Topic 4 lectur 3 (self regulation) Flashcards
what is self regulation?
the ability to control our emotions and actions
describe the marshmallow test
a child is left alone with one marshmallow
they are told that if they wait for the experimenter to return then they will get 2 marshmallows
what is the glitter wand test?
the experiment shows the child a glitter wand
they are told not to touch it and the experimenter turns around for 30 seconds
if they then touch it then they have failed the glitter wand test
what is the stroop task?
- a self regulation task that can be used with adults
- people are presented with words describing a colour but the ink is in a different colour to what the word says
- in these tasks you are asked to say the colour of the ink
- then errors or length of time to process is measured
what percentage of children fail the glitter want task at 14months of age? (further info topic 4 video 3)
73%
what part of the brain is associated with the development of self regulation?
the prefrontal cortex
what lobe is the prefrontal cortex?
the frontal lobe
Outline the case of Phineas Gage
- 25year old rail worker
- metal rod damaged his frontal lobe
- lost all impulse control
- shows that frontal lobe is important in self regulation
how does self regulation vary with culture
- children in asian countries perform better in self regulation tests like the marshmallow test than western children
describe a study about how children from cameroon and children from germany perform differently on the marshmallow?
- german children performed in line with other studies about western children and found the test difficult (70% failed)
- children from cameroon found it much easier (70% passed the test)
what is theory of mind?
- the ability to think about and reason about the mental states of others
- it is required to make inferences about what others are doing and why they are doing it
what are the four stages of social perspective?
STAGE 0- egocentric stage, 4 years old, children not able to take the perspective of others
STAGE 1- differentiated perspective, 6 years old, children realise that others can have the same or a different perspective but they dont yet accuratly judge what that persons perspective may be
STAGE 2- reciprocol perspective stage, 8 & 10 years old, children can see themselves from another persons perspective and appreciate that other people can do the same thing, they can anticipate and consider what somebody elses thoughts and feelings may be
STAGE 3- mutual perspective stage, 10 years, children can view their own perspective and another persons perspective from a different viewpoint of a completely different person
STAGE 4 - societal in depth perspective, above age 10,, children can see networks of perspectives in different societal groups
What are false belief tests?
a type of task used in theory of mind studies in which children must infer that another person does not possess knowledge that they possess. For example, children shown that a candy box contains pennies rather than candy are asked what someone else would expect to find in the box
What is the sally ann task?
- the child is told a story of sally and anne
- sally and anne each have a box
- sally puts a marble into her own box
- while sally is away anne takes the marble out of sallys box and puts it into her own box
- which box will sally think the marble is in when she returns?
- the child is understanding that sally is holding a false belief
what is a second order false belief test?
more info topic 4 video 4
- to see if children can understand the false belief that one character has about the thoughts of another character
do most 6-8 year old children pass first order first belief tests?
yes
what is the triangles test?
- used in older children
- children are shown cartoons of shapes behaving in ways
- experimenter asks what happens in the cartoons
- experimenter looking to find out if mental states have been attributed to the shapes
what is the reading the mind in the eyes test?
photos of peoples eyes are shown and participants have to judge which emotion is shown
what was Slaughter’s (2011) findings about the age that theory of mind develops
- if you use different measurements of theory of mind you can discover that infants have insight into others mind from 12-18months
- 12-18months old can recognise the object that a person is thinking of
- 18months olds can identify which one toy out of 3 that an adult has not yet play with
how can infants show a violation of expectation paradigms
- infants appear to be suprised when someone looks for an object and find it when they shouldnt have been able to due to a false belief
what is autism called in the DSM 4 vs the DSM 5
DSM4- Pervasive developmental disorders
DSM5- Autism spectrum disorders
what is the difference between the DSM5 and the Baren Cohen name for autism
DSM5- Autism spectrum disorders
Baren Cohen- Autism spectrum condition
how has autism as a concept changed since 1943?
