Expectancy of success and the probability learning of retarded children.

Tested 23 male and 22 female institutionalized retarded children who had previously experienced either a success, failure, or control precondition on a probability learning task designed to assess expectancy of success. Ss were matched for CA, MA, IQ, and length of institutionalization. The following measures were also collected as S variables: Locus-of-Control Scale, Cottage Rating Scales, school rating, and Reading and Arithmetic subscales from the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The preconditions were found to have many of the expected effects on the cognitive strategies employed in the learning task. Ss in the failure condition showed the greatest avoidance of failure (maximizing strategy), while Ss in the success condition tended to show more success striving (lose-shift strategy). Males were found to exhibit more failure-avoiding strategies than females. The overall pattern of results is interpreted as providing support for the hypothesis that a low expectancy of success in retarded children can be modified. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Failure effects on outerdirectedness: a failure to replicate

A replication was conducted of part of Turnure and Zigler's (1964) experiment in which they assessed whether outerdirectedness was a function of failure experiences. Thirty nonretarded and 30 retarded children, matched on MA, experienced either failure games administered with positive or negative comments followed by an imitative assessment task or received only the imitation task. The results did not support Zigler's hypothesis concerning the antecedents of outerdirectedness, as no short-term effects of failure were found. The findings refuted Turnure and Zigler's hypothesis that outerdirectedness is a function of situational social reinforcement. Differences in tasks presented, methods of analysis, and/or school populations may have contributed to the lack of correspondence with the Turnure and Zigler findings.     

The effects of success and failure on the discrimination learning of normal and retarded children.

30 normal and 30 retarded children learned a 3-choice size discrimination following exposure to experimental tasks under conditions of success, failure, or neutrality. Both normal and retarded children learned more quickly following success and failure than under the neutral condition. In a 2nd study, 32 normal and 32 retarded children learned the same criterion task under success or failure conditions. Here, both success and failure again facilitated the performance of both normal and retarded Ss. Also, social responsivity interacted with intelligence and exeprimental conditions in influencing the children's learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental changes in concept utilization among normal and retarded children.

Examined the concepts employed by 100 normal children in kindergarten-Grade 4 (Study 1), and by 48 retarded vs 48 normal children matched for mental ages ranging from 5 to 11 yrs (Study 2). Ss were required to select pairs of pictures from a large array of pictures depicting common objects and to explain the basis for their pairing responses. Factor analysis of the conceptual responses of normal Ss revealed factors for abstraction (nominal and functional concepts as opposed to perceptible concepts) and complimentarity ("go together" responses as opposed to similarity responses). Retarded Ss differed from normals primarily in their use of more complimentary and fewer similarity concepts. The developmental course of concept utilization for normals was characterized as a change from perceptible to nominal and functional concepts, while that for retarded Ss was characterized as a change from complimentary to similarity concepts. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of perceptual training on unmatched samples of brain-injured and familial retarded children.

41 brain-injured (Bl) and 39 familial retarded (FR) children matched for CA but not for MA were 1st tested on 1 set of ambiguous pictures, then trained on a 2nd set, and then retested on the 1st set both immediately and 1 mo. following training. Results showed that although the BI group had a significantly higher IQ than the FR group, they nevertheless took more trials to reach a lower level of post-training performance. The difference between the groups reached statistical significance, however, only when the MA differential favoring the BI group was controlled by the analysis of covariance procedure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning set acquisition in autistic children.

Compared the performance of 19 autistic 5-13 yr olds (mean MA: 4 yrs, 3 mo) on an object discrimination learning set task with that of MA and IQ matched control groups of normal and retarded Ss. All but 2 of the autistic Ss acquired a learning set. About 1/2 of the Ss in each control group also acquired a learning set. However, the mean number of problems to criterion was similar for both the autistic and control groups of Ss who acquired a learning set. It is suggested that the superior performance of autistic Ss on a task which is believed to be related to MA indicates that the MA of these children may be higher than that which is usually obtained with standard measuring techniques. Results provided somewhat equivocal evidence for a relation between MA, IQ, and learning set formation in the normal and retarded Ss. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discrimination and switching learning in normal, familial retarded, and organic retarded children.

In an effort to explicate the contradictory findings of earlier studies, normals, familial retardates, and organic retardates at 2 MA levels were trained on either a 3-choice or a 2-choice discrimination task. Following solution of the original task Ss were switched to either a new 3-choice discrimination, a 2-choice transposition, or a 2-choice reversal problem. There were no significant types of S main effects on either the 1st or 2nd problems. It was concluded that the findings offered no support for the view that the cognitive functioning of retardates is inherently different from normals of the same MA. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of labels on the perception and discrimination learning of retardates.

