Lecture 2 Flashcards
What is Gene-Environment Co-variation?
People tend to influence their own environments depending on their genetic makeup
What is heritability?
the extent to which phenotypes are due to genetic factors numerically, HOW MUCH individual difference is explained by genetics
What is Canalization?
(strongly canalised behaviours/traits) will not be very responsive to the environment, will be the same for most without strong environmental influence
What are the three subcategories of development?
Physical/Perceptual Development
Cognitive Development
Emotional/Social Development
What is niche picking? What are the two types of it?
tending to do things that one is predisposed to being good at (active niche picking is choosing to do it, passive niche picking is having the environment choose for the person)
What is evocative correlation?
is the effect of one’s genetics on others (environments) reaction to it [individual behavior drives look of environment]
What are the three levels of impact of context?
Individual risks = health, education, self measurable context
Contextual Risks = Financial strain, marriage, measurable close context
Stressful life events = events, discrimination, etc
What are the 4 postulates of lifespan psychology?
- Development is lifelong,
- multicontextual and multidirectional
- , plastic, and
- influenced by many factors
What are the 4 types of General research methods?
- Observation
- Reports
- Case Studies
- Psychophysiological Methods
What is time sampling?
It is recording frequency of behavior in specific time periods
What are the two types of observational approaches to psych research?
Naturalistic Observation and Structured Observation
What are the drawbacks of observational research?
the administrator may affect behavior
Naturalistic observation has no control over the setting, and structured observation may not yield typical behaviour
What are the two types of report research methods? What are they?
Clinical interview (flexible interview), and Structured interview, questionnaire, or test (standardized administration)
What are the pros of observational approach?
naturalistic is observation in typical environment, and structured observation has conditions the same for all participants
What are the pros and cons of clinical interviews?
Pros: allows for depth of information
Cons: difficult to compare, answers may be chosen for social acceptance, forgotten details, dependent on language skills
What are the pros and cons of structured interviews, questionnaires, or tests?
Pros: easy to compare, facilitates collection/storage of data
Cons: provides less depth, no chance for follow up questions, forgotten details
What is the important role of case studies?
They are very descriptive and can lead to theories
What are the drawbacks of case studies?
They are poor for generalization, and observations are not systemic
What are psychophysiological research methods?
They examine the correlation between behavior and physiological processes/behavior
What is the purpose of a psychophysiological research?
It explains individual differences in behavior and identifies perception/emotion in children that can’t fully verbalize
What are the drawbacks of psychophysiological research?
Cannot fully explain how someone processes stimuli, physiological reactions can be stimulated by different factors
What are the important factors of an experiment?
manipulated IV, measured DV, control group + treatment groups, control over extraneous variables
What is the standard ABAB design experiment?
introducing and removing a stimulus
baseline -> treatment -> reversal -> treatment 2
What is a quasi-experiment and why is it important to knowledge acquisition?
an experiment where participants cannot have random assignment to groups ie. divorce, we can’t make causal conclusions but this is more than correlation
What is a longitudinal research design?
Participants observed repeatedly at different ages
What are the drawbacks of longitudinal research? (5)
- Cost
- Time
- Selective attrition
- Cohort Effect
5 questions become outdated
What are the advantages of longitudinal research? (3)
- Possible to see the development of individual differences
- It is possible to see the relations between early and later behaviours
- Can determine if development is stage-like or continuous
What is selective attrition?
It is when certain types of people will drop out of a study
What is cross sectional research?
Different groups of participants with different ages
What are the drawbacks of cross sectional research?
Can’t evaluate individual development, differences may be due to cohort
Ethical restrictions state that what must be avoided? (2)
Physical/psychological injury, violations of privacy
What are the three roles of ethics boards?
participants: have informed consent, are debriefed, and are anonymous and confidential
What is time sampling?
a method of sampling that includes recording behaviour within pre-set intervals for a period of time
What is inter-rater reliability?
is agreement between independent observers
What kinds of theories emphasize stability over time, and what kind of theories emphasize plasticity in terms of nature and nurture?
Stability = nature
Plasticity = nurture
What is resilience?
the variation in how experiences impact individuals differently
What increases resilience?
Personal characteristics, parental relationship, relationships outside of the family, community resources
What are the three types of research participant grouping?
Longitudinal
Cross-Sectional
Cross-Sequential
What is the difference between a critical period and a sensitive period?
A critical period development has to happen, sensitive period is when it usually happens
What is the difference between continuous and discontinuous development?
Discontinuous is stage like and continuous development happens over a longer period of time
