Reading points - midterm 1 Flashcards
explain the longitudinal study in 1945 on Hawaiian island set up
698 children studies for 40 years
- physician records of mother and baby
- family interactions at home studied
- teachers interviewed
- police, family court and social service records
- IQ and personality tests
- interviewed
explain the longitudinal study in 1945 on Hawaiian island results
showed both biological and environmental factors make up child development
prenatal or birth complications = more likely to develop disabilities
but degree of problems depended on parents income, education, mental health, quality of relationship
by 10 prenatal and birth problems were consistently related to psych difficuties only if child grew up in poor rearing conditions
bio + environ + family problems = serioua leanring and behavioural problems by 10. by 18 police record, mental health difficulties or unmarried parent
but 1/3 = resilient
3 breif reasons why we study child development
raising children
choosing social policies
understanding human nature
evidence on spanking children. alternative?
more often kids were spanked, worse they behaved
sympathy worked better
helping children find positive alternates for their anger
explain the turtle technique
when children feel angry they should remove themself form the situation and withdraw into their shell where they can think until they are ready to emerge from their shell
one study showed positive effects of this were seen 4 to 5 years after completing the curriculum
define meta-analysis
a method for combining the results from independent studies to reach conclusions based on all of them
what did a meta analysis of violent effects of violent video games find
no significant effect led to a law change
how much trust should we place on child testimony study
children play game of simon say
social worker given false script os what happened (but believes it to be true)
when asks children to recount what happened in the game 34% of children eventally changed their stories to corroborate with the social worker… effect of leading questions
explain the romanian adoption study set up
80s and 90s romainan orphanages = awful conditions, nurses actively encouraged not to touch children
malnourished, flat heads from lying on their backs so much, mental retardation, socially immature
adopted by uk parents
compared romainan adoptees to uk adoptees
also compared effect of how long had lived in the orphanage before being adopted
what were the results of the romainian adoption study
weight - if adopted pre 6 months by 6 yo = same weight as british. the later adopted, the less the children weighed
same story with intelligence - impaired visual memory and attention = biggest deficit
20% of post 6 month adoptees showed extremely abnormal behaviour aged 6 years. still persistent aged 15
brain development at 8 yo those who had spent substantial time in the orphanage had unusual low levels of neural activity in the amygdala
what conclusion can we draw from the romainian adoption study
the timing of experiences influence their effects
natursits argue… about human development
evolution has created capabilities we have from an early age
empiricists argue…. about human development
infants posses general learning mechanisms
brief overview of historical foundations of the study of child development
ealry philosophers (plato, aristotle, locke, rousseau)
social reforms movement
darwin
research-based theories
plato’s view of child developemtn
self contorl and discipline = most important goals of education
believed children born with innate knowledge
aristotle view of child development
agreed with plato in terms of discipline but more important to fit to the needs of the child
al knowledge occurs from experience
locke’s view of child development
child = tabula rasa (agreed with aristotle)
goal of child rearing = growth of character
parents need to set good examples
once discipline is instilled, treat as an adult as early as possible
Rosseau’s view of child development
give child max freedom from the beginningchild shouldn’t receive formal schooling until 12 - age of reason
what was the social reform movement born out of
undustrial revolution
how did darwin inspire child development
we should investigate child development as might give us insights into human nature
darwin’s baby biograpy = first methods of studying child development
still underlies ideas today
what are brief the 7 enduring themes in child development
nature vs nurture
the active child - how do children shape their own development
continuity / discontinuity
mechanisms of change - how does change occur
how does sociocultural context influence development
individual differences - how do children become so different from one another
research and children’s welfare - how can research promote childrens welfare
nature vs nuture of schizophrenia
nature - the closer the relation who has schizophrenia, the more likely you are to have schizophrenia yourself up to 50% (identical twin)
nurture - as is only 50% means environment must play a role. also adoptee studies show environmental impact (troubled families made it worse / more likely)
define genome
each persons complete set of herediary information
define epigenetics
the study of subtle changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environment