Assessed the role of labels in perception in 54 familial retardates and 48 normal IQ children at 2 matched MA levels. 3 experimental manipulations were employed at each level in a factorial design. 1 group learned to associate a common label to random visual forms; a 2nd group learned distinctive labels to the same forms; finally, a 3rd group viewed the forms without labels. Following verbal training, all Ss received perceptual judgment and discrimination-learning tasks. No significant differences emerged between the retarded and normal Ss on paired-associate learning, discrimination learning, or perceptual accuracy without labels. In contrast to the normal children, however, the retardates' perceptual and learning processes were relatively unaffected by the learning of verbal levels. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of IQ and mental age on hypothesis behavior in normal and retarded children.

156 mental-age-matched normal and retarded Ss at mental-age (MA) levels of 5.5, 7.5, and 9.5 yrs received blank-trial discrimination problems designed to expose hypothesis behavior. There was evidence that Ss at all MA levels used hypotheses. Use of feedback indicating that a response was wrong increased significantly with MA, while use of feedback indicating that a response was right increased significantly with IQ. On simple problems involving 2 stimulus dimensions, retarded and normal groups used about equal numbers of hypotheses, but on 4-dimensional problems the retarded used fewer hypotheses than normals. It is suggested that this IQ Level * Problem Complexity interaction may explain contradictions among previous findings regarding IQ effects on learning. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The assessment of effectance motivation in normal and retarded children.

Constructed several measures of effectance motivation and assessed their validity by administering them to groups of Ss whose motivation was assumed to differ. 37 normal, 32 noninstitutionalized retarded, and 34 institutionalized retarded children matched on MA were employed. For the 4 components of effectance motivation investigated-variation seeking, curiosity, mastery for the sake of competence, and preference for challenging tasks-normals demonstrated more effectance motivation than did either retarded group. The measures also proved sensitive to differences between the noninstitutionalized and institutionalized retarded. Verbal inquiry data resulted in a pattern of findings parallel to that obtained with the task measures, providing further support for the validity of the measures. Measurement problems and the need for constructing adequate developmental indices of effectance motivation are emphasized. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hemispheric asymmetry in Down's Syndrome children.

Examined auditory processing of linguistic stimulation presented dichotically to groups of 30 Down's Syndrome (DS) children, 20 non-DS retarded children who were MA and CA matched, and 20 MA matched nonretarded children, all of whom were right-handed. Ss completed a knowledge-of-numbers test and the Slosson Intelligence Test. They then listened to 20 trials of a dichotic message at approximately 70–75 db and repeated digits they heard. DS Ss showed a significant left ear advantage in processing the auditory linguistic material, while the other Ss showed the normal right ear advantage. Findings corroborate that having DS has a specific effect on the functional organization of the CNS auditory system. The right hemisphere may not be as efficient as the left hemisphere at language processing. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Numerosity discrimination of repetitive visual stimuli by mildly retarded adolescents and normal children.

Compared 20 male and 20 female retarded adolescents with 40 younger normals matched for sex and ma on a visual numerosity task. Sequential light flashes of 300, 500, and 700 msec. Occurring in multiple loci were presented in trains of 3-38 flashes. Error frequency and magnitude scores were significantly (p     

Preference by the retarded for vibratory and visual stimulation as a function of mental age and psychotic reaction.

Using a vibratory vs visual stimulus choice situation, a shift of modality preference with development was investigated in 60 retarded children and 91 retarded adults with and without psychosis. The overall MA was 8-72 mo. Ss also included 47 normal children (aged 3-5 yrs). In retarded adults and retarded children, the number of vibratory choices was negatively correlated and the number of visual choices positively correlated with MA, while holding constant CA, time in institution, total choices, and mental status. Psychotic adults chose the vibratory stimulus more and the visual stimulus less than did nonpsychotic retardates of corresponding MA. Stimulus alternation was positively correlated with the MA of retarded adults after holding constant other variables. No age trends existed in the normal children. These findings support E. G. Schatel's (1959) theory of development from the autocentric to the allocentric mode of perception. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Naturally acquired learned helplessness: The relationship of school failure to achievement behavior, attributions, and self-concept.

Monitored personality and behavioral consequences of learned helplessness in children who had experienced extensive failure in school. Controlling for sex, race, age, and IQ, 3 groups of 20 9–12 yr old males (failing, average, and remedial) performed an experimental task and responded to questionnaires on self-concept and attributions for success and failure. To compare the predictive quality of learned helplessness theory with that of value expectancy theories, Ss were assigned to 1 of 2 reinforcement conditions (prediction of academic success and this prediction plus monetary reward) on a maze task. As predicted by value expectancy theories, failing Ss were significantly more persistent in the monetary reward condition than in the prediction of academic success condition. In agreement with learned helplessness theory, low self-concept was predicted independently and significantly by school failure, internal attributions for failure, and external attributions for success. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual perception of sequential numerosity by normals and retardates.

