IB Psychology HL (PAPER 2)
Altruism -- helping other Without a direct benefit, i.e. NO expectation of reward
Prosocial -- helping others with a clear expectation of a (smaller) reward
What are the 2 leading theories of Altruism? --
1. Reciprocal Altruism
2. Kinship selection
Reciprocal Altruism -- help those around us and expect (unconsciously) that they'll pay us (or our kin) back eventually
Axelrod and Hamilton conducted a study that looked at what type of Altruism? -- Reciprocal altruism
Axelrod and Hamilton Experiment -- Tit-for-tat beats every other strategy
had game theory experiment which studies the concept of fairness.
what is the basis of kin-selection? -- Genes are the unit that drives evolution and by helping our kin, we are helping our genes
Burnstein et al. is an experiment on what? -- Kin Selection
Burstein et al. -- they asked subjects to rate how genetically similar our relatives are to us, for instance, how similar is your mother to you or your brother.
they then asked them "how likely are you to help save one of your relatives?"
Conclusion to Burnstein et al.? -- the closer related, the more willing people were to get hurt to save them
they usually correctly judged pattern of relatedness, but overestimated how related they were
Critiques of Burnstein et al.? -- ecologial validity: what we say in not how we would actually act, we want to look good for the experimenter
and most acts of altruism occur in little time with little thought
Madsen Et Al. is a follow up study to what? -- Burnstein et al.
what year was Burnstein et al? -- 1994
Madsen et al. -- looked at subjects from the UK and Africa, and had all subjects hold a squat for as long as they could, saying it would benefit a family member.
Conclusion to Madsen et al.? -- they found that subjects were more willing to phsycial harships to help family overall, however, in Africa, there is a greater emphasis on family so they were able to hold it longer
Axelrod and Hamilton's game theory set up what? -- The Prisoner's dilemma
Darley and Batson 1973 -- A group of 47 seminary students from Princeton were split into two groups
X1 was asked to prepare a sermon on The Good Sumeritan
X2 was asked to prepare a sermon on what is means to be a good priest
then half of both groups were told they were late to give the sermon and half were told they had no rush.
Both groups had to walk past a confederate in pain
What did Darley and Batson find? -- - they found that whether or not the subjects were in a hurry made the most difference in them helping.
-those told they were in no hurry were much more likely to stop then those who were in a hurry
-the content of the speech made very little difference in whether or not they would help and the personality test had almst no predictive power
what can be infered from the conclusions to Darley and Batson? -- environmental or situational factors play a big role in altruism leading to the debate of situation v. dispostion
Criticisms of Darley and Batson? -- ecological Validity: would you act differently on different situations?
Ethics: the students my begin to question their integrity
content validity: does not stopping when in a hurry actually mean they are selfish
Darley and Batson did an experiment on what two things? -- Altruism and situational/dispositional behavior
Bystanderism -- the presence of others plays a big role in whether we will help someone
Diffusion of responsibility -- applies to the problem of bystanderism, when people don't step up to help someone because they assume someone else will, or that they are underqualified to help pluralistic ignorance
(include the study it could relate to and how) -- the more ambigious a situation, the more likely one is to conform
relates to the Aschline Test, becuase people were more likely to conform when the questions were more ambiguous
Latane and Darley conducted an experiment on what? -- bystanderism
Latane and Darley 1968 -- college students are divided into three groups
X1: beleives to be alone with one other person (who is in another room, but over intercom)
X2: believes to be on the intercom with 2 other people
X3: believes to be on the intercom with 5 other people
one of the "other" people (i.e. over the intercom) pretends to start having a seizure and they measured how many people helped in each condition and how fast
conclusion to Latane and Darley? -- X1: helped quickly almost everytime
X2 and X3 showed lower rates of help. there was a strong correlation between the number of people in the group and how many/how quickly someone tried to help
where does attraction originate? -- Evolution: procreation and biological drives
Social Institutions: need relationships and human interaction to survive
Proximity Theory: -- the more you are around somemone, they more attractive they become i.e. the Mere exposure effect
Proximity theory give way to what effect? -- the mere exposure effect
Priest and Sawyer -- asked people at the end of one year of college to rank their friends and found a strong spatial correlation
the closer the person lived to somen
one, the higher they ranked their firends
how does social identity theory apply to attraction? -- you're more likely to be friends who look similar to you nad who are about as attractive as you, because that is how you percieve yourself
Grammer and Thornhill -- showed people 2 pictures at a time, one normal one altered to be more symmetrical and average
then asked them to rate which they found more attractive
