Child and Adol. Psych Exam 3
Name and describe in some detail each of the four different parenting styles according to Baumrind/Maccoby and Martin.
Authoritative: GOOD STYLE Parent: warm, responsive, restrictive, demanding Child: Energetic-friendly child, self-reliant, self-controlled, flexible, socially competent, popular Authoritarian: "Hitler" Parent: cold, unresponsive, restrictive, demanding Child: conflicted, irritable, unhappy child, low independence, low self-esteem, passive, rigid Fear of punishment encourages compliance Permissive: "hippies" Parent: warm, responsive, permissive, undemanding Child: Impulsive, aggressive, self-centered, poor self-control, spoilt, immature Uninvolved/indifferent: Parent: cold, unresponsive, permissive, undemanding (maccoby and martin) Child: mandy addicted, poor social skills, socially withdrawn, neglected child.
Describe Jerome Kagan's concept of reactivity/behavioral inhibition and explain how low/high reactivity is related to later personality.
Behavioral Inhibition: how a person reacts in avoidance and discomfort to as stimulus Highly reactive children tend to become shy, inhibited Low reactive children tend to become sociable, fearless
Describe the Marshmallow Test and explain what it has to do with the link between moral judgment and moral behavior in children.
Marshmallow is placed on a plate in front of the kids and they are told that if they don't eat it then when the lady comes back, they will get another one. If they do eat it, then they don't. The kids smelled it, licked it, touched it, stared at it, etc. trying to resist it Impulse control
What can parents do to foster the development of prosocial behavior in their children?
Smiling, engage with children, reinforce positive behavior, creating happy thoughts and feelings in situations that you want your child to remember/be prosocial in Explain why things are wrong or bad and create a punishment that helps them learn specifically that (they take a toy from another child, explain why it is wrong and then make them give their favorite toy to the other child for a few hours as a punishment) Individual differences Biological basis 50% heritability, possibly related to temperament (e.g., impulse control, emotion regulation) Model and teach values Point out positive consequences of prosocial acts Create opportunities for prosocial activities Household tasks, community service Discipline and parenting style Good: discipline that involves reasoning, especially explanations of how child's behavior affects others
Using the emotion of fear, explain what prepared learning is, and describe in some detail how DeLoache and LoBue (2009) tested whether a fear of snakes is innate or acquired.
Specific fears are not innate, but quickly learned Prepared learning is learning how to feel an emotion, but the emotion is not innate Example: a fear of snakes You don't know you are scared of snakes until you experience them and understand you are scared of snakes Listening to voices and hearing voices, the fearful voice allowed the children to look at the snake rather than the other picture Certain things we quickly learn to fear The slithering movement elicits the fear.
Describe the sociometric technique that's most commonly used in peer research as well as two alternative methods of your choice, and discuss the pros and cons of each.
Where they rank socially: sociometric status One way this can be done: questionnaire asking each child to nominate. (reminds me of prom queen and king) Nominate three classmates they like most Nominate three classmates they like least Popular- lots of LM no or very few LL Rejected- lots of LL no or few LM Lots of both: controversial Some of both: average Not a lot of both: neglected
What does research suggest about the impact of socialization on the development of gender differences? Describe specific findings!
Young children tend to copy same-sex adults Play behavior in children/household chores: daughters do more household chores like cleaning, boys rake leaves, take out trash Girls are more involved in chores The more educated parents are, the smaller the differences get Peer influence toward conformity Behaviors while being observed when babysitting: boys are more passive, girls more active Differences are attenuated when sitters feel unobserved Reactions of adults to crying baby Subtle physiological measures show no differences between mothers and fathers (also: females who are mothers react more than females who are not) Simplistic female = caring, male = not as untenable Math achievement, job aspirations, boys' emotional expression and experience
Describe at least two different specific phenomena that suggest that biological sex is more complex than a simple female/male binary.
intersex individuals Chromazone pairings
Define the concept of resilience and describe some specific factors associated with resilience in adolescence
"resilience", the "ability of an individual to function competently in the face of adversity or stress" Factors promoting adolescent resilience Appealing, sociable, easygoing disposition (good emotional self regulation) At least one adult providing caring support Intelligence , sound judgement, social skills One or more talents (things a person does really well) Belief in oneself and trust in one's ability to make decisions Religiosity or spirituality
Explain John Bowlby's idea of internal working models of attachment and describe in some detail what we know about the "intergenerational transmission" of attachment status (passing attachment quality down to future generations).
