Development of learning-disabled and normally achieving children's causal attributions

The causal attributions of learning-disabled (LD) and normally achieving (NA) children in grades 3 through 8 were compared. Attributions were measured by two scales that asked children to attribute hypothetical academic failure situations to factors that were either within (e.g., insufficient effort) or beyond (e.g., insufficient ability, blaming others) their control. Consistent with a learned helplessness hypothesis, LD girls, regardless of age, were more likely than NA children to attribute their failures to factors beyond their control. In contrast, LD boys' explanations for their failures paralleled those of NA children. That is, with increasing age the LD boys were more likely to attribute their failures to insufficient effort. Explanations and implications of sex differences in developmental patterns of LD children's causal attributions are discussed.The authors wish to thank Ruth Dusseault and Betty Wallace for their help in conducting this research. We also wish to thank the teachers, children, and administrators from the Leon County Schools for their cooperation.     

Reflex modification in the rat: the inhibitory effects of intensity and frequency changes in steady tones

In laboratory rats (as in humans) a low-intensity tone that precedes a high-intensity burst of noise by approximately 100 ms can reduce the amplitude of the startle reaction elicited by the burst of noise. A series of four experiments with rats investigated the relation between the inhibitory effects of tonal frequency change and the length of the silent period (gap) preceding it. The major findings were the following: (a) A gap in an otherwise continuous pure tone inhibited startle when the gap occurred approximately 100 ms prior to the noise burst. (b) Although an increase in gap duration increased the inhibition afforded by the gap, the maximum inhibition was yielded by gaps of 100 ms and greater; this maximum was equivalent to the inhibition yielded by the presentation of a postgap tone alone. (c) A shift in tonal frequency across a 10-ms gap yielded more inhibition than did the same gap with no frequency shift; again the shift yielded equivalent inhibition to the presentation of the postgap tone alone. (d) An increase in the frequency shift increased inhibition when the shift occurred across a 10-ms gap, but not when the shift occurred across a 100-ms gap.     

A longitudinal study of the development of spatial conceptual ability

During October and November of 1983, three subsamples were selected from three schools in Mesa, Arizona: 34 students in 6th grade, 34 students in 8th grade, and 34 students in 10th grade. A battery of Piagetian-type tasks were individually and randomly administered to each subject. Seven tasks examined projective spatial conceptual abilities, and three tasks examined Euclidean abilities. The same battery of tasks was again administered to the same subjects during November and December of 1984 when all the subjects were in the next grade, that is, 7th, 9th, and 11th. Because of attrition, the number of students tested during the second year were 33, 30, and 28, respectively. To test for significant differences between grade levels, a chi-square one-sample procedure was used. Out of a possible 50 tasks, significant differences were detected in 36 (72%). Those findings, along with an examination of the percentage of students passing each task, support the notion of sequential development of spatial conceptual abilities.     

Intuition in insight and noninsight problem solving

People’s metacognitions, both before and during problem solving, may be of importance in motivating and guiding problem-solving behavior. These metacognitions could also be diagnostic for distinguishing among different classes of problems, each perhaps controlled by different cognitive processes. In the present experiments, intuitions on classic insight problems were compared with those on noninsight and algebra problems. The findings were as follows: (1) subjective feeling of knowing predicted performance on algebra problems but not on insight problems; (2) subjects’ expectations of performance greatly exceeded their actual performance, especially on insight problems; (3) normative predictions provided a better estimate of individual performance than did subjects’ own predictions, especially on the insight problems; and, most importantly, (4) the patterns-of-warmth ratings, which reflect subjects’ feelings of approaching solution, differed for insight and noninsight problems. Algebra problems and noninsight problems showed a more incremental pattern over the course of solving than did insight problems. In general, then, the data indicated that noninsight problems were open to accurate predictions of performance, whereas insight problems were opaque to such predictions. Also, the phenomenology of insight-problem solution was characterized by a sudden, unforeseen flash of illumination. We propose that the difference in phenomenology accompanying insight and noninsight problem solving, as empirically demonstrated here, be used to define insight.     

A scale for measuring persistence in children

Persistence and its assessment have been studied since the 1920s. One common approach in measuring persistence has been through testing the subject's ability to solve difficult or monotonous problems. Another approach has been through questionnaires. Although persistence is very important in academic achievement and in the general development of personality, no questionnaires have been developed for measuring persistence in children. The present research concerns the development of such a scale. It includes 40 items and was tested on 322 Israeli children aged 7-13. The internal reliability of the scale (Cronbach alpha) was .66, and the test-retest reliability after 6 months was .77. The scale differentiated active gymnasts from non-gymnasts as well as persistent gymnasts from dropout gymnasts. In addition, significant correlations were found between the scale and the need-persistence measure of the Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study, Locus of Control, and other measures. We discuss these findings along with the significance of persistence in everyday life.     

Investigation of a social-interactional model of depression with mildly depressed males and females

Recent research has explored social-interactional factors in the etiology and maintenance of depression. The current investigation further explored the social-interactional model using face-to-face interactions between depressed and nondepressed individuals, as well as the applicability of this model to observed differences in male and female depression. Forty depressed and 40 nondepressed subjects interacted with same or opposite-sex partners. The 20-minute interactions were videotaped and scored with a behavioral coding system. Subjects completed questionnaires concerning perceptions of their partners and the interaction. Results indicated that depressed and non-depressed subjects behaved similarly during the interactions. However, depression was associated with a number of socially unskilled behaviors. Depression in males was related to additional skills deficits not observed for females. While male and female self-report of depression did not differ, males consistently reported greater negative affect. Partner impressions differed based upon sex of partner, and not his or her level of depression. The robustness of the social-interactional model and methodological considerations for future research with this model are discussed.This article is based on the first author's master's thesis conducted under the supervision of the second author who is now at Catholic University. Portions of this research were presented at the 32nd annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association.The authors wish to thank George A. Clum and Thomas H. Ollendick for serving as committee members; Teresa K. Meade for her invaluable help in data collection; and Katie Bechtel, Ruth Townsley, and Mike Cobler for their assistance in scoring and coding data. Thanks also to an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.