compatability -- the more similar someone is to us, the more attractive we find them
Byrne -- experiment on compatability
we prefer people who have similar attitudes, interests and traits as us
Reciprocity -- Give and take
we like those who like us and this will continue for a long time
realtes to Axelrod and hamilton (Game theory)
Bercheld et al -- We like those that like us
Set up a speed dating game and at the end gave students reports that said he/she "really liked me" and "only liked me a little"
Findings of Bercheld et al -- found that students much prefered those that liked them a lot over a little, though attractiveness played a bigger role
Knapp and Vangelestil did an correlation study on what? -- why relationships end
Knapp and Vangelestil -- cases study
they interveiwed many couples, asking them to list factors in their relationship, noting especially the risk factors found like , distancing avoiding and differentiating
this describes but does NOT explain why relationships fail
What are the three experiments in why relationships fail? -- Knapp and Vangelestil
steve Duck
Levinger
Steve Duck -- he focused on Incongruent personal factors like unwillingness to meet partner's expectations or to compromise with partner
also focuses on percipitating facotrs
--environemental factors that can put a small bump in the relationship, things like work changes and affaires
Levinger -- we will end a relationship if we perceive that the current undesired situation won't change and that there are better options
Ahmad and Reid -- American and westerners in general rank love at a higher importance then most other things
Other cultures rank things like chastity, domestic skills, and the desire to have children as more impaortant than love
Saderson, Rapee and Barlow did an experiment on? -- people with panic disorder
Sanderson, Rapee and Barlow -- pat 20 people into a room one at a time and told them that when the light comes on they could press the button allowing the amount of CO2 in the air to be reduced and more exygen to come in
X1: light never comes on
X2: light stays on
it created an external locus of control and wat highly unethical
Seligmans experiment tested what -- learned helplessness
Seligman -- using dogs
X1: was shocked and wasn't able to escape
X2: was shocked but was able to escape
when placed in a new room and new situation, X1 group would boy down and allow for the shocking even if their was an exit while X2 would continue to search for an out
People with depression tend to have what 3 thought processes? -- Self-defeating bias
Polar thinking
Arbitrary Inference
Self-defeating bias -- Everything bad that happens is your fault and all good things are luck
Polar thinking -- Break world/ future into over simplified categories so that everything is black and white, good or bad
Arbitrary interference -- random events target you
Brown and Harris did what? -- they looked at factors that lead to a higher risk of depression and found which factors have a greater impact depending on country
Brown and Harris -- a person is more likely to suffer from depression if:
- they lose a parent young
- lack intimate friends
- more than 3 kids in the house
- unemployed
Ahs et al -- used PET scan to see what areas of the brain were activated when subjects were exposed to pictures of "scary" things
found that the amygdala lit up when scary things were shown, and the higher ranking of fear lead to more activiation of the amygdala
Chugani (1999) -- This study used PET scans to measure glucose metabolism in different regions of the brain in infants and toddlers of different ages. It found that neuronal connections develop back-to-front, with the frontal cortex developing last. It also found that between 3 and 10 years old, glucose metabolism (activity and neuronal growth) is twice the level seen in adults. This was a period of intense neuroplasticity needed for learning, what the researcher called the "window of opportunity."
Giedd et al (2004) -- This longitudinal study used MRI to measure the increases and decreases in white and grey matter in children between 6 and 20 years old. It found that white matter increases in all four lobes during childhood and adolescence, whereas grey matter showed an inverted-U pattern with an increase an early adolescence before decreasing in later adolescence. It also found that the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, important in impulse control, does not mature until the early 20s.
Kuhn et al (2013) -- This study investigated the prolonged effects of video games on the brains of young adults. Using MRIs with a pre- and post-test design, researchers found that participants who played a video game (Super Mario 64) had increased volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum.
Piaget & Inhelder (1956) -- This study tested egocentrism in children and found that when asked to describe a mountain scene from the perspective of the researcher, children under the age of 7 were unable to complete the task. However, children over 7 years old were able to describe the scene from the other person's perspective.
Li et al (1999) -- This study on the ability of Chinese school children to understand the concept of conservation found similar results as Piaget's liquid conservation task. However, it also found that children who were schooled were able to understand the concept earlier than unschooled children, showing that school may have an affect on the rate of cognitive development.
