, 8 males) (aged between 25 and 30)
also 22 right handed 13-17 year olds, 11 of each gender.
after the research, they ended up with a final size of 20 adolescents and 17 adults for analysis
recruited using a poster and internet advert campaign at the University of California
obtained consent from the ps themselves or their parents if they were under 16
nobody had a previous diagnosis of mental or neurological illness
no one had any metal in their body bc MRI scan
method of barkley levenson: intake session
the ps were asked to complete some info on their income, including the source and the amount of spending money they had per month
they were then familiarised with the MRI scanner using a mock version of the scanner
they were given $20 for taking part and were told they would be able to gamble and win up to another $20 (so would get $40 in total) or could lose up to $20. this meant they had ownership of the money and would have an interest in increasing, keeping or losing it (if it didnt feel like their own money they wouldnt care)
method of barkley levenson: after the intake session
one week after the intake session, ps had to complete a gambling task whilst undergoing an fMRI
during the scan they were shown a ‘spinner’ that told them how much money could be won or lost on that gamble
they could either accept or reject the gamble
they had 144 ‘spinner’ trials each, and 24 gain only trials and 24 lose only trials
behavioural results of barkley levenson
adolescents behaved similarly to the adults when there was no risk involved (eg if there was a gain only trial) and neither accepted gambles with negative expected value (ie more to lose, less to win)
the higher the expected value of the win, the more likely adolescents were to accept the gamble compared to adults
neurological results of barkley levenson
more activity in adolescents’ ventral striatum compared to adults (who showed virtually no activation) when the expected value to win was high– when the potential reward was high, their VS activity was high
conclusions of barkley levenson
the adolescent brain places greater value on potential rewards
suggests there are maturational changes in the VS
the adolescent brain is more focused on winning a larger amount than losing a smaller amount
heightened sensitivity to reward during adolescence
what are the potential strategies to reduce risk taking
education
direct education programmes
involvement of parents
modelling
how can education reduce risk taking as a strategy+ evidence?
make sure people are fully aware of the potential risks, which might make the reward seem less appealing and not worth the risk
one programme by Old et al. found that when parents were provided with training on how to cope with stressors, their children did better in school and had lower rates of conduct disorder (which can result in impulsivity)
how can direct education (eg safe driving campaigns) be used to reduce risk taking
safe driving campaigns exist in places like USA. in USA, adolescents don’t get a full licence until they have completed a probationary period. this means they are not allowed to for example drive at night
the idea is that bc this a new experience, there needs to be more supervision until the skill is fully mastered
McCarrt found that this programme saw a reduction in crashes after 6 monthd
how can parental monitoring be used to reduce risk taking (+evidence)
if young adults cannot correctly assess risk and get too enticed by reward, then parents should talk to their children and help them to understand potential risks
parents should set expectations, act to keep track of their teen, and respond when their teens break the rules
Steinberg found that authoritative parents (firm but warm) raised children who were more mature and less likely to engage in risky or antisocial behaviour
how can modelling reduce risk taking
based on Social Learning Theory
Parents and teachers should model non-risky behaviours to young adults. Make sure young adults are exposed to/told about people who have taken risks and been negatively affected too (vicarious operant conditioning)
what is the cognitive information processing model?
attention is paid > stimulus is perceived > stimulus is consigned to memory if necessary > the information in the memory is used to solve a problem
what are some examples of different types of perception
visual, auditory and depth, for example.
who was kenge and what does he have to do with perception?
