levo

Child Psychology

Barkley-Levenson and Galvan (2014) expected value in the adolescent brain: background and method

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 03

Overview

Recall questions on the aim of Barkley-Levenson and Galvan's 2014 study, expected value and calculating it for a gamble, the method, design and sample, the adult age range, and why participants gambled with their own money.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

A gamble offers a 50% chance of winning £20 and a 50% chance of losing £5. Calculate its expected value.

Key term

Who took part in Barkley-Levenson and Galvan's study?

Key term

Why were the adults aged 25 to 30 rather than 18 to 24?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    State the aim of Barkley-Levenson and Galvan (2014).

    Model answer

    They aimed to find out whether the adolescent brain represents the expected value of a gamble differently from the adult brain, and whether any difference is reflected in reward-related activity and in willingness to gamble.

  2. 2

    What is the expected value of a gamble?

    Model answer

    It is the average outcome that would result if the gamble were played many times, found by multiplying each possible outcome by its probability and adding the results.

  3. 3

    A gamble offers a 50% chance of winning £20 and a 50% chance of losing £5. Calculate its expected value.

    Model answer

    The expected value is £7.50, because half of £20 is £10, half of £5 is £2.50, and £10 minus £2.50 leaves £7.50.

  4. 4

    What method and design were used?

    Model answer

    It was a laboratory experiment with an independent measures design, in which brain activity was recorded by functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants performed a gambling task.

  5. 5

    Who took part in Barkley-Levenson and Galvan's study?

    Model answer

    Twenty-two adolescents aged 13 to 17 and nineteen adults aged 25 to 30, each group with eleven female participants.

  6. 6

    Why were the adults aged 25 to 30 rather than 18 to 24?

    Model answer

    Brain maturation, particularly of the prefrontal cortex, continues into the mid-twenties, so the comparison group had to be past that point for the contrast with adolescents to be meaningful.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Research Methods and Techniques
Planning and Conducting Research
Data Recording, Analysis and Presentation
Report Writing and Scientific Communication

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

The tests are a old.
centurydecadeyear

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

APunishment requires deprivation, loss of autonomy and stigma.
BReform requires trust, responsibility and self-respect.
CThe regime that achieves one tends to undermine the other.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Range means the highest score minus the lowest score.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Child Psychology, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.