Hughes (1974) -- This study on egocentrism found that when young children were asked to hide a doll from a policeman doll (which required them to think about the policeman's perspective) 4-year olds were able to complete the task with no problem. This provides counter-evidence to Piaget's conclusions on the age at which children overcome egocentrism.
Baillergeon & De Vos -- This study used the fixed gaze of an infant to determine when children develop a concept of object permanence. It found that babies develop this ability as early as 3 1/2 months, much earlier than Piaget predicted.
Freund (1990) -- This study investigate the impact of mother-child interaction on a child's ability to problem-solve. It found that children who interacted with their mothers made more adult-like groups during the task than those who only received corrective feedback from researchers. It also found that mothers provide more feedback to younger children than older children.
Winsler et al (2003) -- This study investigated private speech patterns and social development in 3 and 4-year old children. Using interviews and surveys with parents and teachers, it found that children who engaged in high levels of private speech had more highly developed social skills.
Nichols et al (1996) -- This study found that college participants showed more motivation when classes were structured around cooperative learning rather than traditional lectures. Additionally, when exposed to both cooperative learning and traditional lectures, motivation was highest during the cooperative learning portion of the class.
Pepler & Ross (1981) -- This study found that children who were given materials that encouraged divergent play (building blocks) were more likely to come up with more ways to use various figures than those who were given materials that encouraged convergent play (puzzle pieces.)
Russ, Robins & Christiano (2010) -- This study wanted to see if the ability to engage in pretend play as 6 or 7 year-olds would predict divergent thinking over a 4-year period. It found that quality of imagination predicted divergent play four years later, independent of IQ.
Coie & Dodge (1988) -- This study found that a child's sociometric status in play can have a significant effect on the child's academic progress.
Rutter et al (2007) -- This study examined the cognitive effects of children institutionalized in Romanian orphanages. It found that 36% of children who spent more than 24 months in the the orphanage demonstrated significant cognitive impairment (including memory). However, children adopted before 6 months showed no differences in cognition at 4 years old than children adopted from orphanages in the United Kingdom.
Koluchova (1972) -- This longitudinal study of twin Czech 7-year old boys who had been severely neglected and mistreated found that they were able to significantly improve their IQs over time. Additionally, they were academically caught up to other students by the age of 14 and showed high motivation. They went on to attend university and develop good relationships with others.
Spitz -- This researcher found that institutionalized (orphaned) children were more likely to show physiological delays than non-institutionalized children. They also did not express emotions in a way that was consistent with other children.
Field (1986) -- This study found that a 15-minute/3x a day massage protocol for premature infants resulted in a 21-47% greater weight gain and earlier release from the hospital. This could explain why children who are institutionalized (not handled) are smaller in size that non-institutionalized children.
Coan, Schaefer & Davidson (2006) -- This study investigated the brain's threat response when a woman held the hand of her husband, an anonymous male stranger, or no one while in an fMRI. It found that threat response was lowest when holding the husband's hand and highest when holding no hand. There was also a negative correlation between threat response and marital quality. (The higher the marital quality, the lower the threat response)
Morgan et al (2009) -- This study measured Neuropeptide Y (NPY) levels in soldiers undergoing a stressful POW training program. It found that NPY levels went up within hours of the training simulation and those responded more negatively to the simulation had the lowest NPY levels. Researchers argued that this neurotransmitter play an important role in resilience.
Werner & Smith (2001) -- This longitudinal study carried out on the island of Kauai found that of the nearly 1/3 of participants who experienced risk factors as children, 1 in 3 grew into competent, confident adults. They also found that of the remaining 2/3 of participants with risk factors who developed problems as adults, most were able to overcome them by middle age, providing several reasons for resilience.
Pollitt et al (1995) -- This study of the role of malnutrition in cognitive development found that participants in a rural village in Guatemala who received an additional protein supplement performed better on tests of cognitive functioning than those who did not receive protein in a nutritional supplement.
Kar et al (2008) -- This study investigated the effects of malnutrition on Indian children between the ages of 507 and 8-10. It found that, compared to a control group, the malnourished children scored lower in attention, working memory, and visuospatial tasks. However, the older children showed less impairment than the younger children, showing that development was simply delayed, rather than being permanently impaired.
Farah et al (2008) -- This study investigated the relationship between environmental stimulation and parental nurturing on cognitive development. Researchers found there was a positive correlation between environmental stimulation and language development. They also a positive correlation with parental nurturing and long-term memory performance.
