Eliot J. Butter

Can Cognitive Impulsivity be Predicted from Classroom Behavior

Abstract The intent of this study was to document general behavioral correlates of cognitive impulsivity. Fourth-grade children were individually administered the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) test, and the resulting measures (latency and errors) were correlated with a group administered scale of impulsivity, the Impulsivity Scale for Children (ISC) and eight teacher ratings evaluating the child on a series of different behaviors. No relationships existed between MFF measures and the ISC; and only one teacher rating correlated significantly with either MFF variable. This teacher rating (tendency to respond) was found to be the only discriminating teacher rating, and the high correlation between it and the MFF latency was explained because of the high task similarity between MFF requirements and the behaviors rated on “tendency to respond.” Cognitive impulsivity was not predicted by classroom behavior, implying that an individuals preferred conceptual tempo is not a part of a global impulsive behavior p...

Are two hands better than one? assessing information acquired from one- and two-handed haptic exploration of random forms.

15 male undergraduates were presented with 10-sided random forms which they explored visually, or one-handed haptically, or two-handed haptically. Forms were exposed for various durations and subjects were required to draw each form immediately after its removal. The results indicated that 30 sec of one-handed exploration and 20 and 30 sec of two-handed exploration produced performance comparable to just 2 sec. of visual exploration. Two-handed exploration was significantly superior to one-handed exploration only at the 20-sec. exposure duration. These results illustrate the disparity in the information-gathering capabilities between the visual and haptic systems.

FACILITATIVE EFFECTS OF HAPTIC TRAINING ON CHILDREN'S VISUAL PROBLEM SOLVING

39 fourth grade children exposed to a haptic (active touch) match-to-sample task made significantly fewer posttest errors, relative to control subjects, on a visual problem-solving task. Further, this reduction in errors was comparable to that shown by children who had received specific training in reflective problem-solving. The results were discussed in terms of the possible facilitative effects exposure to a haptic task can have on childrens visual problem-solving.

Performance of good and poor readers at two grade levels on an Auditory Cognitive Style Task

Abstract Sixty-four good and poor readers at first and third grades were administered a task measuring cognitive style in the auditory modality. They were also administered the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) to obtain a measure of IQ. Poor readers committed significantly more errors and exhibited shorter response latencies on the Auditory Cognitive Style Task than did good readers. More importantly, poor readers demonstrated inefficient strategies for successful performance. It was suggested that good reading skills, as well as successful performance on the auditory task, require a certain degree of planfulness and self-monitoring activity on the part of the child which was apparently absent in the poor reader. Furthermore, it was proposed that the cognitive style variable, conceptual tempo, may be better viewed within the framework of the concept of metacognition.

Effect of Order of Presentation on Simultaneous and Sequential Matching Familiar Figures Tests.

48 third grade children were administered both the standard, simultaneous version of the Matching Familiar Figures and a sequential presentation version of the same test. Order of administration of the two formats was counterbalanced. Subjects who took the simultaneous version first committed fewer errors on the sequential version than did subjects who took the more difficult sequential version first. This same finding was reported in other research by the authors and suggests that performance on the easier task primes the subject for the later administration of the more difficult task. Implications for teaching problem-solving skills and the cognitive style literature were presented.

Moral Judgments by Children of the Intentional Behavior of Friends and Strangers

Abstract Piagets suggestion that cooperation influences the childs use of intention-ality was studied by testing 84 first-, second-, and third-grade boys and girls with modified moral judgment stories. Both friends and strangers were judged in the context of two different story types. It was expected that intentions would be utilized to a greater degree when judging friends owing to previous cooperative experiences with friends. A significant story character by story type interaction (p < .001) was found and indicated an apparent acceleration in the childs use of intentionality in stories where consideration of intentions lead to the less severe judgments of friends. Results were discussed in terms of the childs selective use of intentionality.