Visual backward masking in retardates and normals

Educable adolescent male retardates were compared with normal males of equal CA and equal MA on a visual backward masking task. Significantly shorter interstimulus intervals were required to induce a masking effect in the equal-CA group than in the retarded and equal-MA groups, who did not differ from each other. Speed of visual processing is a function of MA. It is related to CA in normals. and to IQ when retardates are compared with equal-CA normals.     

The von Restorff effect and measures of organization in normals and retardates

Thirty-two noninstitutionalized retardates and 32 normals of equal mental age (approximately 8 years) heard 10 orders of 10 nouns when the decibel (dB) level of the stimuli was the same and when the dB level of the sixth item was higher. The yon Restorff effect was demonstrated by both groups. The normals’ overall recall was superior to that of the retardates’ recall. Differences in recall were attributed to the normals’ tendency to recall items in the same serial order more consistently. The subjective organization of lists, as measured by order of recall, differed for the normals and retardates; the normal group was more adaptable than the retarded group in adjusting their strategy to different list conditions.     

Recognition of tachistoscopically exposed letters by normals and retardates’

Thirty adolescent educable retardates,30 equal-MA normals, and 30 equal-CA normals were tachistoscopically presented a square array of four letters at two exposures (.01 sec and .3 sec). The groups did not differ significantly in correct recognitions at the shorter exposure and the two older groups had significantly better recognitions in the right visual field than the left. Under the longer exposure the groups ordered from poorest to best performance: retardates, equal-MA normals, and equal-CA normals; and no group recognized significantly more letters on one side than the other. Results were discussed in terms of consistency of reporting patterns which aided recognition.     

Stimulus selection by the retarded: list length and response requirement.

Institutionalized retardates learned paired associates of redundant trigrams and double digits (e.g., DLZ/10) and were given a transfer test to measure their stimulus selection. List length (four or six items) and response requirement (recall or recognition) were both manipulated during learning. The finding of most interest was that the retardates became more efficient at cue selection as the amount of information increased. This finding suggests that, at least to some extent, these retarded persons actively tended to choose a stimulus-processing strategy that puts a low load on memory as the overall memory requirements of the paired-associate task were increased.     

Selective attention in cerebral palsied and normal children

Noninstitutionalized, educable retarded, spastic cerebral palsied children of two mental age (MA) levels were compared with normal MA controls on a task measuring selective attention and were not found deficient in selective attention. For both the cerebral palsied and the normals there was an increase in selective attention efficiency with an increase in MA. The results support the position that MA rather than chronological age or IQ is the important variable in determining selective attention performance. The results do not support the attention-deficit theory; they do support the argument that institutionalization has a negative affect on attention. The effects of brain damage and retardation on selective attention ability were discussed.Thanks are expressed to Eleanor Rennie, Head Teacher, Robert Massie, Supervisor of Special Education, and E. F. DeFord, Assistant Director, Department of Research for the Richmond Public Schools, Richmond, Virginia. Appreciation is also given to Scott Hamrick, Principal, Jackson Via Elementary School, Charlottesville, Virginia. Susan Autrey is also thanked for assistance in data collection.     

Acquisition and transfer of conceptual learning by normals and retardates: the effects of modeling, verbal cues, and reinforcement

The present study compared the effects of modeling, verbal cues, and reinforcement on conceptual learning of normals and retardates. Performance on both original learning tasks and a transfer task was examined. The results indicated that, relative to a control group, modeling alone, modeling plus verbal cues, and exposure to the completed task plus verbal cues facilitated original conceptual learning. Furthermore, modeling plus verbal cues was more effective in reducing errors than modeling alone. Original learning was not affected by tangible reinforcement, social reinforcement, or IQ level. No significant effects were found for a transfer task.     

Patterns of imitation in mentally retarded children

Abstract.— In this report, the interchange theory of imitation was extended to mentally retarded children. Retardates were expected to observe and copy adults, using external cues and internal controls as aids. In Experiment I external cues were studied. Twenty-four speaking and 24 non-speaking retardates were paired with adults who gave half the children instructions to copy and the other half additional verbal and gestural cues. Non-speaking retardates receiving frequent cues attended and copied better than those getting initial instructions, gestural cues being equally or more effective than verbal ones. Speaking retardates getting repeated cues finished copying sooner than those getting only instructions, verbal and gestural cues being equally effective. In Experiment II internal controls over appropriate imitation were studied. Twenty-two retardates were trained to sit, observe and copy their teachers in a two-month program. Training was evaluated in situations where copying or playing was signalled. Overall, children attended and copied more in the appropriate situation. However, sitting, attention, and copying increased non-specifically in both situations, and initial situational differences in copying were not observed after treatment. The interchange theory was revised, and implications for attention-deficit and verbal self-control theories were discussed. Notions of "generalized imitation" were criticized.     

