child psychology Flashcards
(157 cards)
what is crystallised intelligence (gc)?
knowledge we have learnt
what is fluid intelligence (gf)
knowledge that is innate
aim of van leeuwen
to investigate the genetic relationship between family members and IQ
participants of van leeuwen
112 families from the Netherlands
had either monozygotic/dizygotic twins plus a sibling aged between 9 and 14, and all had 2 parents
all passed screening for disabilities, mental illness and metal materials (that may affect MRI scans)
method of van leeuwen
parents signed consent forms. the children got a present for taking part.
they collected biological data, hormonal data and did MRI scans
the cognitive testing was based on Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices for the children, and their parents did Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices
They arrived between 9 and 11 am
they got 3 breaks
the whole testing procedure took 5 hours
what is a raven matrices test?
a non-verbal ‘cultural fair’ multiple choice IQ test out of 60 that measures fluid intelligence. this includes reasoning and problem solving
it gets more difficult as it progresses
what were the result of van leeuwen
no differences in IQ scores between males and females across parents, siblings and twins
MZ twins had more similar IQ scores compared to DZ twins and also compared to their siblings and parents
high correlation between parents’ IQ and children’s IQs. found the heritability estimate for intelligence was about 67% (the rest could be down to environmental factors)
parents had similar IQ scores– do parents seek each other with similar intelligence levels? (called assortative mating)
for lower IQ groups, environment seemed to have more of an effect on their IQs compared to high IQ groups
what are the ways of assessing intelligence?
stanford binet test
wechsler intelligence scale
sternberg triarchic test (STAT)
human figure drawing test (goodenough-harris)
conclusions of van leeuwen
the more similar the genetic makeup, the more similar IQ– IQ could be inherited
environment could be more important for children with a genetic predisposition for low IQ
what is the wechsler intelligence scale
created as wechsler said the stanford-binet relied too much on verbal ability
there is a version for adults, children, and pre-school children
looks at factors such as verbal comprehension, processing speed, visual puzzles etc
what is the stanford binet test
one of the first tests developed to identify children’s cognitive ability
the fifth edition can be administered to individuals as early as two years of age. it assesses both verbal and nonverbal domains
these factors include fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory
what is the sternberg triarchic test
consists of multiple choice questions that assess the 3 aspects from the triarchic theory: analytic (conventional), practical and creative
what is the human figure drawing test? (goodenough-harris)
a cognitive test used to measure intelligence through drawings
when used on children, they may be asked to draw a man, a woman, or themselves
pictures are scored using a scale
when does brain development happen
begins at conception and continues throughout childhood until the age of about 25. the brain continues to develop during adulthood and old age
how can we investigate brain development
one way of investigating brain development is to study the development of structures in the brain and then see if this changes with specific behaviours (to see if the two are linked)
however, we must also take into account individual differences: not everyone’s brain and behaviour develop at the same rate
ethically, we cannot manipulate brain development so research is restricted
another way of studying brain development is to look at behavioural disorders and then trying to identify brain abnormalities associated with it
what is grey matter
is made up of nerve cells and makes up about 40% of the adult brain
what is white matter
white matter carries messages to and from grey matter
how do volumes of white and grey matter change over time
volumes of grey matter tend to begin to decline around 6-7 years old and this continues through adolescence, whereas white matter volumes increase over the same time period
how is the prefrontal cortex and risk taking behaviour related
prefrontal cortex less developed in the adolescent brain
acts as an ‘emergency brake’
it is involved with decision making, high level reasoning and self control
the lack of development in adolescents may explain why they’re more predisposed to risky behaviour than adults
what is the role of the ventral striatum
this matures earlier than the prefrontal cortex, and involves rewards
perhaps with the excitable reward centre overly active in adolescents, and the prefrontal cortex unable to control it, this may explain why adolescents engage in more risky behaviours
what was the sample of eshel 2007 (risk taking)
18 adolescents aged 9-17, and 16 adults aged 20-40
recruited through newspaper advert
what was eshel’s study
the ps did a monetary decision making task (gambling) whilst doing an fMRI scan
group comparisons revealed greater activation in the frontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex in adults than adolescents when making risky decisions
reduced activity in these areas correlated with greater risk taking performance in adolescents and in the combined group
aim of barkley-levenson and galvan
to investigate the influence of brain development on risk taking behaviour
to see if there are biological and behavioural differences between adults and adolescents when gambling
sample of barkley levenson
19 right handed adults from the USA (11 females, 8 males) (aged between 25 and 30)
also 22 right handed 13-17 year olds, 11 of each gender.
after the research, they ended up with a final size of 20 adolescents and 17 adults for analysis
recruited using a poster and internet advert campaign at the University of California
obtained consent from the ps themselves or their parents if they were under 16
nobody had a previous diagnosis of mental or neurological illness
no one had any metal in their body bc MRI scan