-Biological preparedness of both infant and mother Babies are drawn to their mother's (voice, smell, etc.) •Mothers are drawn to their infant (includes cute response) Specific interaction patterns between the two that are based on this preparedness then determine the quality of the relationship/attachment bond Infant establishes more general internal working models
Identify three different myths regarding gay and/or lesbian parents and what the actual research evidence is on each of them.
1. Children need a mother and a father to have proper male and female role models Children have all kinds of role models outside their immediate family Children raised by lesbian moms are less gender conforming (ex. Less aggressive boys), but that is not a negative in and of itself 2. Gay and lesbian don't have stable relationships Majority of gay and lesbian adults are in committed relationships; like heterosexuals, same-sex couples form deep emotional attachments and commitments; same-sex and heterosexual couples face similar issues (ex. Intimacy, love, loyalty and stability) and they go through similar processes ot address them; lesbian and gay couples have levels of relationship satisfaction similar to or higher than those of heterosexual couples No evidence that two committed gay partners raising children are more likely than hetero parents to separate Gay/lesbians cant be good parents Co-parenting of lesbian moms is actually better in many ways than that of hetero couples; gay dads show less parenting stress and more warmth, responsiveness, and less disciplinary aggression toward their kids than hetero parents Child outcomes in gay/lesbian families similar to or better than hetero families in long list of studies Children raised by gay or lesbian parents are more likely to grow up gay themselves All of the evidence points to negligible effects of parent sexual orientation on child orientation There is some evidence that children of gays and lesbians are more tolerant of diversity and feel more free to explore their sexuality 3. Gay or lesbian parents are more likely to abuse their children There is no connection between homosexuality and pedophilia Gay and lesbian parents are less likely to use physical discipline than their hetero counterparts
First, describe Kohlberg's research on 6 stages of moral development as well as some of his key findings, then critique his approach.
6 Stages Preconventional morality Stage 1: obedience and punishment (defer to authority to avoid being punished) Stage 2: Hedonistic, instrumental (conform to gain rewards) Conventional morality Stage 3: good boy (maintain approval of others) Stage 4: Social order (rigid rules to avoid chaos) Post-conventional morality Stage 5: democratic contract, individual rights (rules can be re-negotiated if max. Benefit follows) Stage 6: Conscience (internalized ideas of justice, equally respect for others compassion) Only used males in his study
Define what Mary Ainsworth meant by secure base and why the quality of infant-caregiver attachment has consequences for the child's cognitive development.
A secure base is to what extent a child uses a caregiver as security to go off and explore. It defines a well functioning relationship if the child uses a mother as a secure base. The better attachment a child has with the caregiver the more successful they will be. There is a degree of stability in the attachment assessed in infancy. It is not definite, but there is a relationship. Conducted a Strange Situation test Same steps of assessment: unfamiliarity of environment, then the mother leaves (twice) each separation is followed by a reunion What extent do they react with the environment? How does infant react how the mother comes back? How does infant react when mother leaves?
Name at least three different Adverse Childhood Experiences and describe how prevalent ACEs are for children in the U.S.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE): Divorce Alcohol Violence within home Economic hardships Neighborhood violence Dead parent
Describe the specific factors that are associated with elevated levels of aggression in childhood and adolescence
Aggression is behavior intended to cause harm Instrumental: aggression is a means to an end (using aggression to get what you want) Ex: taking a toy from another child Hostile: aggression is the end goal Adaptive value of aggression is more easily explained than that of prosocial behavior causes: (hormones, temperament, peers, parents). -peer presure -abuse -insecure attachtment -enviromental deficit -Mental/learning disorder -low self esteem
Describe how the development of gender identity, primarily a cognitive achievement, is related to a child's play behaviors, social interactions, etc. - provide information about child age in your response.
As children develop, they acquire knowledge about themselves and others. Gender exists in everything such as culture, values, school, work, friends and family. At 7 months old children start to discriminate between male and female voices, then by 18 months old there are gender related expectations on the child and by 2 and a half years old there is sex-typed play. Preschool: There is increased sex typed play with same sex peers and the stereotypes peak around 5-7 years old, then there is increased flexibility until adolescence.
Describe how the development of gender identity, primarily a cognitive achievement, is related to a child's play behaviors, social interactions, etc. - provide information about child age in your response.