A critical analysis of the attention hypothesis of Zeaman and House: problems of parameter interactions in multiparameter models

The attention hypothesis of Zeaman and House [in N. R. Ellis (Ed.), Handbook of mental deficiency. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963] was examined through a systematic, computer-simulation analysis of the parameter interactions found in the One-Look model. The hypothesis states that mental retardates and normals differ in their initial attention habits but not in their learning rates in the context of discrimination learning. The analysis showed that possible differences in the learning rates cannot be ruled out. The result was used to suggest how shift designs can unconfound the effect of the attention habits from the effect of the learning rates and maximize chances of observing possible differences in the learning rates between retarded and normal children.     

Stutterers and others: A comparison of communication attitudes

The Erickson 39-item S-scale was administered to 24 persons who stutter, 24 persons with voice or articulation disorders, and 24 normal speakers. The purpose of the study was to determine if the three populations differed in communication attitude. The one-way analysis of variance showed that the three groups differed significantly. Normal speakers revealed the most desirable communication attitude; the communication attitude of the voice and articulation disorders population was less favorable than normals; the communication attitude of the stuttering population was least favorable.     

Conservation of Weight with the Mentally Retarded

Institutionalized retardates (N = 54), Public School retardates (N = 65), and a group of normal subjects (N = 112) were compared at several mental age levels on three conservation of weight tasks. The functioning of normal subjects was higher at each mental age level. An analysis of covariance was performed on the number of correct responses on the three tasks, covarying mental age, and not including any normal subjects above 13 years 11 months in mental age (N = 82). Normal subjects conserved significantly more often than either retardate group in the covariance analysis also.     

The effects on induced passive rehearsal and the von Restorff phenomenon on the free recall of normals and retardates

Noninstitutionalized retardates and normal children of equal mental age (approximately 8 years) listened to 11 orders of 20 nouns with no instructions to overtly or covertly rehearse. All subjects were in each of three list conditions: (a) when all words were at the same decibel (dB) level, (b) when the 11th item was at a higher dB level, and (c) when the items were repeated at the same dB level using the rehearsal protocol of Rundus (1971). The normals' overall recall was superior to that of the retardates' recall. Repetition of items had no effect on the performance of either group except in the recency portion of the learning curve and on the initial trial for both groups and the fifth trial for the retarded group. The normal group was more susceptible to the yon Restorff effect than was the retarded group. These results were discussed in terms of the changing and different recall strategies of the two groups.     

Representational development of the human figure in familial retardates.

Representational development of the human figure of normal and familially retarded children was examined. Five tasks were employed: Drawing a Person, Figure Completion, two Form Puzzles, and Drawing on Dictation. Ss included 34 normal children, ages 3-0 to 5-10, and 34 familially retarded children, ages 4-4 to 13-1. The two groups were matched for mental age, socioeconomic status, public school attendance, and intact family structure. Results indicate that familial retardates performed as well as normals and at times surpassed them. Performance on these representational tasks is, predominantly, a function of mental age which lends support to a "developmental" theory of familial retardation and refutes the "defect" hypothesis.     

Required relaxation: a method of inhibiting agitative-disruptive behavior of retardates

Institutionalized retardates frequently exhibit agitative-disruptive behavior. Recent experiments have shown that overcorrective training in specific types of behavior can inhibit inappropriate behavior. A procedure was developed in which overcorrective practice in relaxation was given to each of eight adult retardates for their disruptions. The agitated resident was required to spend a fixed period of time in relaxation in his own bed upon each occurrence of agitation. This overcorrective relaxation resulted in a rapid, enduring and almost complete reduction in such behavior as self-injury, threats, physical aggression, screaming, crying, cursing and tantrums. Ward attendants strongly preferred the required relaxation procedure to the time-out technique and other inhibition procedures they had used. The procedure appears to be about as effective as alternative techniques and to have the advantages of ease of implementation and acceptability by ward staff and retardates as a ‘reasonable’ reaction to agitation.     

Analysis of the control exerted by a complex cooperation procedure

The study examined the effects of the availability of a non-cooperative response on cooperative responding when cooperation did not have to result in an equal distribution of work or reinforcers. Also, an attempt was made to determine if the cooperative responding was under the control of the cooperation procedure. Pairs of institutionalized retardates were tested in full view of each other. For each subject, reinforcers (money) were contingent upon responses on each of two panels: (1) a matching panel for working matching-to-sample problems, and (2) a sample panel for producing the sample stimulus. The matching panels of the two subjects were 6 m apart, but a subject's sample panel could be placed at different distances from his matching panel. For each subject, either his own or his partner's sample panel could be nearest his matching panel such that less walking was required to reach one sample panel than the other. Subjects could work either individually, by producing their own sample stimulus, or cooperatively, by producing the sample stimulus for their partner. Subjects selected whichever solution involved the least amount of walking. The importance of testing for control by the cooperation procedure was indicated by the findings that cooperative-like responses were not always under the control of the cooperation procedure.     

