Unit three - child psychology

Question 1

What is the key research for the topic of intelligence?

Answer 1

Van Leeuwen et al - a twin family study on general IQ

Question 2

What was the aim in the study by Van Leeuwen et al?

Answer 2

To separate the effects on intelligence of having shared genes as opposed to a shared environment

Question 3

What was the sample in Van Leeuwen et al’s study?

Answer 3

112 families recruited from the Netherlands Twin Registry. Each had a pair of twins (MZ or DZ), a sibling aged 9-14 and 2 parents

Question 4

Describe the procedure in the study by Van Leeuwen et al

what they did to confirm zygosity, tests used and the actual testing

Answer 4

• to confirm zygosity, families either took cheek swabs at home or completed a questionnaire
• to assess intelligence, children completed Raven’s standard progressive matrices and adults completed Raven’s advanced progressive matrices
• testing was over a 5 hour period and the Rasch model was applied to control for participants answering questions of a different difficulty

Question 5

Van Leeuwen et al

no significant ………. differences, neither in the total group, nor within groups

Answer 5

sex

Question 6

Van Leeuwen et al

correlations ……… in MZ twins than ………

Answer 6

• higher

- first-degree relatives

Question 7

Van Leeuwen et al

……… correlation in estimated levels of intelligence between ………

Answer 7

• significant

- spouses

Question 8

Van Leeuwen et al
Additive genetic effects account for …….. of variation in intelligence
How was the rest explained?

Answer 8

67%

- random environmental factors, including measurement error

Question 9

Van Leeuwen et al

For lower IQ groups ……… had more influence on intelligence

Answer 9

environment

Question 10

What was concluded from the study by Van Leeuwen et al?

3

Answer 10

• the main influence on IQ is genetic factors
• genes can interact with the environment to influence IQ scores - relatively more important in explaining individual differences in low IQ groups
• children with a higher pre-disposed IQ will seek out more stimulating environments

Question 11

Describe Raven’s Progressive Matrices

Answer 11

John C. Raven wanted to measure ‘eductive reasoning’ - the ability to work out answers based only on information given

• Colour, standard and advanced progressive matrices for differing abilities - models such as the Rasch model can be applied to make them comparable
• shows fluid intelligence - independent of how much education or practice someone has had

Question 12

Describe Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory

Answer 12

He believed that there is a range of different intelligences which we all vary in the balance of
- visual-spatial, bodily kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, logical/mathematical, linguistic
A high score in one doesn’t automatically mean you’ll score high in them all

Question 13

Describe the Good-enough Harris ‘Draw a person’ test

Answer 13

Children would be asked to draw their best picture of a person, which would then be scored based on features included/not included
Additional features and proportions were also considered
An overall score was then used to give an indication of the child’s mental age and an approximation for their level of intelligence

Question 14

Describe the procedure of Schoentaler’s study on vitamins improving intelligence

Answer 14

• children were pre-tested on certain measures of intelligence and then randomly assigned to one of four groups for 12 weeks - one was given a placebo and the other 3 were given different strength vitamin-mineral supplements
• after 12 weeks they were tested on the same intelligence measures
• found that for non-verbal Wechsler tests there were highly significant improvements, but none for verbal, suggesting that improvement of fluid intelligence by supplements is more possible

Question 15

What is the key research for the topic of pre-adult brain development?

Answer 15

Barkley-Levenson and Galvan - neural representation of expected value in the adolescent brain

Question 16

What was the aim in the study of Barkley-Levenson and Galvan?

Answer 16

To find out if there is a difference in nerve activity in adolescent and adult brains when given risk-taking scenarios with different expected values of outcomes

Question 17

Describe the sample and sampling method in the study by Barkley-Levenson and Galvan

Answer 17

Adults - 19 right-handed people, aged 25-30 from the USA
Adolescents - 22 right-handed people, aged 13-17 from the USA
Obtained through posters and internet adverts through the University of California, as well as from a database of participants from previous research

Question 18

Describe the intake session in the study by Barkley-Levenson and Galvan

Answer 18

Participants would provide information on how much money they receive per month and the source of this income
They also underwent a mock fMRI scan to acclimatise them to it
Given $20 for taking part and were told they would use this as ‘playing money’ during the subsequent fMRI scan

Question 19

What happened in the study by Barkley-Levenson and Galvan when participants returned for the fMRI 1 week after the intake session?

Answer 19

Neuro-imaging session whilst having an fMRI scan
Presented with a gamble, on a ‘spinner’ with 2 options between +$20 and -$20 and they had to indicate on a 4 point scale whether they wanted to accept or reject the gamble
They were told one would be taken as their ‘real’ trial and would determine how much money they left with
24 trials, both options were a gain, another 24 both were a loss, and for 144 there was one option for gain and one for loss

Question 20

What were the behavioural results in the study by Barkley-Levenson and Galvan?

Answer 20

Where no risk was involved, both groups made similar judgements
A higher expected value increased the likelihood of both groups accepting, however adolescents were more likely to accept the gamble where there was a higher expected value

Question 21

What were the neural results in the study by Barkley-Levenson and Galvan?

Answer 21

fMRI results showed more activation in the ventral striatum in adolescents as the expected value increased
The ventral striatum is involved with emotional responses, particularly those related to pleasure and behavioural motivation

Question 22

What can be concluded by the study by Barkley-Levenson and Galvan?

Answer 22

• adolescents place higher value on rewards than adults do

- neural representations of value in adolescents are linked to increased risk-taking behaviour

Question 23

Describe the idea of synaptic pruning

Answer 23

Exuberant synaptogenesis is a process by which more synaptic connections are produced than necessary
After 3 years there is then a period of synaptic loss, which fine-tunes brain structure and functioning based on the ‘use it or lose it’ principle, where neurones which are used often have a strengthened neurone pathway and the inactive synapses therefore die off
This occurs at different rates in different areas of the brain, which has important implications for behaviour

Question 24

Describe Steinberg’s dual systems theory

Answer 24

This is the idea that increased risk-taking in adolescence is the result of heightened activity in the socioemotional system and a still maturing cognitive control system
With maturation, the socioemotional system becomes less reactive and the cognitive control system becomes more efficient, explaining the decrease in risk-taking as a person moves into adulthood

Question 25

Describe the use of graduated driving licences

Answer 25

A probationary period after passing a driving test by which you have to abide by a set of rules such as curfews, additional speed limits and passenger restrictions, and these will be alleviated if they are stuck to
Proven to be effective worldwide - 16 year old drivers in the US who are subject to GDL have 37% fewer crashes per year and it is estimated that if GDL was used in Britain it would prevent over 400 deaths and serious injuries per year

Question 26

Describe the DeBellis study on the impact of stress on child brains and thinking

Answer 26

Examined IQ, language, fine motor skills, maths, reading etc. on 2 groups of non-sexually abused, medically healthy neglected children, one with PTSD and one without, and a similarly healthy, non maltreated control group
Scores were lower in the neglected groups, and even lower in the group with PTSD, with greater PTSD symptoms and with greater numbers of maltreated experiences
Suggested that stressful experiences may damage the pre-frontal cortex, which may lead to an increase in risk-taking