As children develop, they acquire knowledge about themselves and others. Gender exists in everything such as culture, values, school, work, friends and family. At 7 months old children start to discriminate between male and female voices, then by 18 months old there are gender related expectations on the child and by 2 and a half years old there is sex-typed play. 7 months: discriminate between male and female voices 10 months: discriminate faces 13 months: associate voices with faces 18 months: gender related expectations — they expect that girls are more likely to play with dolls 2 and a half years: Increasing sex-typed play Preschool: There is increased sex typed play with same sex peers and the stereotypes peak around 5-7 years old, then there is increased flexibility until adolescence.
benefits as well as negative consequences of adolescent risk-taking, why does it increase in adolescence
Associated factors: Age: increases when going into adolescence and decreases when coming out of adolescence. Critical developmental changes occur in brain pathways that regulate emotional expression, cognitive/attentional focus, and sensitivity to rewards Amygdala, dopamine system, myelination and synaptic pruning Peer pressure More common in boys that in girls Low self esteem or low conscientiousness Seeking novelty, social and environmental stimulation, exploration Neither inherently good or bad Risk taking can be seen as learning opportunities but can also cause harm. Unsafe sex (HIV, STDs, STIs, pregnancy) Reckless drunk driving (fatal injuries) Drug use (OD or addiction)
Explain what it means to say that attachment bonds differ qualitatively rather than quantitatively.
Attachment bonds different qualitatively as opposed to quantitatively because there is not one caregiver in today's society that is more significant than others. However there are different types of attachment that occur between a child and caregiver. For example, children tend to go to their fathers when they want to play and their mothers when they are hurt.
Name and describe four specific behaviors (use the appropriate terms!) that a caregiver should use to foster secure attachment with their infant.
Availability of an attachment figure Sensitive care and insightfulness Consistent and responsive caregiving (let infant play role in timing of feeding; They learn that caregivers will feed them, change them, bathe them, and play with them. Predictable routines) Empathic in interpreting child's signals (resistant attachment when mother misinterprets) Interactional synchrony Caregiver responds to infants signals in well-timed, rhythmic, appropriate fashion and matches infant's emotional states Physical contact Babywearing; breastfeeding (skin to skin contact)
Explain what John Bowlby meant by internal working models of attachment. Next, explain in some detail how Johnson et al. (2010) demonstrated that infants indeed appear to have such working models.
Based on parent-child interactions, child develops , mental representations of self (self worth), others ( how accessible or responsive), and social relationships in general internal working model can be defined as a thinking process, which is built on past experiences and helps the individual consider responses and actions.
Briefly describe the concept of parenting styles according to Baumrind and critically discuss both the merits (e.g., supporting evidence) and shortcomings. (p. 528)
Baumrind's parenting styles imply that there is consistency in the way parents raise their children across time and situations. There are shortcomings of this concept including that parenting is not a one way street and a the child temperament often influences parent behavior. Parenting styles can also be influenced by parents emotional adjustment, marriage, social support and SES. The advantages that come with parenting styles includes that these parenting styles adjust across environments and contexts to fit differing cultures. Shortcomings Parenting is not a one-way street Child temperament influences parent behavior Advantages and disadvantages of different styles vary across environments/contexts, cultures Authoritarian style may be more adaptive in dangerous neighborhoods - and also seen as caring by the child Chinese parents appear more authoritarian (give child fewer options, etc) - reflects different cultural values "Style" implies consistency across time and situations, but little evidence
Describe at least three different ways in which the family structure has changed in the last few decades and discuss the implications of each change for child development. (This question only pertains to demographic characteristics and number of caregivers, not broader economic/social conditions.)
Blended families- divorce, remarriage, step-siblings and half- siblings. Single parents Interracial couples Same sex couples a. Maternal employment: In 1940, only 8.6% of mothers with children participated in the labor force. Today it is almost 50%. This affects whether mother wants to or has to work. It also gives a more gender egalitarian view for role models which fostering independence and self reliance. b. Parental unemployment: With more parental unemployment, there is more poverty, food insecurity, lack of access to health care and stress. The amount of unemployment is somewhat affected by race. c. Single parents: The amount of single parent families has more than doubled between 1970 and 1990. In 2013, 40% of births in the US were to unwed mothers, but 28% of children under 18 live with only one parent which is most often the mother. This results in difficulty finding and paying for daycare, balancing home and work and emotional support for the self and child. Teenage mothers are often deficient in parenting skills, and are not financially stable. d. Same- sex parents: 37% of LGBT adults have had a child at some point in their life. These children grow up no different from other kids (socially, emotionally, intellectually and sexually). If anything, there is more flexibility, tolerance and open-mindedness associated with same sex-parents. Abuse is also less common.