Kenge was part of a Bambuti group in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He acted as an assistant with a researcher.
during one expedition, Kenge and the researcher came across a clearing in the woods (clearings were very rare to come by as Kenge was always surrounded by trees)
Kenge pointed at some mountains in the distance and asked the researcher if they were hills or clouds
he also saw a herd of buffalo in the distance and asked which insects they were
because Kenge had spent so much time in the woods with a lack of experience of distance, so he never learned relative size
Kenge was able to pick up on depth perception with no more errors as he became more exposed to distance
the conclusion from this is that depth perception is affected by environmental factors
what is the perceptual development of babies like
at birth, a baby can detect light and motion and make out faces/ large shapes
by 1 month, a baby can make eye contact and focus on objects about 12 inches away
by 3-4 months old, a baby can focus on objects up to 3 feet away
what did fantz find about babies and pattern perception?
he found that babies prefer complex patterns as opposed to simple ones
he also found that new born babies prefer patterns that resemble a human face
how do babies perceive faces?
babies appear to have an innate skill to be able to perceive human faces within a few hours of being born
they can discriminate between their mother’s face and that of another female
they also prefer attractive faces rather than unattractive, and those of their own ethnicity
at 5 months old, children can differentiate between smiles of different intensities
by 9 months old, babies can recognise a female face from a male one
what does the term ‘height in plane’ refer to?
an object further away will show higher in the image
what does the term ‘relative size’ refer to?
the smaller the object appears, the further away it is
what is meant by the term ‘superimposition’?
one object in front of another shows the front object is nearer
what is meant by the term ‘texture gradient’
the texture of an object gets more detailed as it becomes closer
what is meant by the term ‘linear perspective’?
if something goes into the distance, the lines of the edge appear to get closer together
what did fantz do?
he developed a method of recording a child’s preference for an object based on how long they gazed at it
the child is placed in front of a stimulus, or two stimuli, and a researcher looks through the apparatus to time how long the child spends looking at a particular stimulus. the longer the gaze, the more the child preferred that stimulus
as the researcher is behind the stimulus, this should remove some possible experimenter bias, as the researcher would not know which stimulus the baby was looking at.
it was also possible to research very small children as they did not need to be able to support themselves in any way
what did blakemore and cooper do regarding perception?
kept kittens in the dark, except for a five hour period each day when the kitten was either in a vertically striped or horizontally striped environment
at 5 months old, the kittens exposed to vertical strips would only reach out if a vertical pointer was moved in front of them, and vice versa for horizontally reared kittens
they found the vertical kittens did not possess cells in the visual cortex that would respond to horizontal light
what research has been done on the perception of chicks?
in 1837, Spalding kept chicks in a black sack made from a soft flannel material when they hatched. When he released them several days later, they could run to their mother, avoiding obstacles, implying that they had the innate skill to identify where objects were and how to avoid them
what research has been done on the perception of rats?
in 1934, Lashley and Russel used rats that were kept in the dark for 3 months; when tested they used to more effort to jump large gaps than smaller gaps, implying that they knew something was further away
what research has been done on the perception of chimps
Riesen (1965) compared 3 chimps– Debi, Kova and Lad.
Debi was kept in darkness, Kova spent 1.5 hours a day exposed to unpatterned light, and Lad was reared in normal light
Debi suffered retinal damage.
Lad was fine.
Kova did not suffer from retinal damage, but her perceptual development was underdeveloped
what research has been done on the perception of salamanders
Sperry looked at salamanders and surgically turned their eyes upside down by rotating the optic nerve, to see if they could learn to see the right way up
they reacted as if the world was upside down, and no amount of training could change their response
what was the research design of gibson and walk?
repeated measures
what was the aim of gibson and walk
to investigate if young animals and children were able to perceive depth innately using the visual cliff
who were the participants in gibson and walk
36 babies between 6 and 14 months old
all could crawl independently
each infant had their mother present
the study was also conducted on kittens and lambs and kids etc
what was the visual cliff like in gibson and walk
the ‘visual’ cliff is a transparent glass table with no actual drop
one half of the cliff has an opaque chequered pattern just below the glass, but the other half has the pattern on the floor, so it appears that there is a drop but there actually is not
what was the method of gibson and walk
the baby was placed on the centre of the visual cliff apparatus
their mother would stand either at the shallow end or deep end of the box and call for their baby to crawl towards them
what was the DV of gibson and walk
will the babies crawl to their mother across the deep side of the apparatus?
