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Now thet you hove read and reved Chopter 1, take your learning a Several studies

ID: 3445951 • Letter: N

Question

Now thet you hove read and reved Chopter 1, take your learning a Several studies suggest that breast-fed babies become Michaelsen, Sanders than formula-fed bables. One such study (Mortensen of over 3,000 women and men born in & Reinisch, 2002) Involved a sample Copen were divided into five categories based on duration of breast-feeding, as assessed by physician interview with mothers at a one-year exa was assessed using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) at a Denmark between October 1959 and December 1961. The samples mination. The child's intelligence mean age of 27.2 years The results showed that duration of breast-feeding was associated with significantly scores on the verbal, performance, and full scale WAIS IAs. This to rule out any preexisting differences in the as the children's genetic potential or their parents' caregiving skills or moti observed even after the researchers adjusted for differences in the difference was social class and maternal education of the two groups. (This adjustment allowed the researchers have independently contributed to 1Q differences in their children.) groups that might s, such The authors acknowledged that other differences between the group vation to nurture, could explain the results. However, they believe that human milk contains various hormones and other factors that enhance brain maturation. growth and 1. State the research hypothesis in your own words. Identify the independent and dependent variables, and define all important concepts and terms as they are used in this study. 2. What evidence do the researchers offer as a test of their hypothesis? Is this evidence empirical (observable)? Is it valid? 3. What explanation do the researchers offer for their findings? Does this explanation make sense based on the evidence? 4. Given the results of this study, why can't the researchers draw a causal connection between type of food and later intelligence? What might be an alternative explanation for the results of this study? What could the researchers do in order to make a causal connection between the dependent and independent variables? 5. Are there any practical implications for this research?

Explanation / Answer

1. The central reserach question in this study is whether breast fed babies show higher intelligence during their later years in comparison to formula fed babies. The independent variable is feeding type and the dependent variable is intelligence.

2. The researchers investigated the relationship between the duration of breast feeding to the participant’s scores on the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale and found the factors to be positively related to each other. In other words, they found that the longer the duration of being breast fed as a baby, the higher is the intelligence score. In my opinion, the empirical evidence is valid.

3. The explanation offered by the researchers is that human milk that is consumed through breast feeding contains hormones and other nutrients that enhance brain growth and maturation.

4. A causal connection between the variables cannot be established in this study as there is no manipulation of the independent variable that is taking place. Here, the researchers cannot manipulate how much the baby is breast fed and neither can they control the multitude of extraneous variables that are operating. In order to make a causal relationship (which is close to impossible as it is highly unethical), the researchers would need to give different amounts of breast fed milk to the children and ensure that they all have the exact same upbringing until their time of testing.

5. The practical implications for this study is that mothers should breast feed their children as often as possible in order to increase their chances of becoming intelligent adults.