TRAINING AND GENERALIZATION OF REACH-GRASP BEHAVIOR IN BLIND,RETARDED YOUNG CHILDREN

The effects of a graduated prompting treatment procedure were analyzed in three phases of an experiment on the training and generalization of reaching-grasp responding in 2- to 4-year-old blind, severely or profoundly retarded children. In Phase 1, we used a multiple-baseline across-subjects design to investigate the effectiveness of the treatment on midline reach-grasp responding. In Phase 2, we used a reversal design to investigate the effects of repeated implementations and withdrawals of the treatment. In both phases, generalization to right and left positions was measured. In Phase 3, in a multiple-baseline across-responses design, the treatment was implemented in right and left positions. Also in Phase 3, shift of stimulus control from toy-sound to verbal instructions was measured. The results showed that (a) the graduated prompting procedure was effective in training reach-grasp responding in all three children; (b) for one child, the effects were durable over repeated applications of the treatment procedure, but were not maintained during withdrawals; (c) for another child, the treatment procedure was effective in teaching reach-grasp responding in all three positions; and (d) for the same child, training of reach-grasp responding generalized to toys presented without sound, given only the verbal instruction.     

EFFECTS OF DIRECT,INTERMITTENT, AND VICARIOUS REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURES ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF INSTRUCTION-FOLLOWING BEHAVIORS IN A GROUP OF YOUNG CHILDREN1

A group of young children (mean age: 2.5 yr) were instructed to follow different requests by a teacher in a day-care setting. Experiment I verified that mean group instruction following was low (10%) despite the opportunity for “observational learning”, i.e., the group of 12 children could watch a nonreinforced adult comply with the teacher's request. In Experiment II, when positive consequences were provided contingent on the adult model's behavior, mean group instruction following was relatively unaffected (14%). When direct reinforcement was given to four peer models, each for several sessions, the individual performances of three of the four peer models was elevated (from 50% to 80%); however, the mean performance of the remaining nonreinforced children (N = 7) was only moderately affected (21%). When reinforcement contingencies were again changed, so that each group member was provided direct, but intermittent reinforcement, mean group performance increased substantially to levels of over 70%. Once instruction following was high, presentation of reinforcement only to one peer model sufficed to maintain performance whereas earlier, this same vicarious reinforcement procedure had failed to establish group compliance. The maintenance of instruction-following behavior when reinforcement was applied solely to one child was interpreted mainly in terms of a high resistance to extinction following a history of intermittent reinforcement rather than a “vicarious”- or “self”-reinforcement mechanism. Finally, removal and re-introduction of group intermittent reinforcement, respectively, lowered performance (to levels of 40%) and elevated (to levels of 65%) the group's performance.     

THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION AND DAILY CONTACT ON CHILDREN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS APHASIC CHILDREN

Summary . The influences upon attitudes towards aphasic children were studied when ordinary children (ages 9–14) were given explanations of, and contact with, children with motoric aphasia. Subjects were 191 elementary school pupils. In one group no explanation about aphasia was given, and no contact with aphasic children was maintained. In a second group, an explanation was given but no contact was maintained. In the third group, a special class of aphasic children was incorporated within the ordinary school. As a result, daily contact between the ordinary and the aphasic children was maintained. A questionnaire for measuring attitudes towards aphasic children was built and its test-retest reliability was found to be 0.91 (df=37, P<001). The attitude scores were analysed by analysis of variance. A significant main effect of treatment method was found (F (2, 173) = 5.38, P<005). As hypothesised, the attitudes of children exposed to daily contact were less negative than those of children exposed to explanation only. The attitudes of children who were exposed neither to explanation nor to contact were the most negative. A significant main effect of age was found (F (2, 173)= 10.84, P<001). It was revealed, as hypothesised, that attitudes towards aphasic children were more negative in younger children than older ones, and only the attitudes of the 13- to 14-year-old children were in the positive region. A significant interaction between age and treatment method was also found (F (4, 173) = 3.81, P<005). The contact was found to be most effective with the youngest children. The implications of the findings for the general question of attitude formation in children and for the specific question of aphasic children's rehabilitation were discussed.     

USE OF ESCAPE AND REWARD IN THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN DURING DENTAL TREATMENT

A reinforced practice procedure was used to facilitate cooperative behavior in five children, aged 3 to 6 years, during dental treatment. In a multiple baseline design across subjects, the children were rewarded with escape, inexpensive stickers, and praise for cooperative behavior in the presence of the sights, sounds, and some sensations of the dental instruments prior to actual dental treatment. Direct observations of disruptive behavior via a 15-s interval recording system indicated baseline levels as high as 90% were reduced to less than 15% by the final treatment visit. In addition, the procedure was effective in reducing overall heart rate and blood pressure reactivity to dental treatment. All children were rated by the involved dental professionals as more cooperative and relaxed following exposure to reinforced practice.     