what were the quantitative results of gibson and walk
27 out of the 36 children moved off the centre board
all of those 27 babies crossed the shallow side to their mother at least once
only 3 of them crossed the deep side to get to their mother
what were the qualitative results of gibson and walk
children would peep through the glass of the cliff and back away
some would test the glass for solidarity
when the mother was at the deep side of the cliff, most children would crawl away from her or sit and cry
conclusions of gibson and walk
the children could perceive depth by the time they could crawl
however they appeared not to be aware of the depth of the cliff edge, as they inadvertently used the glass on the deep side
by the time children could crawl, they have had more months interacting with the environment, so it was hard to tell if the ability to perceive depth is innate or learnt
what was the finding for chicks in gibson and walk
one day old chicks chose the shallow side nearly 100% of the time
chicks less than 24 hours old would never cross the cliffs
goat kids and lambs findings for gibson and walk
at less than a day old, goat kids and lambs would not step on the steep side of the cliff
they would refuse to put their feet down / would go limp if forced to go on the cliff side
kitten findings in gibson and walk
at about 4 weeks old, when they could move freely, they would avoid the cliff
other dark-reared kittens did not avoid the cliff, but after a week of light exposure,developed depth perception
rats findings in gibson and walk
would go across the deep side as they could feel the glass with their whiskers. less reliant on vision and use their whiskers
what are strategies to develop perception in young children
sensory integrative therapy
developing constancy skill using toys or objects around the home
developmental toys
what is sensory integrative therapy
can be used to help children with perceptual difficulties
uses activities such as playing with a ball to develop balance and hand eye coordination, and dancing to music to help with auditory perception
the activities used in the therapy become progressively more complex as the child achieves each one
evidence for the effectiveness of sensory integrative therapy?
previous research in 2014 investigated 34 children with autism aged between 3 and 5. The children completed the therapy for 6 months.
it was found there was a significant difference in motor skills after 6 months
what are constancy skills and how can we help them develop
constancy skills refers to the ability to recognise stimuli even when they are viewed from a different angle or in a different environment
can use real life objects to identify shapes, eg using a picture frame to show that the shape is a rectangle
how can developmental toys be used to help develop perception in young children
for example, shape sorting toys can help develop visual and tactile perception
games such as musical statues can help auditory perception
musical/auditory story books can also help with auditory perception
what are the four stages of cognitive development according to piaget
SENSORIMOTOR: 0-2 years. children learn knowledge from physical experiences and sensory input. Eg object permanence
PRE-OPERATIONAL: 2/3 - 7ish years. memory and imagination improves. Thinking is not yet logical and the child will believe what they can see, everyone else can too. lang develops
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL: 7-11ish years. child begins to understand logic and can think beyond what they can actually see. develops conversation skills
FORMAL OPERATIONAL: 11 yrs- adult. Formal logic. Not everyone reaches this stage– most sophisticated stage of thinking
what did vygotsky say abt cognitive development
thought differently to Piaget as Vygotsky suggested social factors can influence learning, such as guided learning by teachers, parents and/or peers
he suggested a zone of proximal development, which is the difference between what a learner can do without help and with help
what did bruner say about cognitive development
suggests information is structured so new knowledge is taught at a simplified level first, and then revisited at more complex levels later
what was the aim of samuel and bryant
to challenge previous research by Piaget to further investigate what affects conservation skills
sample of samuel and bryant
252 children from Devon were assessed on their ability to conserve number, mass and volume
what was the number task in samuel and bryant
children were shown two rows of 6 counters of equal length, one row was then bunched up, children were asked which row ‘had more’
what was the mass task in samuel and bryant
children were shown two equal Playdoh cylinder shapes. One shape was then rolled into a sausage shape. Children were asked which shape had more playdoh
what was the volume task in samuel and bryant
children were shown two identical glasses with the same amount of liquid inside. The liquid from one glass was then poured into a narrower or shallower container. children were asked which glass had more liquid
findings of samuel and bryant
the older children made fewer errors on the conservation tasks than the younger children
children also made fewer errors on the number task and most errors on the volume task
what was the aim of freund
to investigate whether young children learn more effectively through discovery learning or by scaffolding
sample of freund
30 3 year olds and 30 5 year olds. racially mixed suburban communities
procedure of freund
children were asked to help a puppet decide which furniture should be placed in different rooms of a doll house.