List at least 3 gender differences between boys and girls and explain how nature and nurture interact to produce them - you should explicitly discuss the role of hormones, sex differences in brain development, as well as the role of gene-environment interactions.
Boys are more physically aggressive and show more rough-and-tumble play Boys take more risks Boys enjoy physical play more and that may cause parents tendency to be more physically active with sons than daughters Girls are more socially, emotionally expressive Girls outperform boys in language Parents attempt to control sexual behavior more than sons, maybe to preserve her "mate value" Gene-environment interactions Parents encourage less girl-typical and more boy-typical toy play in females with CAH (vs. control), likely in part as a reaction to the girls' interests Nature and nurture Male typical instrumental and female typical expressive tendencies provided reproductive advantages Differences between boys and girls in early play behavior are consistent with this perspective
Define both child abuse and neglect, and explain which factors make it more likely for a child to become a victimas well as which factors increase the likelihood for an individual to become a perpetrator of child of maltreatment.
Childhood abuse = act of commision Words or actions that cause harm, potential harm, or threat of harm to child Childhood neglect = act of omission
What specific research-based recommendations do you have for parents who have decided to divorce to make the process easier on their children?
Don't let the children see the parents fighting. Have the primary home in the neighborhood that they already live in. Keep the kid in the same school. Don't give false hope- if the divorce is final, let the child know. Let the child know they will not lose a parent.
Define emotional regulation, explain why it is important, and describe major developmental changes in emotion regulation that take place between infancy and middle childhood.
Emotional Regulation- learning how to control emotions (negative) Shift from caregiver to self regulation Initially parents do all the soothing and distracting - Infants cannot self soothe early on. ~3 months, initial self-regulation (gaze aversion, thumb-sucking) Self-distraction becomes more popular over the early years From tantrums, pouting to discussing negative emotions Tantrums: child is overwhelmed with something Normal part of development (age 1-3) Reasons: attention-seeking, tired, hungry, uncomfortable, frustration coupled with lack of inhibition Frustration is an unavoidable part of kids' lives as they learn how people, objects, and their own bodies work. How to handle: keep cool and ensure physical safety: NO physical violence (timeout instead) Use of cognitive strategies to control negative emotion Early behavioral strategies replaced with rethinking goals and other cognitive strategies. Setting goals that are realistic for yourself.
Name a few specific forms of prosocial behavior in childhood and describe some of the specific contributions of both nature and nurture to individual differences in children's prosocial tendencies.
Empathy: Perspective taking plus emotional experience At the root of prosocial behaviors, such as sharing and helping 2 year old try to comfort other children in distress, but usually in ways that would make themselves feel better 2,3 year olds sometimes share toys, assist others in tasks but also frequently do nothing Steady increase in prosocial behavior into older adolescents Evolutionary perspective of prosocial behavior survival/passing on genes ----> how does prosocial behavior come through your genes Need social support/communal help Acting selfishly today is not how you survive, so acting prosocial behavior helps you raise your kids Give prosocial behavior to people in your circle Reciprocity - expect prosocial in return We need to get along with lots of people to get anywhere in society Does not explain very BAD acts (like Nazis) Biological basis 50% heritability, possibly related to temperament (e.g., impulse control, emotion regulation)
What specific factors in a child's home life may predispose them towards becoming aggressive and rejected by their peers? What elements of intervention seem promising?
For rejected aggressive kids the root problem often lies with poor parenting Inadequate monitoring or harsh punishment Insecure attachment history Lack of modeling appropriate social behavior Family Stress
Describe key aspects of Golombok et al.'s recent study on adoptive gay father, lesbian mother, and heterosexual two-parent families, and what their main findings were.
Gay fathers are warmer and provide a more positive environment than heterosexual families Males (gay fathers) are just as good/qualified to parent than women are Gay fathers interacted more with their children than parents in heterosexual families. Children with psychological problems are likely to be placed with heterosexual families and NOT gay fathers There was no significant difference found between gay and lesbian parents. Gay fathers are more likely to adopt boys and lesbian parents are more likely to adopt girls.
Describe the different stages of the development/formation of the attachment bond.
Gradual development based on interactions Pre-attachment is birth to 6 weeks. It includes indiscriminate social responses. Attachment in the making is 6-7 months includes positive response to most strangest and no substantial separation anxiety Clear-cut attachment is 7 months to 18 months includes wariness of strangers, distress when separated and physical proximity to caregiver. Reciprocal relationship is 18 months and up includes a more balanced 2 way relationship.