Mani et al (2013) -- This 2-part study on the effect of cognitive load on cognition, found that whether the situation was hypothetical or based on actual situations in their life, participants performed worse on tests of cognitive ability when their financial situation (poverty) was made more salient.
Ainsworth et al (1978) -- This study sought to examine a child's attachment pattern by observing how the child responded to "strange situations." (Mother leaving the room; stranger entering, etc.). Though the observations, researchers were able to identify three common attachment styles, with a fourth added by later researchers.
Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) -- This was a meta-analysis of 32 studies to investigate cultural differences in attachment styles. It found that although Type B (secure attachment) is the most common in the countries studied, cultural differences in the distributions of that attachment styles were seen. For example, in Japan there was a complete absence of Type A, but a high proportion of Type C. Differences were attributed to differences in child-rearing.
Hazan & Shaver -- Researchers used a "love quiz" to determine whether feelings of "love" are related to one's attachment history and internal working model. Participants described their own attachment patterns and their parents' parenting styles on the quiz. It was found that participants who were "securely attached" said their parents had been readily available, attentive, and responsive. Those who had an ambivalent attachment style said their parents were only "sometimes responsive" and generally out-of-step with their needs. Researchers also found that current attachment styles influenced the way participants felt about romantic relationships.
Simpson et al (1996) -- This study tested the role of attachment style on adult relationships by observing how a sensitive topic was discussed by a dating couple. It found that insecurely attached individuals tended to be anxious and employ negative strategies during the discussion- causing potential harm to the relationship.
Fonagy et al -- This study wanted to see whether a mother's attachment style would influence her child's attachment style. Pregnant mothers were interviewed before childbirth to determine attachment style. One year later, their child's attachment style was assessed using the strange-situation test. Researchers found a 75% match between the mother's attachment style and the child's attachment style.
Imperato-McGinley et al (1974) -- This was a case study on the Batista family, who had several children born with external features of girls, but physically developed male qualities with the onset of puberty. Despite being raised as girls in childhood, as adults all demonstrated clearly masculine gender roles and heterosexual behavior. They reported never being happy doing "girl things." This study indicates a strong biological origin to gender identity.
Martin & Halvorson (1983) -- This study investigated gender schema theory by reading stories to children of both genders. Pictures used in the stories were either in-line with gender role schemas or inconsistent with gender role schemas. A week later, when asked what they remember the story, children tended to distort the memories that were inconsistent with their gender schemas. They demonstrated less distortion when the stories were consistent with gender schemas.
Martin et al (1995) -- This study investigated gender schema theory by presenting 4-year-olds with new, gender-neutral toys. When asked what they thought of the toy and what other boys and girls thought of the toy, they predicted that same-sex children would like the toys as much as they did and other-sex children would not.
Fagot (1978) -- This study examined how parents responded to behavior that was not "gender appropriate" by observing parents and children in their home. Researchers found that parents reacted significantly more favorably to the child when he or she was engaged in gender-appropriate behavior and more likely to give negative responses to "gender -inappropriate" behavior. This was true even though the parents did not perceive their behavior as positive of negative.
Condry & Condry (1976) -- Researchers showed a videotaped infant to adults and asked the participants to gauge the child's reaction to a jack-in-the-box. Some adults were told they were viewing a girl and some thought they were viewing a boy. Adults rated the boys' reaction to the toy as "anger" and the girls' reaction as "fear."
Repacholi & Copnik (1997) -- This study wanted to learn when children are able to understand that people may have a belief or desire that is different from their own. Children between 14 and 18 months old were presented with two bowls of snacks- broccoli and goldfish. Researchers showed signs of disgust when eating the crackers and signs of delight when eating the broccoli. When children were asked to give the researcher something to eat, 14-month-olds responded egocentrically by giving them the goldfish. The 18-month-olds correctly inferred that researchers wanted the broccoli. This indicates that by 18-months-old, children are able to understand that other people may hold a desire different from their own.
Baron-Cohen et al (1985) -- Researchers conducted to "Sally-Anne Task" to investigate false-belief testing. The study showed that children under 4 had trouble understanding Sally's beliefs in the story. This indicates that they had trouble understanding that what they see and know may not be what others see and know.
Carr et al (2003) -- This study asked participants to look at human faces while undergoing an fMRI. It wanted to see if looking at the emotion expressed on someone's face would cause the brain of the observer to be stimulated. Researchers found that when participants had to either imitate the faces they were shown or watch as the faces were shown again, the same areas of the brain were activated. The limbic system was also stimulated- observing a happy face activated pleasure centers in the brain.
