Influences on Development Studies

Can be used for: Role of peers or play on development (1)

Aim: To see if the type of play that children engage in would affect their problem-solving skills

Method: 72 preschoolers were assigned to one of three conditions. One was given puzzle pieces (convergent), one was given blocks (divergent), and the third was read a story (control). They were then given figures and asked to tell or show the experimenter the different ways to play with the figures.

Results: The kids in the divergent play condition could give more possible ways to play with the figures

Conclusion: There is a strong correlation between playfulness and divergent thinking.

Eval: By showing that divergent play increases playfulness and creativity, researchers in this study showed that different types of play impact the way children develop everyday skills

Strengths: High validity as the researchers carefully observed the children's behavior.

Limitations: Weaknesses: The children were randomly allocated to conditions that may not have reflected their usual play routines

Can be used for: Role of peers or play on development (2)

Aim: To see if the ability to play pretend in 6 and 7-year-olds would predict divergent thinking over four years

Method: 31 first and second-graders were observed to measure their level of pretend play. They also took a test of divergent thinking. Four years later, the children were observed again, and the same test was given with adjustments to age appropriateness.

Results: The quality of imagination in early play predicted divergent thinking over time by identifying a positive correlation between early creativity and later divergent-thinking ability.

Conclusion: Proved that divergent thinking was predicted in early play.

Eval: This study links the role of play to development by showing that divergent thinking can be predicted in play, proving it influences development.

Strengths: Longitudinal, high ecological validity

Limitations: Was observational so there was no cause and effect, imagination cannot be measured

Can be used for: Influence of childhood trauma on development (1)

Aim: To investigate the effects of childhood abuse on cognitive development

Method: Longitudinal case study on a pair of 7-year-old Czech twins who were kept in severe deprivation, isolation, and were physically abused, etc. They were adopted and put into better living conditions. At the time, their IQ was 40. They were observed until age 14 in terms of intellectual ability, school performance, etc.

Results: By 14, both IQs had risen to 100, and both had a good school performance

Conclusion: Physical abuse & poor environmental stimulation do not harm cognition, and having proper living conditions and a nurturing environment can help development.

Eval: The results showed that childhood trauma may not influence development, as the twins were able to recover in their environment

Strengths: Longitudinal study, method triangulation

Limitations: Not generalizable, twins were not completely isolated, which may have caused them to form attachments, the fact that they were so long may have factored into their recovery

Can be used for: Influence of childhood trauma on development (2)

Aim: To investigate the effect of early deprivation on the cognitive development of children raised in a Romanian orphanage

Method: A Quasi and lab experiment where 10 children adopted from deprived Romanian orphanages fasted for 4 hours, were given PET scans, and had limited extraneous stimuli to produce a resting awake state. Parents were also interviewed about the child's behavior.

Results: A decrease in glucose metabolism in both hemispheres and impairments in attention and academics were found one year after adoption.

Conclusion: Showed a relationship between academic behaviors/ attention and impaired neurological development in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.

Eval: Results show that trauma can impair academics in children, proving an influence on development.

Strengths: Fewer confounding variables

Limitations: Lack of data of the orphans into their adult lives, potential ethical concerns with fasting

Can be used for: Resilience (1)

Aim: To see if attachments were affected by institutionalization

Method: Longitudinal study where 165 Romanian orphans who were in institutions for the first six months of their lives were compared to 52 British children in the UK adopted before 6 months. The levels of functioning in the infants were assessed using interviews with parents and teachers, and observations assessing their physical, cognitive, and social development

Results: At the time of adoption, Romanian orphans were behind the British control group on all levels. They showed disinhibited attachment, suggesting that this is common in children who have been institutionalized

Conclusion: Some aspects of functioning are impaired in children who have experienced failure to form attachments due to institutionalization

Eval: Shows the difficulty for institutionalized children to be resilient

Strengths: Detailed data due to the range of measurements

Limitations: Sample bias, reliance on self-reports may have created biased findings

Can be used for: Resilience (2)

Aim: To investigate the relationship between life stressors in childhood and adaptation to adulthood.

Method: Longitudinal study of 698 children in Hawaii, where 30% had experienced risk factors. Participants were examined at ages 1, 2, 10, 18, and 49

Results: ⅔ of participants had mental problems by 18, while the other ⅓ did not show this pattern and became competent, healthy adults.

