Development 2

Question 1

What is conservation?

Answer 1

Conservation is knowing that despite the appearance of a quantity changing, the amount would still be the same

Question 2

What is the aim of McGarrigle & Donaldson’s study?

Answer 2

The aim was to see if children developed conservation skills at an earlier age than Piaget found, where the change to the appearance of the counters seemed to be accidental

Question 3

What was the research method used in the McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study?

Answer 3

Lab experiment

Question 4

Who were the participants in the McGarrigle & Donaldson’s study?

Answer 4

80 children from Edinburgh between the ages 4-6 took part in the study

Question 5

What was the method in the McGarrigle & Donaldson’s study?

Answer 5

• The children were shown 2 rows of counters and asked if there was the same amount in each row.
• Then a glove puppet called the “Naughty Teddy” made an appearance. Naughty teddy accidentally messed up one of the rows of counters in front of the child.
• The messed-up row was spread out to look longer than the other row. The experimenter pretended to be really cross with Naughty Teddy and told it off.
• The child was then asked if there were the same amount of counters in each row

Question 6

What were the results in the McGarrigle & Donaldson’s study?

Answer 6

The results showed that 62% of the four to six years old stated that there was still the same amount of counters in each row, showing that they could conserve.
This is different to Piaget, where only 16% of the 4-6 year olds in Piaget’s study on conservation was able to answer the question correctly.

Question 7

What was the conclusion in the McGarrigle & Donaldson’s study?

Answer 7

To conclude, children younger than the age of 7 can conserve quantities if the change in appearance is seen as accidental. When Naughty Teddy messes up the row of counters and spread them out, younger children know that the amount of counters was still the same, thus contradicting Piaget’s theory

Question 8

What is an advantage of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study? (Challenges Piaget’s theory)

Answer 8

• An advantage of this study is that it challenges Piaget’s theory.
• This is because in Piaget’s theory, the way that he investigated conservation was very confusing and very complicated for young children to understand, which is probably why he was able to draw the conclusion that children under the age of 7 couldn’t conserve. This means that in McGarrigle and Donaldson, they ensured that the task was easier for children to understand, thus having better results.
• Therefore, this increases the validity of the study.

Question 9

What is an advantage of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study? (Extraneous variables)

Answer 9

• One advantage of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study is that extraneous variables were controlled.
• This is because the study was held in a lab experiment, where any extraneous variables that could have affected the DV, which was how many children were able to accurately answer the question on the quantity of counters was affectively controlled, such as the age of the children, where there was a short range of ages, which allowed the results to be more accurate overall as this allowed the DV to be influenced by the IV.
• Therefore, this increases the validity of the study

Question 10

What is a disadvantage of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study? (Participants)

Answer 10

• A disadvantage of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study are the participants.
• This is because all of the participants were from Edinburgh, where the task and appearance of the Naughty Teddy might have been similar or applicable to their daily experiences and lives, which is unrepresentative to a wider population as children from other countries might have not been able to understand the task. This means that the results can’t be generalized to a wider population with differing cultures and upbringings.
• Therefore, this reduces the validity of the study

Question 11

What is a disadvantage of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study? (RM)

Answer 11

• A disadvantage of the research method used in McGarrigle and Donaldson is that it might have not allowed the participants to act naturally.
• This is because the experiment was held in a lab, where young children tend to get panicked or intimidated by and this could have led them to act unnaturally and inaccurately to how they would have in real life, thus compelling them to give untruthful answers about how many counters they saw, which can affect the results that were obtained about the conservation of the counters.
• Therefore, this leads us to question whether children under the age of 7 is truly able to conserve quantities.

Question 12

Outline Dweck’s theory

Answer 12

According to Dweck’s theory, the difference between people who are successful and who are not depends on their mindset. There are 2 types of mindsets, a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.
Individuals with a fixed mindset believe their intelligence is unchanging and down to genetics, therefore nothing they can do will be able to change this. However, individuals with a growth mindset believe their intelligence derives from hard work and can be increased by putting in more time and effort into learning. Dweck also believed that people were not simply one or the other but was a mixture of both mindsets, on a continuum or a spectrum stretching from fixed to growth-oriented. Where you are on the continuum depends on the situation.

Question 13

What is one strength of Dweck’s theory? (Leads to better grades)

Answer 13

• One strength is that there is research that proves that a growth mindset leads to better grades.
• This is because Carol Dweck conducted a study with 48 low achieving students (12-13 year olds). All students completed a course on study skills, where they were allotted to 2 different groups: one was taught on a growth mindset and the other students had attended a session on memory. The students in the growth mindset growth had improved in their motivation and grades, whearas the other group didn’t improve
• Therefore, this increases the validity of the theory as there is supporting evidence

Question 14

What is one strength of Dweck’s theory? (Can be applied to real life situations)

Answer 14

• One strength of Dweck’s theory is that it can be applied to real life situations.
• This is because there is anecdotal evidence from sportspeople (e.g. Michael Jordan), musicians, scientists etc. who have gone out outlining the extent to which early rejection and failures has led them to improve and try harder, thus showing their growth mindsets in times of failure, supporting Dweck’s theory.
• Therefore, this increases the validity of the theory as it can be generalized and applied to real life situations, therefore supporting the theory further

Question 15

What is one weakness of Dweck’s theory? (Praise)

Answer 15

• One disadvantage of Dweck’s theory is that it doesn’t account for how praise can be damaging.
• This is because Dweck believes that praising effort can help children develop a growth mindset, where they believe they can improve with hard work. However, research has showed that too much praise, or praise that is given when not earned can make both growth and fixed mindset learners dependent on that praise, where they tend to only work hard to receive validation, rather than developing self-efficacy.
• Therefore, this shows that Dweck’s theory might be too simple as it doesn’t account for the negative impacts of praise, therefore reducing the generalizations that can be made about the theory

Question 16

Define praise

Answer 16

Praise is an expression of approval of someone else’s actions. Praise is rewarding and increases motivation

Question 17

Define self-efficacy

Answer 17

Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their own ability to succeed at a task

Question 18

What are the positive effects of praise

Answer 18

When we are presented with an award (which would be praise), it makes us feel good about our abilities and motivates us to repeat that behavior. In psychological terms, it increases our self-esteem.
To be effective, praise must be honest and deserved, where we are more likely to internalize that praise if we know that the praise was fit to our results

Question 19

What are the effects of praising effort rather than performance?

Answer 19

In Dweck’s theory, performance and effort was distinguished. Learners may be praised for both but emphasizing effort gives a variable (a factor that they can actually control). If we see somebody performing better than us, we feel demotivated because we are unable to compete, but if we see somebody get praised for effort, it is more motivating because we can always increase our efforts.