Altruism -- helping other Without a direct benefit, i.e. NO expectation of reward
Prosocial -- helping others with a clear expectation of a (smaller) reward
What are the 2 leading theories of Altruism? --
1. Reciprocal Altruism
2. Kinship selection
Reciprocal Altruism -- help those around us and expect (unconsciously) that they'll pay us (or our kin) back eventually
Axelrod and Hamilton conducted a study that looked at what type of Altruism? -- Reciprocal altruism
Axelrod and Hamilton Experiment -- Tit-for-tat beats every other strategy
had game theory experiment which studies the concept of fairness.
what is the basis of kin-selection? -- Genes are the unit that drives evolution and by helping our kin, we are helping our genes
Burnstein et al. is an experiment on what? -- Kin Selection
Burstein et al. -- they asked subjects to rate how genetically similar our relatives are to us, for instance, how similar is your mother to you or your brother.
they then asked them "how likely are you to help save one of your relatives?"
Conclusion to Burnstein et al.? -- the closer related, the more willing people were to get hurt to save them
they usually correctly judged pattern of relatedness, but overestimated how related they were
Critiques of Burnstein et al.? -- ecologial validity: what we say in not how we would actually act, we want to look good for the experimenter
and most acts of altruism occur in little time with little thought
Madsen Et Al. is a follow up study to what? -- Burnstein et al.
what year was Burnstein et al? -- 1994
Madsen et al. -- looked at subjects from the UK and Africa, and had all subjects hold a squat for as long as they could, saying it would benefit a family member.
Conclusion to Madsen et al.? -- they found that subjects were more willing to phsycial harships to help family overall, however, in Africa, there is a greater emphasis on family so they were able to hold it longer
Axelrod and Hamilton's game theory set up what? -- The Prisoner's dilemma
Darley and Batson 1973 -- A group of 47 seminary students from Princeton were split into two groups
X1 was asked to prepare a sermon on The Good Sumeritan
X2 was asked to prepare a sermon on what is means to be a good priest
then half of both groups were told they were late to give the sermon and half were told they had no rush.
Both groups had to walk past a confederate in pain
What did Darley and Batson find? -- - they found that whether or not the subjects were in a hurry made the most difference in them helping.
-those told they were in no hurry were much more likely to stop then those who were in a hurry
-the content of the speech made very little difference in whether or not they would help and the personality test had almst no predictive power
what can be infered from the conclusions to Darley and Batson? -- environmental or situational factors play a big role in altruism leading to the debate of situation v. dispostion
Criticisms of Darley and Batson? -- ecological Validity: would you act differently on different situations?
Ethics: the students my begin to question their integrity
content validity: does not stopping when in a hurry actually mean they are selfish
Darley and Batson did an experiment on what two things? -- Altruism and situational/dispositional behavior
Bystanderism -- the presence of others plays a big role in whether we will help someone
Diffusion of responsibility -- applies to the problem of bystanderism, when people don't step up to help someone because they assume someone else will, or that they are underqualified to help pluralistic ignorance
(include the study it could relate to and how) -- the more ambigious a situation, the more likely one is to conform
relates to the Aschline Test, becuase people were more likely to conform when the questions were more ambiguous
Latane and Darley conducted an experiment on what? -- bystanderism
Latane and Darley 1968 -- college students are divided into three groups
X1: beleives to be alone with one other person (who is in another room, but over intercom)
X2: believes to be on the intercom with 2 other people
X3: believes to be on the intercom with 5 other people
one of the "other" people (i.e. over the intercom) pretends to start having a seizure and they measured how many people helped in each condition and how fast
conclusion to Latane and Darley? -- X1: helped quickly almost everytime
X2 and X3 showed lower rates of help. there was a strong correlation between the number of people in the group and how many/how quickly someone tried to help
where does attraction originate? -- Evolution: procreation and biological drives
Social Institutions: need relationships and human interaction to survive
Proximity Theory: -- the more you are around somemone, they more attractive they become i.e. the Mere exposure effect
Proximity theory give way to what effect? -- the mere exposure effect
Priest and Sawyer -- asked people at the end of one year of college to rank their friends and found a strong spatial correlation
the closer the person lived to somen
one, the higher they ranked their firends
how does social identity theory apply to attraction? -- you're more likely to be friends who look similar to you nad who are about as attractive as you, because that is how you percieve yourself
Grammer and Thornhill -- showed people 2 pictures at a time, one normal one altered to be more symmetrical and average
then asked them to rate which they found more attractive