Conclusion: Childhood life stressors have long-term effects, lasting into adulthood.

Eval: Childhood stressors influence resilience into adulthood, many having long-term effects.

Strengths: Longitudinal study, large sample

Limitations: Not generalizable, no specific measured variable

Can be used for: Role of socioeconomic status on development (1)

Aim: To see if malnutrition leads to cognitive impairment

Method: Longitudinal study using over 2000 children from 4 poor Guatemalan villages. 2 villages received a high protein supplement called Atole, while the other 2 received Fresco, which had no protein, and ⅓ of the calories of Atole.

Results: There was a significant decline in infant mortality in both villages, with a higher decline in Atole than Fresco. Children who took Fresco had a slower growth and recovery rate from infection.

Conclusion: Malnutrition does lead to cognitive impairment.

Eval: This study showed the relationship between malnutrition and development, showing that some areas of a lower socioeconomic status do not impact cognition.

Strengths: Longitudinal, large sample size, high ecological validity and reliability

Limitations: Ethical issues by those with fresco remaining malnourished, longitudinal studies can take a long time

Can be used for: Role of socioeconomic status on development (2)

Aim: To study the effect of malnutrition on cognitive development

Method: Quasi-experiment where 20 Indian children in 2 groups (5-7 and 8-10) were tested on their cognitive performance compared to the control group, which was normally nourished.

Results: Malnourished children in both groups scored lower in attention, working memory, and visuospatial tasks than the control group.

Conclusion: Malnourishment results in a temporary effect on cognitive development.

Eval: This study suggests that malnourishment has a temporary effect on cognitive development but not permanent, relating back to how socioeconomic status can impact childhood development.

Strengths: Quasi-experiment = not life threatening

Limitations:Cultural bias, not generalizable, extraneous variables reduce internal validity

Can be used for: Research methods used in studying influences on cognitive development, ethical considerations in studies on influences of cognitive development (1)

Aim: To observe brain activity concerning social bonding as a protective factor against stress

Method: Sixteen married couples from Madison, Wisconsin, were recruited via newspaper advertisements for a two-part study. In the first session, participants completed questionnaires assessing marital satisfaction and personality traits, followed by a test run in an fMRI scanner. One week later, wives underwent an fMRI scan with an electrode attached to their ankle while viewing safety and threat cues, which indicated a possible electric shock. During the experiment, they experienced three conditions: holding their husband's hand, a stranger's hand, or no hand at all. After each threat period, they rated their arousal and unpleasantness levels on a scale of 1 to 5.

Results: The results showed that women experienced the least unpleasantness and arousal when holding their husband's hand, and their brain's threat response was also the lowest in this condition. The threat response was strongest when no hand was held. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between marital quality and threat response—women in higher-quality marriages exhibited lower threat responses.

Conclusion: Social support, particularly from a spouse, plays a crucial role in resilience to stress.

Eval: Uses fMRI to investigate the effects of social support on stress, showing how imaging models can be used to study social development. The study used informed consent and minimized harm, but the electric shock required debreifing and undue stress/harm

Strengths: Highly controlled, high construct validity

Limitations: Low ecological validity, small sample size, not generalizable

Can be used for: Research methods used in studying influences on cognitive development, ethical considerations in studies on influences of cognitive development (2)

Aim: To investigate the relationship between environmental stimulation and parental nurturing on cognitive development

Method: Longitudinal study of 110 African American middle school children. They were recruited at birth and evaluated at ages 4 and 8 through a series of interviews and observations used to measure their environmental stimulation

Results: There was a positive correlation between environmental stimulation and language development; children stimulated by their environment had better language abilities, and a positive correlation between parental nurturance and long-term memory performance

Conclusion: while both environmental stimulation and parental nurturance are linked to cognitive development, they have selective and specific effects, with parental nurturance being linked to memory development and environmental stimulation linked to language development.

Eval: the longitudinal design and naturalistic observations allowed researchers to examine long-term influences on cognitive development. Ethically the study ensured informed consent from patients, and maintained confidentiality due to the age and extended involvement of participants

Strengths: Longitudinal, large sample size

Limitations: Ethical considerations regarding potential harm due to the time-consuming longitudinal design