Methodology: Adoption Studies + Heston (1966)

Question 1

Define ‘concordance rate’.

Answer 1

The probability of a relative sharing a certain characteristic as another relative.

Question 2

What is an adoption study?

Answer 2

Looking at an individual and their genetically related relatives in comparison to adoptive relatives.

Question 3

Why are adoption studies carried out?

Answer 3

To study whether behaviour is due to nature or nurture.

Question 4

Describe the results for behaviour being due to nature in an adoption study.

Answer 4

If biological relatives have high concordance rates for a condition compared to adoptive relatives, this suggests that the behaviour studied is due to nature.

Question 5

Describe the results for behaviour being due to nurture in an adoption study.

Answer 5

If the concordance rate is high in adoptive relatives compared to biological relatives, this suggests that the behaviour being studied is due to nurture.

Question 6

What methods may an adoption study use?

Answer 6

• DNA sampling
• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Psychometric testing

Question 7

List 2 strengths of adoption studies.

Answer 7

1) High reliability due to allowing us to study trends in behaviours via longitudinal methods of following the same group of children for long periods of time
2) High application due to results separating the cause of certain behaviours being due to nature or nurture allowing more focused research

Question 8

List 3 weaknesses of adoption studies.

Answer 8

1) Low generalisability as the circumstances in which a child will be split up from their parent will be unique and cause different environmental variables for the adopted child that wouldn’t represent a normal child
2) Low validity due to the overemphasis on the role of genes as children tend to be placed in families similar to their own so their birth family and adopted family will match very closely
3) Low ethics due to adoption studies have a high chance of causing disturbance to the family harmony if the adopted child discovers certain things about their biological family

Question 9

Identify an adoption study.

Answer 9

Heston (1966)

Question 10

Describe the aim of Heston (1966).

Answer 10

To investigate how many adopted children of biological mothers with schizophrenia would develop schizophrenia themselves.

Question 11

Describe the procedure of Heston (1966).

Answer 11

• 50 adoptees whose mothers were believed to be mentally healthy were matched for sex, type of adoptive placement, and length of time in care
• Subjects were contacted by letter and asked to participate in an interview to establish whether any of them had gone on to develop SZ
• Nearly all interviews took place in their homes
• The information was evaluated blindly by two psychiatrists, then once again by a third
• A score from 0-100 on psycho-social disability constituted the evaluation
• A control group was used to eliminate possibly that adoption itself was cause for SZ

Question 12

Describe the results of Heston (1966).

Answer 12

• 10% of adults interviewed whose mother suffered SZ had been hospitalised with SZ
• None of the control group developed SZ

Question 13

Describe the conclusions of Heston (1966).

Answer 13

• Genetics plays a role in schizophrenia

- With no evidence for the role of the environment on developing SZ

Question 14

Evaluate the generalisability using a low point.

Answer 14

P - Low
E - Sampling method involved contacting sample by letter asking them to participate
E - Therefore those who responded and agreed share characteristics that would make them likely to take part

Question 15

Evaluate the reliability using 2 high points.

Answer 15

P - High inter-rater
E - In total 3 researchers confirmed the evaluative assessment of the adoptees and whether they had SZ
E - Therefore it is objective and removes bias with high scientific credibility
P - High
E - The interviews were standardised with the same questions being asked to each ppt
E - The results will be easily comparable and the procedure itself can be replicated

Question 16

Are there applications?

Answer 16

P - High
E - This study suggests that SZ is due to genetics as 10% of the adoptees whose mothers had SZ had SZ themselves
E - Therefore it helps to remove the stigma and blame associated with this disorder as they cannot be held directly responsible for their aggressive behaviour as a result

Question 17

Evaluate the reliability using a high and low point.

Answer 17

P - High
E - The study used matched pairs of those in control to those in the experimental condition on sex and type of adoptive placement
E - This therefore controls from ppt variables that may have affected the effects of nurture on the disorder
P - Low
E - The study involved the methods of interviews and questionnaires
E - This is open to bias of social desirability from the respondent who will know the aim and potentially change behaviour with demand characteristics

Question 18

Evaluate the ethics using a low point.

Answer 18

P - Unethical
E - The nature of the research may have cause problems with the adoptive families or the understanding of the adoptees’ disorder
E - Therefore may have caused psychological distress