Attention styles of hyperactive and normal girls

Behavioral characteristics and cognitive skills of teacher-identified hyperactive (n=24) and normally active (n=24) first- and second-grade girls were investigated. Teachers rated subjects on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale (TRS). Subjects were given several tasks measuring attentional styles and motor skills. Results suggested that hyperactive girls, like hyperactive boys, have short attention spans and poor concentration when compared with normals. Unlike hyperactive boys, hyperactive girls did not show an impulsive response style, and presented few conduct problems to their teachers. TRS profile patterns of the hyperactive girls were similar to those of hyperactive boys, but cutoff scores currently used for males may not be applicable to females. A direct comparison of hyperactive females and males is advocated.This study is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology, Indiana University, by the first author. Thanks are expressed to the students and teachers of the Monroe County Community School Corporation who took part in the study.     

Selective attention in major depression: clinical retardation and cognitive inhibition]

Relationships between clinical retardation (measured by the Hamilton Depression Inventory) and selective attention (measured with a computerized version of the Stroop word colour test) were studied in a population of 21 depressed patients. Stroop interference was higher in depressed patients than in normals. Desynchronized presentations of the distractor and the target and intervals between responses and succeeding stimuli permitted depressed subjects to respectively apply and lift inhibition of the distractor so that their interference was reduced to control levels. Finally, successive inhibition scores were correlated with the retardation score in depressed subjects. The results are consistent with the hypothesis of a retardation in the application and the lifting of cognitive inhibition in depression.     

Controlled forgetting in the retarded

Three experiments investigated selective rehearsal by retardates in a serial memory task which was an adaptation of Bjork's (1970) paradigm involving instructions to forget a subset of the material presented. Since previous research indicated that retarded children do not selectively rehearse, and since Bjork's paradigm requires the use of a selective rehearsal strategy, it seemed likely that retardates would fail in this task. Experiment 1 showed that retardates could perform this task, and there was substantial evidence for cumulative rehearsal. The possibility of an averaging artifact in the data of Expt 1 was eliminated in Expt 2 by showing evidence of primacy and facilitation due to the forget instruction for individual Ss. Experiment 3 indicated that the facilitation due to the forget instruction was likely due to the effective use of a selective rehearsal strategy. These results contrast with other findings of no rehearsal in retarded children. It is suggested that response biases may be involved in previous studies of rehearsal.     

The psychophysiology of the visual thought perception of visually evoked brain potentials and recognition mechanisms

The study tries to demonstrate, that the combination of the actualgenetic method (Sander, Froehlich), and the VEP, allows a systematic and differentiated analysis of the psychophysiological process of visual thinking. A student group was compared with mental retardates in VEP and EOG, watching actualgenetically manipulated picture series. Phasic EEG-changes are significantly related to the identification process. Most sensitive are amplitude changes about 120 to 270 msec. The mental retardates had significant VEP changes 180--270 msec, the students 128--192 msec after picture presentation. The process factor analysis (Pawlik) elaborated an illumination factor and two factors being labelled general reaction set. VEP averaging over the persons revealed different attention and/or discrimination behavior for the student group and the mental retardates, identifying the picture objects.     

The Carroll Scale for Depression--the German version and validation

The Carroll Rating Scale for Depression, first published by Carroll et al. in 1981, has been translated into German. 28 out-patients and a control-group of 28 normals were submitted to the CRS and, for purposes of validation, to the BECK scale and the diagram HARD. The Carroll Rating Scale is directly based on the Hamilton Rating Scale, but, in contrast, it represents a self rating that should be useful for longitudinal studies.     

Developing proper mealtime behaviors of the institutionalized retarded

The institutionalized mentally retarded display a variety of unsanitary, disruptive, and improper table manners. A program was developed that included (1) acquisition-training of a high standard of proper table manners and (2) maintenance procedures to provide continued motivation to maintain proper mealtime behaviors and decrease improper skills. Twelve retardates received acquisition training, individually, by a combination of verbal instruction, imitation, and manual guidance. The students then ate in their group dining arrangement where the staff supervisor provided continuing approval for proper manners and verbal correction and timeout for improper manners. The results were: (1) the trained retardates showed significant improvement, whereas those untrained did not; (2) the trained retardates ate as well in the institution as non-retarded customers did in a public restaurant; (3) proper eating was maintained in the group dining setting; (4) timeout was rarely needed; (5) the program was easily administered by regular staff in a regular dining setting. The rapidity, feasibility, and effectiveness of the program suggests the program as a solution to improper mealtime behaviors by the institutionalized mentally retarded.