the doll house was 78cm and 62cm wide
there were 36 pieces of furniture and 6 distraction pieces
in condition 1, the mother guided but did not teach the child (scaffolding)
in condition two, children were left to do it on their own (discovery learning)
results of freund
children assisted by their mother performed better than children working independently
what is a spiral curriculum
key features of the spiral curriculum based on Bruner’s work are:
- the student revisits a topic several times throughout their school careers
- the complexity of the topic increases with each revisit
- new learning has a relationship with old learning
what is scaffolding
process that enables a child to solve a problem with help that would be beyond their unassisted efforts
what is discovery learning
inquiry-based learning method that takes a constructivist approach to education, where students are encouraged to construct their own knowledge through a self-directed learning process
aim of wood
to investigate the impact of tutoring on children aged 3 4 and 5 years when asked to build a 3D structure
participants of wood
30 children, equally divided into 3, 4 and 5 year olds, and each age group equally divided between girls and boys
all were accompanied by their parents who lived within a 5 mile radius of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and had replied to adverts for volunteers
predominantly middle or lower-middle class
what was the task in wood
each child tested individually
task took between 20 mins to 1 hour
task was within reach of child’s ability but not doable alone
they had to build a pyramid out of 21 blocks. there were 6 levels to the pyramid. it measured about 9 inches high with a 9 inch square base
what was the method of wood
observations were carried out of the ‘natural’ tutorials
they wanted to see how the children responded to a tutor
the tutor used a standardised set of prescribed actions
the tutor had to make sure that the child did as much as possible by themselves, using some verbal instructions where needed, only physically intervening if they needed it
the child came in and was seated at a table with 21 blocks. they were allowed to play with these for 5 minutes
the tutor showed them how to make a pair of blocks and asked the child to make some more
it took 15 constructions to make the pyramid
what were the tutors standardised responses to children in wood
if the child ignored the tutor and continued to play, the tutor would again demonstrate how to put 2 blocks together
if the child took the blocks the tutor had just made and played with the, the tutor would verbally draw attention to the fact that the final construction was not completed.
if the child could take up the blocks and manipulate them in a similar way, the tutor would verbally point out any errors they were making, if necessary
how were the children scored in wood
structured observation with behavioural checklists, eg manipulated several pieces vs assembled pieces previously made up, or assisted vs unassisted
if a child picked up any disassembled constructions, it was noted whether or not they went on to reassemble them again
what was the inter rater reliability of wood
there were 2 independent scorers who achieved 94% agreement for inter rater reliability
what were the findings of wood
younger children (3 yr olds) performed worse on the task than the older children (4 + 5 year olds)
no 3 year olds put 4 blocks together correctly, whereas all older children put 4 blocks together correctly, at least one
younger children needed more tutor help to construct blocks
younger children often ignored the tutor (median on 11 occasions)
tutor had to intervene 4x as many times with the 3 year olds than the 5 year olds
what are cognitive strategies to improve revision or learning
the method of loci/memory palace
making use of context dependent memory (Grant)
use of acronyms, layering and mindmaps
what is the method of loci
a memory technique based on the assumption that you can better remember places you are familiar with eg home, college
it involves linking the to-be-learned info with specific locations:
- think of a place eg home
- visualise locations in place
- mentally walk self through place and mentally place each bit of information to one of those locations
- to retrieve this, visualise place, ‘looking’ at each location that has been allocated info
what research supports the method of loci
previous research in 2014 compared medical students who had been taught about diabetes.
some of these students used MoL to revise the content compared to the rest of the ps who completed worksheets.
