PRE 305 1st EditionExam # 1 Study Guide Lectures: 1 - 8Lecture 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 theoryLecture 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 BoardsIf 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 observationsHypothesis: an educated guess that is often based on a theoryEvidence: the data used to test a hypothesisReliability: consistency in measurementValidity: 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 studiedNaturalistic observations: observing a child in their natural environmentStructured observations: forcing a specific situation that you want to observe to occurExperimental designs: contain experimental and control groups, random assignmentCorrelational 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 variableCross-sectional studies: people of different ages observed at one timeLongitudinal studies: same person or people studied over timeInformed consent: the research participant is informed about what research is going to be done on himLecture 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 behaviorEpigenetics: the study of stable changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environmentLecture 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 harmfuleffects of teratogensLecture 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 andbacteria, have fewer ear infections, diarrhea, and also provides a close bond for the child and themother. - 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 distancesVisual cliff: an apparatus designed to tests when an infant can determine depth perceptionMirror 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 stimulusAffordances: what opportunities are provided by a particular object or situationPlasticity: changes in neural connections due to environmental and learning