Hassett et al. Flashcards
What year was this study done in
2008
What is the title of this study (what it explores overall)
Monkey Toy preferences
What are sex differences
The way males and females differ that are caused directly by sex- both physical and behavioral
Do hormones directly impact behavior?
Yes
How much more testosterone do males have than females
Males have 10x the amount of testosterone as women
What are the two theories on differences between males and females
Socialization and Biology
What is an example of socialization between boys and girls
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
What is one reason why humans are difficult to study
Our social and physical environments affect our brain’s structure and function
Why would studying children’s development be difficult
Because of the huge number of extraneous variables, it would be unethical to control
What was the aim of this study
To investigate whether toy preferences in monkeys resemble those of children, to test whether sex differences in toy choice are biologically determined by sex
What kind of experiment was this, and what environment did it take place in
This was a field experiment, and it took place in the monkeys’ natural environment
What design did this experiment follow, and what does this design mean?
Independent measures design - An experimental design in which you only assign participants to one of your experimental conditions
What was the independent variable in this experiment
Gender
What was the dependent variable in this experiment
Activities with toys
Had the monkeys already played with the toys
No, the toys were new to the monkeys (to avoid the fatigue effect)
What kind of monkeys were included in this design
Rhesus monkeys
What was the size of this experiment (number of male and female monkeys?)
21 male and 61 female rhesus monkeys
How many adult monkeys were not studied, and why not
14 adults were not studied, because they had had hormone treatment previously
How many infants were not studied, and why not
39 infants were not studies, because they were too young
What was the environment where the experiment took place like
25m x 25m outdoor space, temperature-controlled indoor space as well, and appropriate food and water provided
How were the toys divided, and according to what?
Toys were divided into 2 categories according to properties rather than gender typing
What did Category #1 look like, and how many of these items were there
Category #1 was “wheeled toys”, which matched typical boy toys (6 of them)
What did Category #2 look like, and how many of these items were there
Category #2 was “plush toys”, which matched typical girl toys (7 of them)
How many trials did each social group have, and how long did they last
Each social group had 7 trials lasting 25 minutes each
How were the observations done
Through 2 video cameras
Where did each trial begin, and how
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
How were the video cameras set up
1 video camera faced each toy
How was counterbalancing incorporated into this experiment
Plush and wheeled toys were changed from left to right positions as a counterbalancing measure
What was done after each trial between the observers
After each trial, the toys were removed and the tape was analyzed by 2 observers working together to achieve a consensus (inter-rater reliability)
How was each animal interacting with a toy-coded
They identified each animal interacting with a toy and coded specific activities directed towards the toys using a behavioral checklist
What three things regarding the occurrence of an interaction between the monkey and toy were recorded
The exact time which the activity occurred, the frequency of each behavior, and the duration of continuous activities
Name 5 monkey behaviors on the behavioral checklist
hold, sit on, carry in hand, carry in mouth, and drag
What two overall averages were measured
Overall average frequency and duration were measured
What was the final number of animals used in the analysis
11 males and 23 females
What were the results regarding the male monkeys’ preferences
The boys preferred the “wheeled/masculine” toys over the plush toys and interacted with them significantly more than the “plush/feminine” toys
What were the results regarding the female monkeys’ preferences
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
Who has a preference between male and female monkeys when it comes to which toy they choose to interact with
Girl monkeys don’t have a preference, boys do (“boy toys”)
GRAVE analysis
G: Generalisability - Medium/low
R: Reliability - High
A: Application - Medium
V: Validity - High
E: Ethics - High
Suggest 4 improvements for this study
- Make it more comparable to the children’s study (using the same toys) to make it more generalizable
2.standardizing it
3.Having a wider sample size (more male monkeys) - Using the same colors for both female and male toys to avoid this potential extraneous variable
What does this evidence support
This evidence supports a biological explanation for toy preferences
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
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
