General & Research Methods
Attribution Theory
3 Common Themes in Human Development
Why do we attach?
Insecure attachment: Cause & effect?
100
If Dr. Keating wanted to study the ontogeny of one individual she would use a ________ study (what design?).
longitudinal
100
When we make the Fundamental Attribution Error, we underestimate the role of ________ influences and overestimate the role of _______ influences in determining the behavior of _______.
situational; dispositional; others
100
Which of her major themes is demonstrated by a 2-week-old baby flailing its arms around when its nose is covered by a tissue, and a six-month-old baby moving the tissue when its nose is covered?
differentiation
100
What kind of trait displayed by infants contributes to parents becoming attached to their infants? Is this an ultimate or proximate cue?
neoteny; mimicry of prepubescent traits; proximate (**this is why the PARENT attaches to the INFANT. Consider how the infant attaching to the parent is slightly different)
100
What does the acronym OCEAN stand for, and how is it related to attachment?
openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism; innate personality traits have been seen to be correlated with attachment style
200
What is the main take-away from our discussion of Progeria?
there is a disconnect between age and development!!
200
Three factors that determine whether behavior is due to situational or dispositional factors are _____, _____, and ______.
consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus
200
Describe at least two neonatal reflexes and explain when and why they disappear.
Babinski, root, etc.; after ~28 days; they disappear as experience/learning causes new brain connections to develop and overcome involuntary reflexes (evidence from nursing home)
200
What theory of attachment is most supported today, and what two psychologists are closely associated with it?
Control theory of attachment; Bowlby and Ainsworth
200
Clarke-Stewart’s (1972) studies observing interactions between mothers and children found what type of relationship between attachment and maternal behavior? What type of validity did this study provide for the Strange Situation (and what does that mean)?
correlational!! Positive; ecological validity= the Strange Situation is measuring what we believe it to be, lab results and behavior in home is related
300
The Bhannoo article found what? And how does this relate to the Social Brain Hypothesis?
Kids were more likely to cooperate with puzzle box than chimps. Humans are more cooperative and have bigger neocortex to brain ratio.
300
Jenna did really well on exam 4, but Andrew did fairly poorly. What kind of attributions do you think Jenna and Andrew will make for the scores they received? What kind of bias might they use?
Jenna: dispositional; Andrew: situational. Self-serving bias.
300
What does it mean that humans are “biologically prepared” to smile? What was her other main example for biological preparedness?
we are born with the ability to eventually demonstrate a trait, given correct environmental stimuli; i.e. even blind children smile (despite never having seen a smile) to communicate happiness; depth perception in infants
300
What psychologist’s studies (explain the studies) proved the Cupboard Theory to be incorrect? What theory of attachment followed the Cupboard Theory?
Harlow; studies with monkeys; if the Cupboard Theory (the reason infants become attached to their parents is because they provide them with food and other basic necessities) was correct then there would have been no difference in the likelihood of an infant monkey becoming attached to the wire vs. cloth surrogate mothers
300
Easy and difficult are two examples of types of _________. Why might this be related to attachment styles of infants?
temperament; the underlying disposition of an infant may set them up to have an easier or more difficult time forming attachments (e.g. if they’re “difficult” and are very reactive to the environment they might find managing emotion/interacting with peers more challenging)
400
In Lewis et al. (1987), the study on emotional development in children, what was the IV? DV? Operational definitions of each? Results and implications? Is this A CORRELATIONAL OR EXPERIMENTAL STUDY?
IV: age (preschool to adult); DV: ability to differentiate emotional expressions (scored according to expected elements according to Ekman); Results: as age increased, so did ability to differentiate emotions
400
Julia (a white woman) is standing in line at airport security. Up ahead, she sees a man wearing a suit and a man wearing a turban pulled aside by TSA officers. If she were to commit the Ultimate Attribution Error, what attributions might she made, and why?
Suit: situational (forgot to take his belt off); Turban: personal (he’s a terrorist). UAE occurs when someone judges behavior of a member of an outgroup to be caused by personal influences moreso than that of an ingroup member
400
A homologue of human smiles are ________ in chimps.
grin faces (homologue: a trait that is similar in form/function in two or more species)
400
What was the paradigm that Ainsworth used to study attachment? Describe the three styles of attachment that she reported.
the Strange Situation; secure, resistant/ambivalent, avoidant (**know the behavior of children exhibited with each of these styles)
400
Many psychologists believe that early attachments create an ___________; how is this hypothesized to affect adult relationships? What evidence is there for this in toddlers, elementary school boys, and adults in work/school environments?
internal working model, which creates a schema through which individuals interpret their relationships, their own personal value in relationships, and their expectations about relationships; insecurely attached boys were seen as more aggressive/less likeable; insecurely attached adults performed worse at work (know more details!)
500
In the studies on depth perception in infants, what was the IV? DV? Operational definitions of each? Results and implications? Is this A CORRELATIONAL OR EXPERIMENTAL STUDY?
IV: age, and whether infant had experience with mobility (crawling/walker); DV: fear, whether they would cross the cliff (heart rate); Infants who had experience with mobility experienced fear (raised heart rate) when placed next to the cliff; BUT while mobile infants wouldn’t crawl across the cliff, infants in walkers would
500
Research has shown that Westerners make the Fundamental Attribution Error and use the self-serving bias more or less frequently than East Asians? Why do you think this is?
less frequently; individualism vs. collectivism; collectivist cultures are more likely to see themselves as part of a group/situation. More holistic= more likely to see complex reasons from behavior. No self-serving bias: ex. in book with East Asians demonstrating more modesty.
500
Explain egocentrism and theory of mind. How does these aspects of social development relate to the theme of becoming differentiated?
egocentrism: until about 6-7 according to Piaget; child has difficulty viewing the world from someone else’s perspective; Three Mountain Task); theory of mind: ability to understand that others have thoughts/feelings/beliefs different from your own, and the ability to behave/interpret others’ behavior accordingly; Social referencing—using the behavior/emotions of others to mediate your own behavior (back to the visual cliff)
500
Explain why Keating would say that infants go from “promiscuous to picky.” What types of anxiety do they develop once they become “picky?”
0-3 mo: indiscriminate attachment; 3-6 mo: discriminate, normally have around 3 main attachments; 7-8 months: pickiness peaks! May develop stranger/separation anxiety; related to mobility
500
What are examples of studies that have demonstrated animals becoming attached to abusive agents? Why might animals/infants be likely to attach to abusive individuals/parents/objects?
Fisher (puppies who were abused approached him more, others were more exploratory); Rejecki (when chicks had no choice, those with punching glove developed greater attachment than those with motionless glove); maybe attachment is fostered to a greater degree when individuals are scared/hungry/deprived… this has implications for children/adults in abusive relationships
M
e
n
u