Explain in some detail what the work of Harry Harlow with rhesus monkeys suggests about the factors that do and the ones that don't influence the human infant-caregiver attachment.
Harry Harlow's (1950s) experimental work with rhesus monkeys Preference for the "cloth mother" despite having been fed by the "wire mother" - especially when stressed Creature comfort alone is not enough, however monkeys reared in isolation become socially disturbed. The comfort took over the need for food with the wire mother The cloth mother builds up his security. Monkey was more curious In any situation of stress, the monkey would run to the cloth mother, even though he never got food from her. He restores his security and sense of calm. Allows him to become stable again so he can function. If you raise the monkeys in isolation, never had a real monkey mama, they could not raise their own children because they missed those learning experiences as a child.
Describe some specific findings regarding maternal, paternal, grand-parental, step-parental and/or adoptive parental child care and explain how they support or fail to support the evolutionary perspective of child care.
How children are cared for has evolved over time. In the past, it was usually female family members who collectively cared for the children. Usually sisters and mothers and grandmothers played a role in child care, but the men in the family never really did. However, as time has gone on, fathers have played a more and more important role in child care. People have also gone outside of the family all together to find daycare for their children. Therefore, all in all child care supports the evolutionary perspective.
Describe some key findings (e.g., data from the Centers of Disease Control) on adolescent sexual activity and then discuss specific research-based recommendations for effective sex education curricula.
In 2017, 40% of HS students had ever had sexual intercourse, and 10% of high school students had had four or more sex partners during their life 7% had been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to 46% of currently sexually active HS students did not use a condom during last sexual intercourse 14% did not use anymethod to prevent pregnancy 19% had drunk alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse Each year, there are approximately 20 million new STIs, and half of them are among youth aged 15 to 24
Define the term transgender. Why has the issue of bathroom use become a focal point in the discussion of transgender students in U.S. schools, and what does the relevant research have to say on the issue?
Internal gender identity does not match the sex assigned at birth Ensure that the transgender person is able to live, be seen and be treated by others in a matter consistent with the person's gender identity Getting used to using the appropriate restroom is an important part of this process Transgender people must take this step well before proceeding to medical interventions involving hormones or surgery Children tend to be interested in themselves and other body parts Gender identity has nothing to do with sexual orientation, they are different phenomena Blocking laws that benefit the well-being of people just because they may be abused is neither sound nor standard practice (e.g., Medicare fraud) 17 school districts with 600,000 students experienced no problems after implementing transgender protections There are zero reports of sexual transgression committed by a trans person In contrast, ~70% of trans people report experiencing verbal harassment in a situation involving gender-segregated bathrooms, ~10% report physical assault
Explain the differences between internalizing and externalizing emotional problems, provide some specific examples of each, and briefly describe common gender differences in childhood/adolescence.
Internalizing: the symptoms and the outcomes of the disorder are turned inward (towards themself) Ex: the person who is clinically depressed, this does not have a social problems but more individual problems Depression (symptoms can differ between gender - women cry and are sad, men get angry and aggressive), anxiety (phobias, PTSD, OCD), eating disorders Girls are more likely to internalize Externalizing: the symptoms and the outcomes of the disorder are turned outward (towards other people) Ex: Someone with ODD would act out aggressively which would hurt society more than the person themselves Acting out eg. oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) ODD- kids who act out aggressively Boys are more likely to externalize Social environment is stressing May be linked to gender-specific evolutionary reproductive advantages (eg. soliciting help with childhood vs gaining peer status)
Describe both Kohlberg's theory of gender development and gender schema theory.
Kohlberg's theory: children actively construct their knowledge of gender in 3 stages 2-3 years: gender identity (I am a boy/girl) 4-5: gender stability (I will remain a boy/girl) 6-7 gender constancy (superficial changes don't change one's gender)-related to conservation "You're a girl; only girls wear berets" everyone has a penis, only girls wear berets Gender Schema Theory Schemas (naive theories) about gender Include any and all information related to gender from any source Are used to filter, interpret, organize information Only minimal knowledge about gender is needed in order to for a schema Key difference to Kohlberg: as soon as children can identify their own gender, they are motivated to behave gender consistent Full understanding of gender is not necessary
What are some specific factors that can lead to insecure infant-parent attachment?