they then had a test
they found that students who used the MoL remembered significantly more content than those who did not
what is attachment
the term used to refer to the emotional relationships between a baby and the people who spend the most time caring for the baby
it provides the baby with a comforting sense of security and safety
what is the behaviourist theory of attachment
assumes babies learn attachment through reinforcement or association
eg baby learns to associate their needs with the response from the caregiver and then relies on the carer to respond to them in the future
what is the evolutionary theory of attachment
assumes attachment behaviour is innate and has evolved over time to ensure the survival of the species
if animals/humans do not tend to their babies, then the babies would not survive
what is the psychodynamic theory of attachment
suggests the childhood relationships we had with our caregivers shape our personalities and the attachments we have in adult relationships
also suggests infants become attached to the source of pleasure
what did harlow do
investigated the effects of monkeys being separated from their mothers from birth
the monkeys were isolated and placed in a cage with one wire structure ‘mother’ and one ‘soft cloth mother’
monkeys preferred cloth mother even if she had no milk
supports evolutionary theory of attachment
what did bowlby do
compared 44 juvenile thieves with 44 non thieves from a delinquency centre with emotional problems
found more than half the thieves had been separated from their mothers compared to just 2 in the control group
also found some of the thieves to show psychopathic traits such as lack of empathy/guilt
the findings suggest that experiencing disrupted attachments early in life is linked to crime
aim of hodges and tizzard
used a longitudinal study to investigate the effects of being in a children’s home for the first 2 years of life, then adopted / returned to biological mother
sample of hodges and tizzard
65 children who had been in a children’s home from only a few months old + a control group who had not been in a home
procedure of hodges and tizzard
children were assessed for social and emotional competence at age 4, 8 and 16
findings of hodges and tizzard
at age 4, none of the institutionalised children formed attachments, but by the age of 8, those who were adopted had good attachments
found that children who did form attachments were different to non-institutionalised children
what are the types of attachment
secure
insecure avoidant
insecure resistant
insecure disorganised
what is a secure attachment style
carer is sensitive and loving, such as picking up child and reassuring them
child then feels confident caregiver can meet needs. easily soothed by caregiver when upset
what is an insecure avoidant attachment style
carer is insensitive and rejecting, such as ridiculing or becoming annoyed
child becomes independent and avoids caregiver in times of need
what is an insecure resistant attachment style
carer is insensitive and inconsistent, such as over reacting or highlighting the carer’s own needs
child becomes clingy/exaggerates distress and anger to ensure caregiver notices, but will be rejecting of caregiver when they do engage
what is an insecure disorganised attachment style
carer is insensitive and not normal, such as frightening or frightened, or sexualised, a response not always shown when child is distressed
child shows bizarre and contradictory behaviours, such as freezing or running away from parent
aim of ainsworth and bell
to use a lab setting a conduct a controlled observation to investigate attachment behaviours by placing babies in ‘strange situations’
participants of ainsworth and bell
56 children brought up in a family with white, middle class parents
they were found through paediatricians in a paediatricians practice
23 were observed from birth and were 51 weeks old when put into the strange situation
the other 33 were ps from a different study and were observed when they were 49 weeks old
all of the children were just under 1 year old
procedure of ainsworth and bell
each child was tested individually in the strange situation episodes
the whole situation was meant to reflect what would happen in everyday life
the room was 9’x9’, and was marked into 16 squares for the observers to record the position of the child
at one end of the room was a child’s chair surrounded by toys
at the other end was a chair for their mother, and near the door was a chair for the stranger
the child was put in the room and left to move freely
the observers were in an adjoining room and observed via a one-way mirror
what was episode 3 in ainsworth and bell
stranger enters, sits for 1 minute, talks to mother for 1 minute and approaches baby with toy
mother leaves after 3 minutes
what was episode four in ainsworth and bell
stranger sits if baby happy
if baby inactive, stranger engages with toys
if baby distressed, stranger tries to distract or comfort, for 3 minutes unless child cannot be comforted
what was episode 5 of ainsworth and bell
mother enters and waits at door for baby to see and respond
stranger leaves
once child is settled with toys, mother leaves saying ‘bye bye’
what is episode 6 in ainsworth and bell
baby left alone for 3 minutes unless distressed
how was behaviour measured in ainsworth and Bell
behavioural checklist
recorded every 15 seconds so they used time sampling
each behaviour was recorded for its strength (7 point scale), frequency and duration