EFFECTS OF HIGH-PROBABILITY REQUESTS ON THE ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF RESPONSES TO REQUESTS IN YOUNG CHILDREN WITH BEHAVIOR DISORDERS

The failure to respond to requests in young children often is maintained by the reactions of the adults that encounter this behavior. This failure to respond to requests has been identified as a primary reason for the children's exclusion from community, social, and instructional opportunities. Numerous interventions that target the failure to respond have consisted of punishment and reinforcement procedures. More recently, antecedent interventions have focused on changing the context in which a request is delivered. In the current study, high-probability requests were provided as an antecedent to delivering a low-probability request. The requests were delivered by multiple trainers in an attempt to produce generalized appropriate responding to adults who did not use the high-probability sequence. Results showed an immediate increase in appropriate responding in 2 children when the intervention was delivered. In addition, when the intervention was implemented by more than one adult, spontaneous increases in responding also were observed toward adults who had never implemented the request sequence. Improvements in responding to requests were maintained after the intervention was discontinued.     

幼儿记忆回涨实验研究

以哈尔滨师范大学幼儿园全体幼儿为对象（未经筛选）,采用录音机播放识记材料的方法,对幼儿记忆回涨现象进行了研究。结果发现：幼儿确实存在着不同于艾宾洁斯遗忘曲线的记忆回涨现象,而且年龄不同记忆回涨高峰时间亦不相同;复习与回涨高峰的关系实验结果发现,幼儿记忆回涨高峰期间复习效果最好。     

ATTENTIONAL FLEXIBILITY AND PERSEVERATION: DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS IN YOUNG CHILDREN

Whereas a growing interest in the development of attentional flexibility (AF) and in perseverative behavior, being one marker of this component, exists in neuropsychological studies and in the domain of developmental psychopathology (e.g., PKU, infantile schizophrenia, autism and Parkinson's disease) (Pennington &; Ozonoff, 1996 Pennington, B. and Ozonoff, S. 1996. Executive functions and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37: 51–88. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CSA][Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Stahl &; Pry, 2002 Stahl, L. and Pry, R. 2002. Joint attention and set-shifting in young children with autism. Autism, 6(4): 383–396. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CROSSREF][Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), only a few studies have concerned themselves with this subject in normal children. It is thus of interest to add more empirical data to the existing literature in this domain. Therefore, the aim of our study was to explore the development of AF and of perseverative errors in young preschool children with normal development, aged 1.5 to 6 years. Using set-shifting tasks of increasing difficulty level, three age groups were compared with respect to their AF skills.Results show a developmental factor underlying AF, with different levels of this form becoming more and more complex with age, ranging from a rudimentary visual form to a complex representational form of flexibility. Overall, few perseverative errors occurred and they decreased with age. Results are discussed from a developmental and neuropsychological perspective.     

幼儿从电视中学单词──项伴随学习的研究

对幼儿从电视中伴随学习单词的可能性及其影响因素进行了初步的探讨。４０名小班幼儿和４６名大班幼儿参加了实验,他们在接近自然的状态下观看有字幕的动画片。结果发现：幼儿在无任何指导的情况下观看有字幕的动画片,能伴随学习到汉字,这表明,电视对幼儿的词汇发展有着积极的影响;不同性别的儿童都能同等程度地从电视中伴随学习到单词;词义的伴随学习受幼儿原有的词汇水平和幼儿对目标词熟悉程度的影响;词音的伴随学习只发生在词汇水平较高的幼儿当中,并且随着幼儿对目标词熟悉程度的增加而增加;词音和词义的伴随学习存在频度效应。     

PEER-MEDIATED PROCEDURES TO INDUCE SWALLOWING AND FOOD ACCEPTANCE IN YOUNG CHILDREN

Two studies demonstrated a functional relationship between a peer modeling procedure and the treatment of feeding disorders with 2 young children. In the first experiment, the use of a peer model treatment package was shown to induce swallowing in a child with dysphagia who had never swallowed food or liquid. In the second experiment, a child who consistently declined food was induced to increase food acceptance as a function of the same peer modeling package. In the latter experiment, a peer-mediated procedure, consisting of rotated opportunities to consume food with a peer, was found to increase consumption more than did modeling alone. The first experiment used a multiple baseline design across solids and liquids, and the second used a multiple treatment design. The results of both experiments are discussed as new and nonaversive treatments for feeding disorders of young children who are imitative.     