Maternal depression Depressed mothers show decreased responsiveness Their infants show less activity as well as less positive and more negative emotions; insec.-avoidant attachment Abuse/neglect associated with disorganized attachment Approach/avoidance behavior of these children may be adaptive given that they never know what to expect Irritable newborns may be more likely to develop insecure attachments, but not clear-cut Goodness-of-fit (some parents will be able to deal well with "difficult" infants)
Drawing on Bradley and Corwyn's (2002) review, describe some of the specific child health, cognitive, and emotional consequences of growing up in low SES households, and explain why these linkages exist (in other words, what are the mediating variables).
Mediating factors: process variable, explains why relationship exists Low SES (socio-economic status) is correlated with higher risk of illness in children Lack of access to healthcare Mold and Lead are examples of mediating factors
Name the 5 different peer status groups and their like most/like least nomination patterns, and describe the personality/behavioral characteristics of children from 2 of these groups (your choice).
Popular kids: Lots of LM, few/no LL Attractive, athletic, academically competent, friendly, sociable, socially skilled (considerate, helpful), self-confident Rejected Kids: Lots of LL, few/no LM 40-50% are aggressive, antisocial, disruptive, hyperactive 10-25% are anxious, withdrawn, socially unskilled (awkward), lonely Social rejection tends to come before social withdrawal Controversial Kids: Lots of Both: Some of Both: None or very few of both Often do not easily fit any stereotypical "mold", combine characteristics of popular and rejected kids popular children, average children, neglected children, rejected children, and controversial children
First, define Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) and describe what the research on CAH suggests about the role of hormones for sex-typed behaviors and preferences. Next, use a specific example to explain why it is important to keep gene-environment interactions in mind when interpreting the findings.
Present from birth. Adrenal glands produce hormones. Hyperplasia (enlarged) Adrenal glands are involved in producing cortisol, aldosterone, and androgens (some testosterone) DO NOT produce enough cortisol, so the brain tells your adrenal glands to produce more and more cortisol, but it can't, so the adrenal glands start to produce more and more of the other stuff (testosterone) and become bigger. Can cause problems with normal growth and development in children, including normal development of genitals (affects both males and females) Girls with CAH: Most have feminine gender identity but some have gender dysphoria Report decreased heterosexual orientation Increased preference for toys generally preferred y boys, decreased interest in dolls Prefer boys over girls to play with Interest in stereotypically male types of play Boys with CAH Inconsistent pattern of findings Decreased male typical rough play, others have increased Little info about development of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Describe the three key differences between primary and secondary emotions and give at least two specific examples of each type of emotion.
Primary: Appear in the first 6 months At birth-distress, interest disgust 1-3 months-joy 3-6 months-anger, sadness, surprise 6-8 months-fear Secondary: self conscious emotions Understand idea of self at this point Pride, shame/guilt, jealousy, gratitude, envy, shyness Embarrassment: begins around 18-24 months Heavily influenced by culture Differences Primary appear during first 6 months, secondary later Self awareness needed for secondary Primary → Strong biological predisposition versus Secondary→ cultural learning
What specific research evidence points to the presence of racial bias in U.S. schoolteachers, and/or differential treatment of minority versus majority kids? What are some ways of addressing such biases?
Punishment Gap Okonofua & Eberhardt experiment (study 1) Teachers read fake school record of a middle school student (black vs white) who had one or two infractions (insubordination; class disturbance) DVs: how troubled are you? How severely should student be punished When there was one infraction, there wasn't really a major difference in race. The second infraction, the teachers had more of a problem with and would punish more harshly Okonofua & Eberhardt experiment (Study 2) Black students were more likely to be labeled a troublemaker after 2 infractions than white students More strongly a teacher believed the student to be black (based on stereotypical names like Darnell and Deshawn) the more likely they were to see his misbehavior as indicative of a pattern They expected more trouble from that student in the future
What does research suggest about the effects of physical (corporal) punishment as a parenting technique? Describe specific research findings!
Punishment doesn't work. It sets a bad example, fails to teach child better alternative behaviors
What does research suggest about whether having children in daycare arrangements impairs the quality of parent-child attachment? Discuss specific findings!
Quality of care is important Child family care is generally better than center care 1 caregiver to 4 children (or fewer) and small groups Adequate training of workers Day care does not lead to inferior quality of parent-child attachment relationship Insecure attachments are likely if: Care is poor, child spends 10+ hours/week there/has more than one care arrangement; and when mothers are not very sensitive Nonparental care and parent- child attachment Day care may have benefits Having a daycare attachment figure may partially compensate for insecure attachment with primary caregiver Potential for social and cognitive growth
Describe the historical roots of modern attachment research: Rene Spitz's observations of orphans (also Romanian orphans), and Konrad Lorenz's work on imprinting in birds.