Presented sequences of 2-10 50-msec light flashes at interstimulus intervals (ISIs) of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 msec. for multiple- and single-locus conditions to 20 educable retardates and 20 equal MA normals. Numerosity discrimination of the younger, normal children was more accurate at all ISIs (p     

Visual motor performance of psychotic children.

Explored visual motor deviations by means of a Childhood Psychosis Scale applied to the Primary Visual-Motor Test protocols of 130 psychotic children (6–12 yrs), and 507 normal and retarded (IQ range 35–79) controls. 45.4% of the psychotic sample achieved critical scores on the scale as compared to 1.7% of the normal Ss and 12.9% of the retarded Ss. It was possible to match 94 of the psychotic children with nonpsychotic controls on the basis of CA and MA. Significantly more psychotics than matched controls were high scorers. Correlations with MA were moderately significant for each group. In IQ comparisons, significantly more psychotics who were retarded had critical scores than did normal-IQ psychotics. Age at diagnosis, type and length of treatment, recency of diagnosis, and degree of organicity did not discriminate between high- and low-responding psychotics. Base rate problems and theoretical aspects of the scale items are discussed. The scale appears useful as a screening device for normal and retarded children under the age of 13 yrs, with particular utility in detecting psychotic aspects of functioning among the retarded. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of social information in the problem solving of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and human children (Homo sapiens).

Fourteen juvenile and adult orangutans and 24 3- and 4-yr-old children participated in 4 studies on imitative learning in a problem-solving situation. In all studies a simple to operate apparatus was used, but its internal mechanism was hidden from subjects to prevent individual learning. In the 1st study, orangutans observed a human demonstrator perform 1 of 4 actions on the apparatus and obtain a reward; they subsequently showed no signs of imitative learning. Similar results were obtained in a 2nd study in which orangutan demonstrators were used. Similar results were also obtained in a 3rd study in which a human encouraged imitation from an orangutan that had previously been taught to mimic arbitrary human actions. In a 4th study, human 3- and 4-yr-old children learned the task by means of imitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Read-out times from iconic memory in normal and retarded adolescents

The method limits was used to obtain an estimate of read-out times for a sample of 12 normal and 12 retarded subjects matched on chronological age. The procedure required tachistoscopic presentation of a stimulus array (2, 4, or 6 digits) for a variable duration, followed by a post-stimulus. The subject's task was to recall the digit indicated by the cue. The results indicated that read-out time (a) increased as the number of digits increased, (b) was longer for retardates relative to normals, and (c) decreased with practice for both intelligence groups. The implications of a read-out deficit in retarded individuals were discussed.     

Responsiveness to affective stimuli by obese and normal individuals.

Conducted 2 experiments to test the hypothesis that the obese are more responsive than normals to both positive and negative affective stimuli. In Exp I, obese and normal high school males (N = 46) gave ratings of positively and negatively arousing slides. In Exp II, the behavior of obese and normal children 1 mo-6 yrs old (N = 79) in a positively and a negatively arousing situation was observed. Obese Ss in both experiments responded more strongly than normals to the positive affective stimuli; obese Ss in Exp I responded more strongly than normals to the negative emotional stimulus. A possible reason for the failure of obese Ss in Exp II to respond more strongly than normals to the negative affective stimulus is discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alterations in the expression of chemokine mRNA levels in fibrosis-resistant and -sensitive mice after thoracic irradiation

Two adjective pairs in comparative form, more-less and taller-shorter, were tested with moderately mentally retarded (MR) and nonretarded children (NR) matched on verbal mental age (MA) and socioeconomic status (SES) in a "show" and an "act-out" experimental condition. The data indicated that all the main effects, the group, the experimental condition, and the unmarked-marked relational terms were significant and so were the interactions of the Group x Experimental Conditions, Group x Unmarked Versus Marked Relational Terms, and Group x Experimental Conditions and Unmarked Versus Marked Relational Terms. A logistic regression analysis (LRA) showed that the relational term shorter in the act-out condition best predicted classification membership for the subjects in either group, suggesting that the MR children were less able to self-regulate behavior. The error types, however, mainly observed in the act-out experimental condition were the same from a semantic point of view in either group. The effect of the unmarked versus marked distinction cannot be considered independent of the experimental conditions applied.