1943
- First autism diagnosis made by Leo Kanner
- ‘Kanner’ type of autism used to refer to the severe form
DSM4
- Diagnostic criteria made broader than the classic/kanner type of autism
- broadened to include aspergers syndrome and PDD-NOS
- all of these considered as subtypes of pervasive developmental disorders
DSM5
- includes all subtypes under autism spectrum disorder
- stricter criteria than the DSM4
what diagnostic criteria does the APA vs WHO use
APA= DSM5 WHO= ICD10
what did Lotters (1996) first prevalance study say about the autism prevalance
4 per 10,000
or 0.04%
what do UK prevalance studies say about the prevalance of autism
100 per 10,000
1%
what do US studies say about the prevalence of autism?
1 in 59 children
1.7%
what is the difference between incidence and prevalence
INCIDENCE- number of new cases in a particular time frame in a particular population
PREVALENCE- number of cases at a particular time in a particular population
what are possible causes of the increased prevalence of autism
- increased developmental screenings
- increased awareness amongst general public and educational proffesionals
- diagnostic substitution- Bishop 2008 found that 66% of individuals who would have been diagnosed with developmental language disorder would now b diagnosed with autism
outline the relationship between gender and autism
sex ratio 4:1 males females
autism with comorbid intellectual disability sex ratio 1.6:1 males females
autism with IQ in normal range sex ratio 9:1 males females
describe the extreme male brain theory
- autism is a representation of the extreme male cognitive system
- Auyeung et al found that autism is correlated with exposure to prenatal testosterone levels
what is the female protective effect in autism?
- females may have a higher risk factor threshold before they show signs of autism
what did bargiela steward and Mandy say about masking autistic symptoms
- they were able to create a ‘bubbly’ persona that was not reflective of them
- they would copy speech patterns and certain body language
what are the two cognitive theories of autism?
theory of mind difficulties
executive function difficulties
what are criticisms of the cognitive theories of autism?
most cognitive theories cannot account for all characteristics of autism
the struggles are not unique to autism, for example executive function difficulties are found in ADHD and struggles in theory of mind are also found in individuals with schizophrenia
how do siblings influence theory of mind?
MCALISTER AND PETERSON 2013- having a sibling promotes theory of mind development
PAINE 2018- The influence of siblings on theory of mind depends on birth order
how do siblings influence executive function?
COLE AND MITCHEL 2000- having a sibling promotes executive function
What was Bettleheims theory of the cause of autism?
refrigerator mothers
what was folstein and rotters 1977 twin study about autism?
- identical twins autism concordance = 36%
- nonidentical twins autism concordance = 0%
what was the old twin study using the older more broad diagnostic criteria for autism?
- identical twins 82%
- nonidentical twins 10%
what does Gillberg’s family studies suggest about autism?
look at topic 4 video 6
- mother and one sibling have mild aspergers syndrome
- other sibling has severe autism
- neice and nephew involve signs of classic autism
what is the spectrum idea of autism heritability?
- autistic traits exist in spectrums that may be heritable in families
- e.g rates of rigid personality, diffculty making friends, impairment in social cognition tasks
how are AQ scores distributed?
GENERAL POPULATION- a normal distribution slightly skewed towards the lower ends
THOSE WITH AUTISM- much more variation in distribution, skewed towards the higher end
- there is overlap between the AQ distribution of autism and the general population, suggesting that autistic traits are traits that exist in the general population
what are some molecular genetic findings about the causes of autism?
- autism has been linked to many genes
- every human chromosome has genes that have been linked to autism
what are the different types of genetic variation implicated in autism?
- common gene variants
- rare gene variants
- de novo gene mutations - genetic mutations that are present for the first time in a family member as a random mutation
what are potential environmental risk factors for autism?
prenatal infection, prenatal exposure to air pollution or insectisides, maternal medication such as valproate and SSRI’s, birth complications
- however study findings are often inconsistent with no clear single major risk factor