Rene Spitz (1940's) Observed infants residing in orphanages without their caregivers. Noticed that despite good physical care many of them were generally sickly, developmentally retarded Death rate of 37% compared with 0 in similar institution in which infants had daily contact with their mothers Long-lasting negative effects also in those who survived ---Realization that a crucial aspect of caregiving is the formation of a close emotional bond Konrad Lorenz's ethological research on imprinting birds Shortly after hatching, goslings, chicks, etc. follow their mother Critical period for this imprinting exists Also noticed that particular features in offspring elicit caregiving behaviors (cute responses, elicits caretaking) Large eyes, large forehead Main function of mother-infant links is survival of offspring (protection from predators)
Pick/name two (of the four) different categories of attachment quality and describe in some detail how infants in those categories behave in Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation test.
Secure (approximately 60% of US middle-class children) Explore novel environment in mother's presence (occasionally looking back); may be initially upset after her departure; seek contact with her after she returns and are comforted by it Insecure-avoidant (~15%) Actively avoid/are indifferent to mother upon return, frequently not very distressed by separation Insecure-resistant/ambivalent (~10%) Often clingy; very upset at separation; ambivalent mix of contact-seeking and -resisting upon return; great difficulty being soothed Insecure-disorganized (~15%) Contradictory behaviors; sometimes appear dazed, show stereotypical movements, "freezing"
Describe some specific problems with sex education in the U.S. and make specific suggestions about how to improve it. In your response you can draw on different approaches within the U.S. as well as international comparisons - make sure to describe important outcomes (e.g., sexual activity and sexual health of adolescents).
Sex education only address binary sex characteristics. Where and what kind of info are teens getting? Formal instruction (school, church, community center) 60% of women (55% of men) received info on birth control, 82% on saying no to sex, 90% on STIs, 86% on HIV All of the 2011-13 % values are significantly down from 2006-2010 (longitudinal Survey of Family Growth) Increase in saying no without info on birth control (22% of women, 35% of men) ~75% of youth reported receiving AOUM education 25% of teens did not receive instruction on any birth control topic Many adolescents do not receive formal instruction until after they've already become sexually active Where and what kind of info are teens getting? Parents 22% of girls and 30% of boys did not discuss any of six key topics (e.g., contraception, STIs) with their parents Media E.g., YouTube channels such as Sexplanations (Johnston, 2017) Not always reliable source of information, either
Explain the differences between sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation and clarify what we know about the roles of biology and environment in the development of each.
Sex: Biological, physical aspects Genitalia - not always clearly penis or vagina Chromosomes - most females have XX, most males XY chromosomes, BUT: XY person can be insensitive to androgens à female in most respects (have internal testes, but female external sex organs) Gene that pushes gonads to become testes can jump from Y to X à male in every way except that he has XX chromosomes People can have mix of cells with XY and cells with XX chromosomes XX people with malfunctioning ovarian gene can develop gonad with areas of both ovarian and testicular development Mouse studies suggest that gonad identity (ovaries vs. testes) requires constant lifetime "maintenance" through hormones - shifts are possible long after birth -If broad definition is used, up to 1% of population may have some form of disorder of sex development Biologically, sex is a spectrum, not a binary based on hormones in parents, and GI and SO based on individual, no evidence on gay gene or enviromental effect; unless you are a frog or lion
Explain the general concept of stereotype threat and explain how it may contribute to the racial/ethnic achievement gap (briefly define the term!) in U.S. schools.
Stereotype can influence how tasks are done Kids took a challenging language test Which two words out of a group best fit the target list? Target list: blue, green, orange, purple group: apple, red, pizza, black Target List: nuisance, disturbance, commotion Group: construct, pierce, confusion, distress Threat condition: test measured intelligence and scores of black children will be compared to those of white children Neutral: individual questions are tested out to see if they should remain on future tests Black children will typically do worse on tasks than white children
Define the term infant temperament and explain how it is similar to and different from later personality.