compatability -- the more similar someone is to us, the more attractive we find them
Byrne -- experiment on compatability
we prefer people who have similar attitudes, interests and traits as us
Reciprocity -- Give and take
we like those who like us and this will continue for a long time
realtes to Axelrod and hamilton (Game theory)
Bercheld et al -- We like those that like us
Set up a speed dating game and at the end gave students reports that said he/she "really liked me" and "only liked me a little"
Findings of Bercheld et al -- found that students much prefered those that liked them a lot over a little, though attractiveness played a bigger role
Knapp and Vangelestil did an correlation study on what? -- why relationships end
Knapp and Vangelestil -- cases study
they interveiwed many couples, asking them to list factors in their relationship, noting especially the risk factors found like , distancing avoiding and differentiating
this describes but does NOT explain why relationships fail
What are the three experiments in why relationships fail? -- Knapp and Vangelestil
steve Duck
Levinger
Steve Duck -- he focused on Incongruent personal factors like unwillingness to meet partner's expectations or to compromise with partner
also focuses on percipitating facotrs
--environemental factors that can put a small bump in the relationship, things like work changes and affaires
Levinger -- we will end a relationship if we perceive that the current undesired situation won't change and that there are better options
Ahmad and Reid -- American and westerners in general rank love at a higher importance then most other things
Other cultures rank things like chastity, domestic skills, and the desire to have children as more impaortant than love
Saderson, Rapee and Barlow did an experiment on? -- people with panic disorder
Sanderson, Rapee and Barlow -- pat 20 people into a room one at a time and told them that when the light comes on they could press the button allowing the amount of CO2 in the air to be reduced and more exygen to come in
X1: light never comes on
X2: light stays on
it created an external locus of control and wat highly unethical
Seligmans experiment tested what -- learned helplessness
Seligman -- using dogs
X1: was shocked and wasn't able to escape
X2: was shocked but was able to escape
when placed in a new room and new situation, X1 group would boy down and allow for the shocking even if their was an exit while X2 would continue to search for an out
People with depression tend to have what 3 thought processes? -- Self-defeating bias
Polar thinking
Arbitrary Inference
Self-defeating bias -- Everything bad that happens is your fault and all good things are luck
Polar thinking -- Break world/ future into over simplified categories so that everything is black and white, good or bad
Arbitrary interference -- random events target you
Brown and Harris did what? -- they looked at factors that lead to a higher risk of depression and found which factors have a greater impact depending on country
Brown and Harris -- a person is more likely to suffer from depression if:
- they lose a parent young
- lack intimate friends
- more than 3 kids in the house
- unemployed
Ahs et al -- used PET scan to see what areas of the brain were activated when subjects were exposed to pictures of "scary" things
found that the amygdala lit up when scary things were shown, and the higher ranking of fear lead to more activiation of the amygdala
Chugani (1999) -- This study used PET scans to measure glucose metabolism in different regions of the brain in infants and toddlers of different ages. It found that neuronal connections develop back-to-front, with the frontal cortex developing last. It also found that between 3 and 10 years old, glucose metabolism (activity and neuronal growth) is twice the level seen in adults. This was a period of intense neuroplasticity needed for learning, what the researcher called the "window of opportunity."
Giedd et al (2004) -- This longitudinal study used MRI to measure the increases and decreases in white and grey matter in children between 6 and 20 years old. It found that white matter increases in all four lobes during childhood and adolescence, whereas grey matter showed an inverted-U pattern with an increase an early adolescence before decreasing in later adolescence. It also found that the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, important in impulse control, does not mature until the early 20s.
Kuhn et al (2013) -- This study investigated the prolonged effects of video games on the brains of young adults. Using MRIs with a pre- and post-test design, researchers found that participants who played a video game (Super Mario 64) had increased volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum.
Piaget & Inhelder (1956) -- This study tested egocentrism in children and found that when asked to describe a mountain scene from the perspective of the researcher, children under the age of 7 were unable to complete the task. However, children over 7 years old were able to describe the scene from the other person's perspective.
Li et al (1999) -- This study on the ability of Chinese school children to understand the concept of conservation found similar results as Piaget's liquid conservation task. However, it also found that children who were schooled were able to understand the concept earlier than unschooled children, showing that school may have an affect on the rate of cognitive development.