CATECHOLAMINE EXCRETION IN YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS AS RELATED TO BEHAVIOR

L ambert , W. W., J ohansson , G., F rankenhaeuser , M. & K lackenberg -L arsson , I. Catecholamine excretion in young children and their parents as related to behavior. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1969, 10, 306–318. — Catecholamine excretion in 100 children and their parents was examined in relation to the children's behavior and to data on the parents' disciplinary procedures: ( a ) children's adrenaline excretion was positively correlated with their intellectual level, ( b ) their noradrenaline excretion was positively correlated with that of their mothers, as well as with both parents' age at the birth of the child, ( c ) mothers' adrenaline excretion was positively correlated with the frequency at which the fathers punished their children by smacking, and ( d ) fathers' noradrenaline excretion was negatively correlated with their own as well as with their wives' frequency of smacking their children.     

DIMENSIONS OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMATOLOCY IN MOTHERS OF YOUNG CHILDREN

Although mothers of young children have a higher incidence of depressive symptomatology than do either women who are not mothers or men, very little is known about the psychological nature of this phenomenon. This study examines the way in which psychological dimensions of family relationships are associated with or contribute to this increased risk in married Caucasian mothers raising first-born children. The relationships between maternal depressive symptomatology and recollections of parental relationships during childhood, marital satisfaction, and maternal separation anxiety were examined. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that these three factors explained 35.5% of the variance in maternal depressive symptomatology. These results, in addition to significant zero-order correlations, are discussed in light of the existing psychological literature.     

EFFECTS OF HIGH-PROBABILITY REQUESTS ON THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS OF YOUNG CHILDREN WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES

High-probability requests were used to increase social interactions in 3 young boys with severe disabilities who had been identified as severely socially withdrawn. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of high-probability request intervention on (a) social initiations, (b) social responses, (c) continued interactions, and (d) performance of high- and low-probability requests. The students were observed in a second setting to examine generalization effects across peers who did not participate in the training sequence and settings. The results demonstrated that the high-probability requests increased the students' responsiveness to low-probability requests to initiate social behavior. Increases were also found in (a) unprompted initiations and extended interactions to the training peers, (b) unprompted initiations and extended interactions to peers who were not involved in the training procedure, and (c) generalized unprompted initiations and interactions in a second nontraining setting. The students maintained increased levels of initiations and interactions after all prompts were removed from both the training and nontraining settings.     

儿童青少年大脑认知功能事件相关电位P_（300）的年龄特征

从发展心理学的角度．对幼儿到大学六个年龄组的儿童青少年进行了事件相关电位Ｐ_（３００）测定．结果发现：反映大脑认知功能的事件相关电位Ｐ_（３００）各成分随着年龄增长而发展的趋势十分明显,从而进一步说明了认知发展的特点与大脑高级神经系统活动功能发展特点的密切关系。     

THE EFFECTS OF ECHOLALIA ON ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF RECEPTIVE LABELING IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN

This investigation, consisting of two experiments, was designed to assess the effects of autistic immediate echolalia on acquisition and generalization of receptive labeling tasks. Experiment 1 addressed whether autistic children could use their echolalia to facilitate acquisition. The results indicated that incorporating echolalia (echo of the requested object's label) into the task before manual response (handing the requested object to the experimenter) facilitated receptive labeling. Experiment 2 was designed to determine the effects of incorporating echolalia into task response on acquisition and subsequent generalization. These results indicated that echolalia facilitated generalization for echolalic autistic children but not for functionally mute autistic children. The results of the experiments are discussed in terms of stimulus control. Additionally, it is proposed that perhaps in certain cases, echolalia should not be eliminated, but used to advantage in receptive responding.     

EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR,SUSTAINED ATTENTION,AND A MEMORY TASK IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The effects of caffeine on the behavior of young children is an important issue, as children in our society consume considerable amounts of caffeine, primarily in soft drinks. This study investigated the effects of normative amounts of caffeine on the behavior of 6 normal children in a kindergarten setting. Using a reversal design, counterbalanced for order of conditions, children's behavior was examined during a baseline condition, a caffeinated beverage condition, and a noncaffeinated beverage condition. Measures included direct observation of off-task and gross motor activity, actometer readings of movement, a Continuous Performance Test, a Paired Associates Learning Test, and teacher ratings of classroom behavior. Results suggest that caffeine exerts only small and inconsistent effects on the classroom behavior of kindergarten children. These results cast doubt on the importance of caffeine as a variable controlling the classroom behavior of normal kindergartners.