Module 2

Question 1

epigenetics

Answer 1

study of how the environment itself influences our genes

Question 2

can genes be changed by the environment?

Answer 2

NO! genes themselves cannot be changed by environment, but proteins that turn gene activity on and off can be

• think setting on a dimmer switch
• these changes in gene expression can produce enduring changes in emotion, cognition, and behavior —> MAY be passed down !

Question 3

domain-general view of the mind

Answer 3

an all purpose mind
- mind made up of mechanisms that support learning broadly, regardless of what is being learn; everything interacts
- e.g. associative learning, memory, executive functioning
- often goes with empiricism, doesn’t have to

Question 4

domain-specific view of the mind

Answer 4

a modular mind (Swiss-army knife metaphor)
- the mind is made up of separated mechanisms that support learning within individual domains; don’t necessarily interact
- e.g. face-detection system, numerical reasoning
- often goes with nativism, but doesn’t have to

Question 5

crib speech

Answer 5

toddlers talking to themselves —> suggests internally motivated to learn to speak

Question 6

continuous development:

Answer 6

• change is uniform and gradual- quantitative differences
  
  • everyone thinks/acts in basically the same ways, kids just know/ act less, or less-well
  • continuity theorists
  • if you look at crawling to walking every day, growth is quantitative

Question 7

discontinuous development:

Answer 7

change can be rapid, with qualitatively different stages across lifespan
- baby is a diff sort of creature from a kid, who is a diff sort of creature from an adult
- think/act in fundamentally different ways
- e.g. hide-and-seek development
- stage theorists like Piaget, Freud and Kohlberg
- if you look at crawling to walking once per month, growth is qualitative

Question 8

variation within and across cultures of developmental outcomes

Answer 8

poverty is major influence in developmental outcomes —> poor children do less well across the board
- have challenges, living in dangerous neighborhoods, food insecurity
- some are resilient despite challenges
- cultural diffs in beliefs/ practices
- childcare practices over time in Canada
- sleeping arrangements
- whether independence is valued in a culture

Question 9

critical/sensitive periods

Answer 9

• critical period = time when development must occur fi it’s going to occur at all
  
  • mother-newborn bonding in the first few minutes
  • building trust in first few years
  • language learning late in life is HARDER than when we’re younger

Question 10

Romanian orphans

Answer 10

• communist policy beginning in 1960s in Romania to increase population, punishment for having <5 kids (contraception, abortions outlawed)
• huge number of abandoned infants warehoused in institutions
• life in institutions
  
  • cleanliness and order prioritized
  • children kept in cribs at all times except for washing
  • caregivers constantly changing and instructed to touch children as little as possible
  • no affection, no play
• outcomes:
  
  • flattened heads, stunted physical growth
  • severe motor deficit
  • intellectual delays
  • social immaturity
• international adoption after fall of communism —> from bad to great environment

Question 11

results of Romanian orphans study

Answer 11

• children’s long-term outcomes depended on age at adoption
  
  • those adopted <6 months , no different from British-born adoptees
  • between 6 and 24 months, some long-lasting deficits
  • > 24 months, severe and long-lasting deficits
    • social developmental deficit particularly pronounced and persisted in adulthood
• deficits even when examining children with equal time in new homes
• timing of bad experience if confounded with overall time in orphanage

Question 12

reliability (types of r)

Answer 12

can researchers obtain same results across multiple occasions?
- inter-rater reliability- different raters, same results?
- test-retest reliability- same kid, different time, same results?

Question 13

validity (types of v)

Answer 13

are you measuring what you think you’re measuring?
- internal v: can effects observed be attributed to what you’re measuring/ your manipulation
- are they VALID measures of the contract? or is there some confound/alternative explanation?
- external/ecological v: are finding generalizable to people in general or just this sample? is this something that accurately reflects the real world or only the lab?

Question 14

naturalistic observation pros v cons

Answer 14

observe individuals in their natural environment, not attempt to influence behaviors

pros
- see participants acting normally in real world events
- may observe important things you weren’t looking for

cons
- sought after behavior may never occur
- no control over environment
- experimenter effects always possible
- huge amounts of possible data

Question 15

structured observations pros v cons

Answer 15

control the environment to attempt to draw out behavior of interest
- squabbling

pros
- behavior more likely to happen, extra stuff less likely

cons
- a bit unnatural,, less real world

Question 16

correlational design pros v cons

Answer 16

measure two variables, determine relationship
- ex: prenatal drug exposure and language development

pros
- see direction and strength of relationship between variables

cons
- correlation doe not equal causation!
- direction-of-causation problem
- third-variable problem
- e.g. time spent reading and reading achievement; night lights and nearsightedness
- —> ONLY experimental designs determine causation

Question 17

between v within subjects design

Answer 17

between has two groups: experimental groups and control group, groups compared
- design straightforward, can be sure groups are independent
- but, individual differences might make it harder to find an effect: less statistical power- need more subjects

within has one group: each subject gets both experimental items and control items, items compared
- accounts for individual differences! thus has more power, fewer subjects needed to find effects
- but, practice effects and other ways item could influence each other

Question 18

quasi-experimental designs pros v cons

Answer 18

compare groups, but membership not randomly assigned
- often for practical or ethical reasons
- age, sex, race, culture, cochlear implants, SES

pros
- see important differences between groups

cons
- essentially, correlational designs
- need to ensure groups matched as closely as possible on other variables
- difficult to be sure of causality, as third variables may be in play
- choice of cochlear implants