Hassett et al.

Question 1

What year was this study done in

Answer 1

2008

Question 2

What is the title of this study (what it explores overall)

Answer 2

Monkey Toy preferences

Question 3

What are sex differences

Answer 3

The way males and females differ that are caused directly by sex- both physical and behavioral

Question 4

Do hormones directly impact behavior?

Answer 4

Yes

Question 5

How much more testosterone do males have than females

Answer 5

Males have 10x the amount of testosterone as women

Question 6

What are the two theories on differences between males and females

Answer 6

Socialization and Biology

Question 7

What is an example of socialization between boys and girls

Answer 7

Boys often engage in active, sometimes aggressive play with guns, trucks, building sets, etc. while girls often play with things like dolls in a nurturing way

Question 8

What is one reason why humans are difficult to study

Answer 8

Our social and physical environments affect our brain’s structure and function

Question 9

Why would studying children’s development be difficult

Answer 9

Because of the huge number of extraneous variables, it would be unethical to control

Question 10

What was the aim of this study

Answer 10

To investigate whether toy preferences in monkeys resemble those of children, to test whether sex differences in toy choice are biologically determined by sex

Question 11

What kind of experiment was this, and what environment did it take place in

Answer 11

This was a field experiment, and it took place in the monkeys’ natural environment

Question 12

What design did this experiment follow, and what does this design mean?

Answer 12

Independent measures design - An experimental design in which you only assign participants to one of your experimental conditions

Question 13

What was the independent variable in this experiment

Answer 13

Gender

Question 14

What was the dependent variable in this experiment

Answer 14

Activities with toys

Question 15

Had the monkeys already played with the toys

Answer 15

No, the toys were new to the monkeys (to avoid the fatigue effect)

Question 16

What kind of monkeys were included in this design

Answer 16

Rhesus monkeys

Question 17

What was the size of this experiment (number of male and female monkeys?)

Answer 17

21 male and 61 female rhesus monkeys

Question 18

How many adult monkeys were not studied, and why not

Answer 18

14 adults were not studied, because they had had hormone treatment previously

Question 19

How many infants were not studied, and why not

Answer 19

39 infants were not studies, because they were too young

Question 20

What was the environment where the experiment took place like

Answer 20

25m x 25m outdoor space, temperature-controlled indoor space as well, and appropriate food and water provided

Question 21

How were the toys divided, and according to what?

Answer 21

Toys were divided into 2 categories according to properties rather than gender typing

Question 22

What did Category #1 look like, and how many of these items were there

Answer 22

Category #1 was “wheeled toys”, which matched typical boy toys (6 of them)

Question 23

What did Category #2 look like, and how many of these items were there

Answer 23

Category #2 was “plush toys”, which matched typical girl toys (7 of them)

Question 24

How many trials did each social group have, and how long did they last

Answer 24

Each social group had 7 trials lasting 25 minutes each

Question 25

How were the observations done

Answer 25

Through 2 video cameras

Question 26

Where did each trial begin, and how

Answer 26

Each trial began with all the monkeys in the group indoors while 1 plush toy and 1 wheeled toy were placed 10m apart in the outdoor place

Question 27

How were the video cameras set up

Answer 27

1 video camera faced each toy

Question 28

How was counterbalancing incorporated into this experiment

Answer 28

Plush and wheeled toys were changed from left to right positions as a counterbalancing measure

Question 29

What was done after each trial between the observers

Answer 29

After each trial, the toys were removed and the tape was analyzed by 2 observers working together to achieve a consensus (inter-rater reliability)

Question 30

How was each animal interacting with a toy-coded

Answer 30

They identified each animal interacting with a toy and coded specific activities directed towards the toys using a behavioral checklist

Question 31

What three things regarding the occurrence of an interaction between the monkey and toy were recorded

Answer 31

The exact time which the activity occurred, the frequency of each behavior, and the duration of continuous activities

Question 32

Name 5 monkey behaviors on the behavioral checklist

Answer 32

hold, sit on, carry in hand, carry in mouth, and drag

Question 33

What two overall averages were measured

Answer 33

Overall average frequency and duration were measured

Question 34

What was the final number of animals used in the analysis

Answer 34

11 males and 23 females

Question 35

What were the results regarding the male monkeys’ preferences

Answer 35

The boys preferred the “wheeled/masculine” toys over the plush toys and interacted with them significantly more than the “plush/feminine” toys

Question 36

What were the results regarding the female monkeys’ preferences

Answer 36

The girls interacted with the “plush/feminine” toys almost the same amount as they did with the “wheeled/masculine” toys. The girls did not seem to have a preference, but there was a small, insignificant bit more that they preferred interacting with the feminine toys

Question 37

Who has a preference between male and female monkeys when it comes to which toy they choose to interact with

Answer 37

Girl monkeys don’t have a preference, boys do (“boy toys”)

Question 38

GRAVE analysis

Answer 38

G: Generalisability - Medium/low
R: Reliability - High
A: Application - Medium
V: Validity - High
E: Ethics - High

Question 39

Suggest 3 improvements for this study

Answer 39

Make it more comparable to the children’s study (using the same toys) to make it more generalizable, standardizing it, Having a wider sample size (more male monkeys), and Using the same colors for both female and male toys to avoid this potential extraneous variable

Question 40

What does this evidence support

Answer 40

This evidence supports a biological explanation for toy preferences

Question 41

Is it possible to tell whether children’s preferences are due to biology and socialization, and why were monkeys a better option to test on than humans

Answer 41

It is almost impossible to tell whether children’s preferences are due to biology or socialization, and monkeys are a better option to test on because the role of hormones influences toy preferences without the effect of socialization