types of behaviour included search behaviour, contact resisting and contact maintaining, etc
inter rater reliability in ainsworth and bell
over 90%
results of ainsworth: exploratory behaviour
decreased when the child was left with the stranger
child showed more interest when mother engaged with child but not when stranger engaged with child
results of ainsworth: crying
minimal crying when the stranger entered the room but increased when mother left
crying was at its peak in episode 6 and did not decrease when the stranger returned in stage 7
results of ainsworth: search behaviour
increased when stranger was present without mother and increased most when left alone in episode 6
results of ainsworth: proximity seeking and contact maintaining behaviours
contact maintaining shown most when mother returned but less towards stranger
results of ainsworth: contact-resisting and proximity avoiding behaviours
avoidant behaviours (eg ignoring) shown mostly when mother returned
about a third of babies resisted contact towards mother when she returned in episode 5
conclusions of ainsworth
attachment figure is used as a secure base for exploration by the infant
attachment is different between caregiver and child, and stranger and child
what are the strategies to develop an attachment friendly environment
allocate keyworkers to children
ensure staff receive adequate training
nurture groups
describe allocating keyworkers to children as a strategy to develop an attachment-friendly environment
children should be allocated to a keyworker before they start at, for example, nursery
children should be invited in for settling in sessions to get to know the keyworker before they start, as well as exploring the environment and meeting other children
keyworkers should greet and say goodbye to the child
the parent/guardian of the child should stay within close proximity whilst their child explores the nursery environment during the settling in sessions
SUPPORTED BY AINSWORTH AND BELL
‘ensure staff receive adequate training’ strategy to develop an attachment friendly environment?
key workers should be taught about ‘affect synchrony’, which is the caregivers ability to pick up cues from the child and adapt their behaviours accordingly, eg if child cries, caregiver should speak soothingly to them
staff should show a cuddly exterior to help children feel their needs are being met
staff should model secure attachment behaviours as SLT suggests individuals observe role models and will imitate behaviours
staff training should also include teaching the staff that initially, the children may not want to engage with play with the keyworker until they are more attached to the keyworker
what are nurture groups
in-school, teacher-led psychosocial interventions focused on supporting the social, emotional and behavioural difficulties of children and young people
classes of 6-12 children/young people, run by two members of staff trained in nurture interventions
focus on supporting students to form attachments to loving and caring adults at school
what happens in nurture groups
the pupils start their day in mainstream class
they are picked up by the staff and taken to nurture group, a hybrid of home and school
activities include emotional literacy sessions, news sharing, nurture breakfast and regular curriculum activities
children return to their mainstream class for some provision every day
evidence supporting nurture groups?
based on Bowlby’s attachment theory, that if a child’s early experiences were characterised by missing or distorted nurturing, it can lead to stunted social, emotional and cognitive development
Pyle (2015) found that nurture groups also have a positive impact on the parent-child relationship
sample of pike and jennings
62 first and second grade students (28 boys, 34 girls)
method of pike and jennings
participants were exposed to one of 3 commercial videotapes in which either all-boys (traditional condition) or all-girls (nontraditional) were playing with a toy
participants in the control condition were exposed to nontoy commercials
after exposure to one of the conditions, ps performed a toy sort where they were asked if six toys, including the two manipulated toys, were ‘for boys, girls, or both boys and girls’
results of pike and jennings
participants in the nontraditional condition were more likely to report that the manipulated toys were for both boys and girls than were ps in the traditional condition, who were more likely to report that the manipulated toys were for boys
aim of pine and nash
to investigate how toy advertising affects children by studying their requests to Father Christmas
sample of pine and nash
83 children aged from 4.8 to 6.5 years (below the age of 7) from the UK
19 kindergarten 6 year old children from Sweden (where ads aimed at children are banned
method of pine and nash
children wrote letters to Father Christmas and were interviewed regarding the extent and nature of their TV viewing
result of pine and nash
UK children requested more products generally than the Swedish children
children who watched more commercial television were found to request a greater number of items from Father Christmas
these children also requested more branded items than children who watched less
however, the children’s requests did not correlate significantly with the most frequently advertised toy products on TV in the build up to Christmas
research questions of johnson and young
do advertisers use different language scripts for males and females in adverts aimed at preschool and early primary school children?
