Using Point-Of-View Video Modeling and Forward Chaining to Teach a Functional Self-Help Skill to a Child with Autism

This study examined the effectiveness of point-of-view video modeling in a forward-chaining procedure to teach a 4-year-old boy with autism to serve himself an afternoon snack. Task analysis was undertaken, and the task was divided into 3 phases with 1 video produced for each phase. A changing criterion design was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention on the participant’s ability to independently prepare and serve himself Weetbix. The results indicated that the combination of point-of-view modeling and forward chaining was effective in teaching the child to serve himself a snack without any prompting. The results also indicated that although the skill was maintained at follow-up, generalization to snacks other than Weetbix and to a different setting was limited. Parents reported satisfaction both with the procedures undertaken and with the outcomes of the intervention.     

Ecocultural Factors in Cognitive Style Among Children From Hills and Plains of Nepal

The predictive value of the ecocultural model in the development of cognitive style was examined among the two cultural groups of Gurungs and Brahmins residing in contrasting ecologies of the hills and plains of Nepal. Acculturative influence of formal schooling was also analyzed. Story–Pictorial EFT (S–P EFT) for measuring cognitive style was administered to 240 children of 6–8 years divided into eight equal sub-groups according to two types of ecologies, two cultures and two levels of education. A 2 × 2 × 2 ANOVA revealed significant main effects of ecology and schooling. Effect of culture was not significant, but it played a significant role in conjunction with ecology. Findings are discussed in the light of relative functional utility of disembedding/analytical skill for the inhabitants of hills and plains.     

Vulnerability of facial attractiveness perception to early and multi-year visual deprivation

Judgments of facial attractiveness invariably accompany our perception of faces. Even neonates appear to be capable of making such judgments in a manner consistent with adults. This suggests that the processes supporting facial attractiveness require little, if any, visual experience to manifest. Here we investigate the resilience of these processes to several years of early-onset visual deprivation. Specifically, we study whether congenitally blind children treated several years after birth possess the ability to rate facial attractiveness in a manner congruent to normally sighted individuals. The data reveal significant individual variability in the way each newly sighted child perceives attractiveness. This is in marked contrast to data from normally sighted controls who exhibit strong across-subject agreement in facial attractiveness ratings. This variability may be attributable, in part, to atypical facial encoding strategies used by the newly sighted children. Overall, our results suggest that the development of facial attractiveness perception is likely to be vulnerable to early visual deprivation, pointing to the existence of a possible sensitive period early in the developmental trajectory.