Temperament is based in a more biological basis, is present and observable at birth and is relatively stable over time. Chess and Thomas classify infants into 3 categories of temperament; easy, difficult and slow to warm up. Personality includes temperament, but also includes beliefs, habits, morals and social cognition and is therefore more focused on higher order processes. Temperament is a precursor to personality Temperament is a term for personality in infancy Temperament reflects regulating emotions Personality includes temperament, but also beliefs, habits, morals, social cognition An infant that is highly reactive will be more likely to keep to themselves when they are older because they are already easily overwhelmed THE BIG FIVE Personality Traits- OCEAN Openness to new experiences as opposed to sticking to routines. Conscientious- pays attention to detail, gets work done on town. Low conscientiousness in adolescence is linked to increased risk behaviors, such as smoking, unprotected sex, or reckless driving. Extroversion- how well you get along with others. Agreeableness: how well you get along with others. Neuroticism- how much a person worries about things.
family as a dynamic system and how Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory adds to our understanding of family processes. (p. 522)
The family system includes subsystems/networks of ever-changing bi-directional relationships Connections between relationships that change over time- isn't flux (dynamic) Parent-child, marital, sibling The family itself is embedded in larger systems Each member of the family is part of other systems, how one person works with other systems affects the family because the person comes home Extended family, community, neighborhood , town, regio, society, country, culture, hemisphere... Individual member of the family are parts of other networks School, work, organizations.. Bronfenbrenner's : Bullz-i model (Macro system, micro, Meso, etc.)
What are the different functions/responsibilities of family with respect to child rearing?
The social group primarily responsible for raising children Usually genetically related people (kin), but also stepparent, half-siblings, adopted children etc. Western model of monogamy Vs. polygamy, polygyny or polyandry Functions Survival of offspring Protect, feed, clothe, house 2015: families spend about $13,000 a year (excluding college) Economic function Traub children to acquire skills to provide for themselves in adulthood. Cultural training- Socialization The process by which parents ensure that child's behavior, attitudes, etc. are in line with those considered socially appropriate. Types of families Traditional nuclear family Husband and wife direct offspring
In what sense do emotions serve adaptive functions with regards to behavior? Provide specific examples to illustrate the general principle.
They provide cues to things to repeat or things to stop doing. They make us care about the things we do and give us important information about our behavior. Emotions get associated with certain behavior that teaches us to either repeat or stop that behavior Anger - fight Joy - repeat Fear - flee Sadness - stop Disgust: steers you away from things that are toxic to you (food, people, etc) Fear is a response to perceived danger When physical support is lost (feeling like they are going to be dropped) can cause fear. Specific fears are not innate, but quickly learned. Fear of snakes (DeLoache & LoBue, 2009)
What do child development experts suggest about the effects of separating children from their asylum-seeking parents at the U.S./Mexico border that occurred in 2018?
They suggest that there will be negative consequences for the children the longer they are stuck in these places
Describe some of the pre-sexual behaviors that are common in preschoolers and how they change by the time a child has entered elementary school.
Walking around house without clothes Asking questions about sexuality Showing sex parts to adults Showing sex parts to other children Playing doctor-type games Touching sex parts at home Touching sex parts in public Masturbating with hand Kissing non-family children Starts of explorative; the older you get, the more socially negative responses you get by people.
What is the "racial/ethnic achievement gap" in U.S. schools, and why does it exist?
White kids and asian kids are above, others are below Any significant and persistent disparity in academic performance or educational attainment between different groups of students, such as white students and minorities, for example, or students from higher-income and lower-income households. Three main sources are: Differential responses to education across ethnic/racial groups Equal treatment doesn't equal or not the same as equivalent treatment Equivalent: being taught in spanish if child speaks spanish; Kids of immigrants Social class differences State racial achievement gaps are strongly correlated with state racial socioeconomic disparities Ethical bias that leads to educational disparities in one generation will leads to SES disparities in next generation due to under-education and underemployment Different experiences of schools with more or less money Differential treatment/bias within educational system Teachers who have more bias make larger achievement gaps
Briefly describe the story of David Reimer (a.k.a. the John/Joan case) and what it suggests about the development of gender identity.
et of parents who had twin boys. They both had a circumcision, one of them went wrong and practically did not have male genitalia anymore. The parents raised that boy as a girl to avoid humiliation from people. The parents forced the child to do girl conforming things. Sent her/him to a psychologist. Tried to talk him into getting female genitalia. Always more interested in the boy things, not the girl things. "Brenda" was not happy, no friends, parents told the twins what happened. He then decided to be a boy (David) had a wife and kids. Both committed suicide in the end.
Drawing on Bradley and Corwyn's (2002) review, explain what the difference is between mediating and moderating variables in the link between SES and child outcomes, in general, and describe some of the specific mediators and moderators the research has identified.
moderators: can influence the link between to other variables Optimism can influence (doesn't explain link, but changes the link between low SES and negative outcomes) Fewer negative outcomes