how is gender used as a code to link products to gender roles
aim of johnson and young
to analyse children’s toy adverts from the late ’90s to investigate if gender stereotypes are used
sample of johnson and young
adverts broadcast on commercial TV channels, regional TV channels in New England, USA, and Nickelodeon, were recorded in 1996, 1997 and1999
these channels were accessible to all TV owners and the programmes either side of the advert were childrens cartoons
a total of 478 adverts were analysed
these were only adverts within the programme, not either side of it
the adverts were classified into five categories: food items, toys, educational and public service announcement, recreational facilities, and video and film promotions
there was another category of ‘other’
toy adverts were the main focus: there were 188 of these
method of johnson and young
researchers conducted a content analysis (creating categories and using tallies) and discourse analysis (analyses tone, use of vocab and speech) on the 478 adverts (of which 147 were the different toy ads)
they analysed names of toys, use of toys, verbs used in the ads themselves, voiceovers, speaking rules of boys and girls, and power discourse
what did johnson and young NOT investigate (reductionism)
colours, camera angles, ppace, music, etc
also did not investigate how it actually impacts children
results of johnson and young: name of toys?
found these reinforced gender attributes, eg ‘Big Time Action Hero’ vs ‘Girl Talk’
the name of boy toys typcially reinforce action and violence, whereas girl toy names reinforce nurturing
the girl names signify parenting as a female link to quality
johnson and young finding abt the uses of toys
researchers categorised adverts according to their type (eg dolls, trucks, games)
even when toys were categorically similar (like Barbie dolls and action figures), they were shown differently, eg boys ones demonstrating more action
this reinforces traditionally polarised ideas about the play activities of boys and girls
johnson and young finding abt voiceovers
male voice overs were used on boy-orientated adverts and boy-girl orientated ads
89% of girls adverts had female voiceovers
exaggerated gender stylisation was evident in ads aimed at boys or girls, but not in those aimed at both
girl adverts are too high-pitched (voices/singing songs)
boy ads are too wild, loud and aggressive
the voiceovers strive to accentuate gender, sometimes to the point of caricature
finding of johnson n young abt verbs used
verbs were categorised into types such as:
- competition/destruction (found 113 times in boy ads compared to 9 times in girls)
- feeling and nurturing (NEVER found in boy adverts but 66 times in girls)
johnson n young finding abt speaking roles of boys n girls
girl ads had children speaking more often than boy ads
reinforces the stereotype that boys prefer action n girls prefer talking
johnson n young finding abt power discourse
words based around power were used in 21% of boy ads and js once in girl ads (n only bc the maker of the Barbie car was Power Wheels)
reinforces the uneven balance of power favouring males
implications and conclusions of the findings of johnson n young
gender stereotypes are present w/in adverts
when ads only show traditional gender roles, they limit the range of experiences that children feel like they can try out
what are the strategies to reduce the IMPACT of advertising that is aimed at children
media and literacy lessons at school/education
parental involvement
adverts should follow the advertising guidelines
production techniques
media and literacy lessons strategy
MediaSmart is a UK literacy programme aimed at 6-11 year olds. It provides educational materials to primary schools (called Be AdWise)
MediaSmart helps teach how to become aware of mass media issues to help with children to understand when they are being manipulated/misled
parental involvement strategy (ads)
parents should discuss the influence of TV advertising and the use of stereotyping with their children
parents could also monitor TV advertising by watching TV with their children
ads should follow ad guidelines strategy
eg the ASA (Advertising Standard Authority) guidelines
ads should not show depictions of harmful gender stereotypes, like an ad that depicts a man w his feet up n family members creating a mess around a home while a woman is solely responsible for cleaning up the mess
production techniques strategy
remove techniques used that encourage imitation (such as humour +jokes, people ‘getting away with behaviour’)
based on SLT
