PRE 305 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 8 Lecture 1 1 26 15 Why is it important to conduct research on child development To inform parents and professionals about better ways to care for children To influence policy To understand human nature To expand psychological knowledge and theory Lecture 2 1 28 15 How do theories hypotheses and evidence relate to each other A hypothesis is often formulated from your observations that have developed into your theory Once you have a hypotheses you test it and the evidence is the data that you record Why are reliability and validity important They are both important in research to judge if the research is a good source of information or not Reliability and validity are also important because if you do not have a reliable and valid measure you will not be able to collect accurate data to test your hypothesis What are the key characteristics of ethical research Protecting from harm Privacy and confidentiality Informed consent Role of Institutional Review Boards If a research study tells us that two variables are correlated what do we know What don t we know We know that the two variables influence each other whether in a small or large way We don t know if one variable causes the other variable because correlation is not the same as causation Key concepts Theory an idea that is meant to explain facts or observations Hypothesis an educated guess that is often based on a theory Evidence the data used to test a hypothesis Reliability consistency in measurement Validity are you measuring what you think you are measuring Cannot have validity without reliability Generalizability the term that applies to the accuracy with which results or findings can be transferred to situations or people other than those originally studied Naturalistic observations observing a child in their natural environment Structured observations forcing a specific situation that you want to observe to occur Experimental designs contain experimental and control groups random assignment Correlational designs the researcher does not manipulate anything they simply examine the relationship between variables Third variable problem the concept that a correlation between two variables may stem from both being influenced by some third variable Cross sectional studies people of different ages observed at one time Longitudinal studies same person or people studied over time Informed consent the research participant is informed about what research is going to be done on him Lecture 3 2 2 15 Key concepts Genotype the genetic material and individual inherits 23 chromosomes that a person has Phenotype the physical expression of the genes hair color height etc Dominant genes trait that will be evident if one or more copies is inherited Brown eyes brown hair etc Recessive genes trait will be evident only if two copies of the recessive gene are inherited Blue eyes red hair etc Behavioral genetics examining the role of genetics and environment in producing behavior Epigenetics the study of stable changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environment Lecture 4 2 4 15 No key concepts or questions about lecture 4 Lecture 5 2 9 15 What factors impact prenatal development What can parents or policymakers do to promote optimal development during the prenatal period Maternal nutrition maternal food deprivation can lead to premature birth miscarriage and later consequences for child Good nutrition is associated with more positive outcomes for child later in life Maternal exercise positive outcomes for both mother and child Less pain during labor etc Maternal stress high levels of stress associated with miscarriage prematurity and low birth weight Teratogens diseases drugs environmental toxins Prenatal medical care Parents can make sure that they are receiving proper medical while pregnant be active eat healthy and maintain their stress level and the toxins that they are exposed to Policymakers can What do researchers mean when they say that the fetus can learn before birth What are some examples of fetal learning Depending on what the mother eats and the things that she listens to the fetus will develop an affinity for certain tastes and sounds that will become evident later in life Some examples are that the fetus can start learning tastes and sounds in the womb Reflexes that they learn in the womb Key concepts Placenta a support organ for the fetus it keeps the circulatory systems of the fetus and mother separate but as a semipermeable membrane permits the exchange of some materials between them oxygen and nutrients from mother to fetus and carbon dioxide and waste products from fetus to mother Teratogens an external agent that can cause damage or death during prenatal development drugs diseases environmental toxins etc Sensitive period the period of time during which a developing organism is most sensitive to the effects of external factors prenatally the sensitive period is when the fetus is maximally sensitive to the harmful effects of teratogens Lecture 6 2 11 15 How has the Back to Sleep campaign impacted children s development Lay children on their back to reduce SIDS don t have any loose blankets or stuffed animals What are the benefits of and barriers to breastfeeding Some benefits of breastfeeding are providing proper nutrition to the baby to fight of viruses and bacteria have fewer ear infections diarrhea and also provides a close bond for the child and the mother Some barriers to breastfeeding would be the mother going back to work not producing enough milk economic stability time consuming etc Key concepts Depth perception the ability to judge spatial relationships of objects and to perceive distances Visual cliff an apparatus designed to tests when an infant can determine depth perception Mirror neurons your brain activates in the same way if you are doing an activity or if you see another person doing that activity If you think about something imagine doing that activity or see a person doing that activity the same part in your brain will light up in the same way Lecture 7 2 16 15 Key concepts Habituation reduction in response to a repeated stimulus Affordances what opportunities are provided by a particular object or situation Plasticity changes in neural connections due to environmental and learning interactions Lecture 8 2 18 15 What does Harlow s research with monkeys tell us about attachment Harlow s research tells us that most of the time comfort and