Psych 350 Study Guide Exam #1Themes and Foundations:Understand the major themes in Child Development and be able to provide examples, particularly for:Nature/Nurture – how large a role does each one play? Not an either/or debate (fear can be learned… nurture, innate ability to learn some fears better than others… nature); emphasis on genetic or environmental influences; complex interaction.Continuity/discontinuity – does development happen gradually or in stages? Quantitative – gradual (pine tree growing); qualitative – stages (butterfly growing from caterpillar).Sociocultural influence – physical = house, daycare, school, urban vs. rural; economic = wealth; cultural = language, values, traditions.The “active child” – individuals play a role in their own development (preference to attend to certain things, motivated to learn, etc.)Individual differences (resilience) – possible sources = genetic, treatment by others, subjective reactions to other’s treatment.What was arguably the first developmental study? Describe who involved, what it was testing for, the method, etc:Ancient Egypt; Psammetichus II was in a debate with another king about which people came first, was Egyptian the original language? They cut out a shepard’s tongue so his kids were born never having heard a language, first word was not Egyptian – bad study but controlled setting as it could beKnow Aristotle’s Plato, Locke, and Rousseau’s views of childhood:Aristotle – all knowledge comes from experiences, child-rearing should adjust to needs of childPlato – born with innate knowledge, strict discipline & self-control across the boardLocke – “tabula rasa” (a blank slate onto which all experiences can be etched); emphasized nurtureRousseau – innately good, “noble savage”, emphasized natureDarwin’s contributions:Academically interested in own children & development; Theory of Evolution – “Biographical Sketch of anInfant” was book of own son’s development from birth to 5 years old.Understand the logic and several examples of “controlled-rearing” studies:Aka deprivation studies; behavioral studies with animals (kittens born in darkness have different receptors in eyes than kittens not born into darkness); behavioral studies with human infants (no symbols/toys); “naturalistic” studies (cataract patients).Methods:Describe the procedures involved in the scientific method:Choose a question to be answered; formulate a hypothesis or prediction about the answer; develop a method for testing the hypothesis; interpret the obtained data & draw a conclusion.Know the types of important criteria for good measurement (the differences between reliability & validity as well as the different types):Reliability has 2 types – test-retest (same test, two different days = same answer); interrator (different people looking at same thing find same conclusion/answer)Validity – experiment measures what it is intended to measure, 2 types – internal validity (effects due to thevariables the researcher intentionally manipulated); external validity (results can generalize beyond the particulars ofthe research)Define three methodological contexts for gathering data and summarize the advantages and disadvantages of each:Interviews – structured interview (ask same questions); clinical interview (questions are adjusted according to the responses)Naturalistic observation – limitations = what caused it? Target behavior may not be observedStructured observation – identical situation for all kids & record behavior, enables direct comparisonsRecognize and label examples of correlational designs:Association between 2 variables; positive correlation (changes in same direction); negative correlation (changes in opposite directions); correlation coefficient (statistical summarizing strength & direction of relationship between 2 variables).Identify risks and benefits associated with the use of correlational designs:Direction-of-causation problem – it is not possible to tell from a correlation which variable is the cause and which is the effectThird-variable problem – a correlation between two variables may arise from both being influenced by some third variableRecognize and label the essential components of experimental designs, including random assignment, experimental & control groups, independent variables, and dependent variables:Experimental group – receives the independent variableControl group – does not receive the independent variableDependent variable – is a behavior that is hypothesized to be affected by the independent variable not the controlIndependent variable – the variable the researchers manipulate during the experimentRandom assignment - an experimental technique for assigning human participants or animal subjects to different groups in an experimentExplain the major advantage and disadvantage of experimental designs. Describe a technique for overcoming the major limitation of experimental designs:Recognize and label examples of each of the three designs for studying development and the advantages/disadvantages of each:Cross-sectional – children of different ages are compared on a given behavior or characteristic over a short period of time; limitation = patterns of change?Longitudinal – same children are studied twice or more over a substantial amount of time; limitation = selective attrition rehearsal effectsPrenatal Development:Describe the major structural changes that occur during each of the major periods of prenatal development:Period of the zygote (conception to 2 weeks) – basic division; implant into uterine wall from fallopian tube;major developmental processes = cell division & cell migration within blastocyst & down fallopian tubePeriod of the embryo (3 to 8 weeks) – cells develop into specialized types (cell differentiation); cephalocaudal development = area near head develop earlier than area near “tail”; cell death aka apoptosis = some cells programmed to die instead of divide because unnecessary for that area of developmentPeriod of the fetus (9 weeks to birth) – some reflexive behaviors; ~12 weeks most movements present at birth have appeared; generate testosteroneThe four major developmental processes in cell development:Cell division; cell migration; cell differentiation; cell death (apoptosis)Examples of the principle of cephalocaudal development during prenatal development:Be familiar with studies that have documented