Week 5a: An Introduction to Nature and Nurture Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is temperament in developmental psychology?
Temperament refers to individual differences in emotional reactivity, activity level, and attention that are present from infancy and are believed to be innate and genetically based.
What are the three main temperamental types identified by Thomas & Chess (1977)?
Easy: Regular biological rhythms, positive mood, adaptable to new experiences.
Difficult: Irregular biological rhythms, intense negative mood, difficulty adapting to new experiences.
Slow-to-warm-up: Low activity level, mild negative mood, cautious in new situations but gradually adapts.
What are the dimensions of temperament according to Rothbart et al. (2001)?
Fear, distress or anger, attention span, activity level, smiling and laughter.
What is the ‘nature vs. nurture’ debate in psychology?
The debate centers on the relative contributions of genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) to human development and behavior.
How do adoption studies contribute to this debate?
Adoption studies compare adopted children with their biological and adoptive parents to assess the influence of genetics and environment. However, selective placement (matching adoptive parents with children based on certain characteristics) can confound results.
What is heritability in the context of temperament?
Heritability refers to the proportion of variance in a population attributable to genetic differences. It is a statistical estimate that applies to a particular population at a specific time and can change with environmental influences
What are the strengths and limitations of twin studies in assessing temperament?
Strengths: Allow for comparison of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins to estimate genetic and environmental influences.
Limitations: Assume equal environments for MZ and DZ twins; MZ twins may be treated more similarly; findings may not generalize to the broader population.
What is selective placement in adoption studies?
Selective placement refers to the practice of matching adoptive parents with children based on certain characteristics, which can introduce bias and confound results in adoption studies.
How do adoption studies help distinguish between genetic and environmental influences?
By comparing adopted children with their biological and adoptive parents, researchers can assess the relative contributions of genetics and environment to traits like temperament.