Hughes (1974) -- This study on egocentrism found that when young children were asked to hide a doll from a policeman doll (which required them to think about the policeman's perspective) 4-year olds were able to complete the task with no problem. This provides counter-evidence to Piaget's conclusions on the age at which children overcome egocentrism.
Baillergeon & De Vos -- This study used the fixed gaze of an infant to determine when children develop a concept of object permanence. It found that babies develop this ability as early as 3 1/2 months, much earlier than Piaget predicted.
Freund (1990) -- This study investigate the impact of mother-child interaction on a child's ability to problem-solve. It found that children who interacted with their mothers made more adult-like groups during the task than those who only received corrective feedback from researchers. It also found that mothers provide more feedback to younger children than older children.
Winsler et al (2003) -- This study investigated private speech patterns and social development in 3 and 4-year old children. Using interviews and surveys with parents and teachers, it found that children who engaged in high levels of private speech had more highly developed social skills.
Nichols et al (1996) -- This study found that college participants showed more motivation when classes were structured around cooperative learning rather than traditional lectures. Additionally, when exposed to both cooperative learning and traditional lectures, motivation was highest during the cooperative learning portion of the class.
Pepler & Ross (1981) -- This study found that children who were given materials that encouraged divergent play (building blocks) were more likely to come up with more ways to use various figures than those who were given materials that encouraged convergent play (puzzle pieces.)
Russ, Robins & Christiano (2010) -- This study wanted to see if the ability to engage in pretend play as 6 or 7 year-olds would predict divergent thinking over a 4-year period. It found that quality of imagination predicted divergent play four years later, independent of IQ.
Coie & Dodge (1988) -- This study found that a child's sociometric status in play can have a significant effect on the child's academic progress.
Rutter et al (2007) -- This study examined the cognitive effects of children institutionalized in Romanian orphanages. It found that 36% of children who spent more than 24 months in the the orphanage demonstrated significant cognitive impairment (including memory). However, children adopted before 6 months showed no differences in cognition at 4 years old than children adopted from orphanages in the United Kingdom.
Koluchova (1972) -- This longitudinal study of twin Czech 7-year old boys who had been severely neglected and mistreated found that they were able to significantly improve their IQs over time. Additionally, they were academically caught up to other students by the age of 14 and showed high motivation. They went on to attend university and develop good relationships with others.
Spitz -- This researcher found that institutionalized (orphaned) children were more likely to show physiological delays than non-institutionalized children. They also did not express emotions in a way that was consistent with other children.
Field (1986) -- This study found that a 15-minute/3x a day massage protocol for premature infants resulted in a 21-47% greater weight gain and earlier release from the hospital. This could explain why children who are institutionalized (not handled) are smaller in size that non-institutionalized children.
Coan, Schaefer & Davidson (2006) -- This study investigated the brain's threat response when a woman held the hand of her husband, an anonymous male stranger, or no one while in an fMRI. It found that threat response was lowest when holding the husband's hand and highest when holding no hand. There was also a negative correlation between threat response and marital quality. (The higher the marital quality, the lower the threat response)
Morgan et al (2009) -- This study measured Neuropeptide Y (NPY) levels in soldiers undergoing a stressful POW training program. It found that NPY levels went up within hours of the training simulation and those responded more negatively to the simulation had the lowest NPY levels. Researchers argued that this neurotransmitter play an important role in resilience.
Werner & Smith (2001) -- This longitudinal study carried out on the island of Kauai found that of the nearly 1/3 of participants who experienced risk factors as children, 1 in 3 grew into competent, confident adults. They also found that of the remaining 2/3 of participants with risk factors who developed problems as adults, most were able to overcome them by middle age, providing several reasons for resilience.
Pollitt et al (1995) -- This study of the role of malnutrition in cognitive development found that participants in a rural village in Guatemala who received an additional protein supplement performed better on tests of cognitive functioning than those who did not receive protein in a nutritional supplement.
Kar et al (2008) -- This study investigated the effects of malnutrition on Indian children between the ages of 507 and 8-10. It found that, compared to a control group, the malnourished children scored lower in attention, working memory, and visuospatial tasks. However, the older children showed less impairment than the younger children, showing that development was simply delayed, rather than being permanently impaired.
Farah et al (2008) -- This study investigated the relationship between environmental stimulation and parental nurturing on cognitive development. Researchers found there was a positive correlation between environmental stimulation and language development. They also a positive correlation with parental nurturing and long-term memory performance.
Mani et al (2013) -- This 2-part study on the effect of cognitive load on cognition, found that whether the situation was hypothetical or based on actual situations in their life, participants performed worse on tests of cognitive ability when their financial situation (poverty) was made more salient.
Ainsworth et al (1978) -- This study sought to examine a child's attachment pattern by observing how the child responded to "strange situations." (Mother leaving the room; stranger entering, etc.). Though the observations, researchers were able to identify three common attachment styles, with a fourth added by later researchers.
Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) -- This was a meta-analysis of 32 studies to investigate cultural differences in attachment styles. It found that although Type B (secure attachment) is the most common in the countries studied, cultural differences in the distributions of that attachment styles were seen. For example, in Japan there was a complete absence of Type A, but a high proportion of Type C. Differences were attributed to differences in child-rearing.
Hazan & Shaver -- Researchers used a "love quiz" to determine whether feelings of "love" are related to one's attachment history and internal working model. Participants described their own attachment patterns and their parents' parenting styles on the quiz. It was found that participants who were "securely attached" said their parents had been readily available, attentive, and responsive. Those who had an ambivalent attachment style said their parents were only "sometimes responsive" and generally out-of-step with their needs. Researchers also found that current attachment styles influenced the way participants felt about romantic relationships.
Simpson et al (1996) -- This study tested the role of attachment style on adult relationships by observing how a sensitive topic was discussed by a dating couple. It found that insecurely attached individuals tended to be anxious and employ negative strategies during the discussion- causing potential harm to the relationship.
Fonagy et al -- This study wanted to see whether a mother's attachment style would influence her child's attachment style. Pregnant mothers were interviewed before childbirth to determine attachment style. One year later, their child's attachment style was assessed using the strange-situation test. Researchers found a 75% match between the mother's attachment style and the child's attachment style.
Imperato-McGinley et al (1974) -- This was a case study on the Batista family, who had several children born with external features of girls, but physically developed male qualities with the onset of puberty. Despite being raised as girls in childhood, as adults all demonstrated clearly masculine gender roles and heterosexual behavior. They reported never being happy doing "girl things." This study indicates a strong biological origin to gender identity.
Martin & Halvorson (1983) -- This study investigated gender schema theory by reading stories to children of both genders. Pictures used in the stories were either in-line with gender role schemas or inconsistent with gender role schemas. A week later, when asked what they remember the story, children tended to distort the memories that were inconsistent with their gender schemas. They demonstrated less distortion when the stories were consistent with gender schemas.
Martin et al (1995) -- This study investigated gender schema theory by presenting 4-year-olds with new, gender-neutral toys. When asked what they thought of the toy and what other boys and girls thought of the toy, they predicted that same-sex children would like the toys as much as they did and other-sex children would not.
Fagot (1978) -- This study examined how parents responded to behavior that was not "gender appropriate" by observing parents and children in their home. Researchers found that parents reacted significantly more favorably to the child when he or she was engaged in gender-appropriate behavior and more likely to give negative responses to "gender -inappropriate" behavior. This was true even though the parents did not perceive their behavior as positive of negative.
Condry & Condry (1976) -- Researchers showed a videotaped infant to adults and asked the participants to gauge the child's reaction to a jack-in-the-box. Some adults were told they were viewing a girl and some thought they were viewing a boy. Adults rated the boys' reaction to the toy as "anger" and the girls' reaction as "fear."
Repacholi & Copnik (1997) -- This study wanted to learn when children are able to understand that people may have a belief or desire that is different from their own. Children between 14 and 18 months old were presented with two bowls of snacks- broccoli and goldfish. Researchers showed signs of disgust when eating the crackers and signs of delight when eating the broccoli. When children were asked to give the researcher something to eat, 14-month-olds responded egocentrically by giving them the goldfish. The 18-month-olds correctly inferred that researchers wanted the broccoli. This indicates that by 18-months-old, children are able to understand that other people may hold a desire different from their own.
Baron-Cohen et al (1985) -- Researchers conducted to "Sally-Anne Task" to investigate false-belief testing. The study showed that children under 4 had trouble understanding Sally's beliefs in the story. This indicates that they had trouble understanding that what they see and know may not be what others see and know.
Carr et al (2003) -- This study asked participants to look at human faces while undergoing an fMRI. It wanted to see if looking at the emotion expressed on someone's face would cause the brain of the observer to be stimulated. Researchers found that when participants had to either imitate the faces they were shown or watch as the faces were shown again, the same areas of the brain were activated. The limbic system was also stimulated- observing a happy face activated pleasure centers in the brain.