Herbert C. Quay

Personality Patterns of Pupils in Special Classes for the Emotionally Disturbed

Four hundred forty-one children in public school classes for the emotionally disturbed were rated by their teachers on a checklist of problem behaviors. Factor analysis of the intercorrelations of the behaviors indicated that three factors could account for 16 percent of the variance. These were labeled conduct problem or unsocialized aggression, inadequacy-immaturity, and personality problem or neuroticism. Results were consonant with similar studies of other groups of problem children. The results also suggest the likelihood that differential programs for emotionally disturbed children will be necessary, depending upon their primary behavioral characteristics.

A study of "minimal cerebral dysfunction".

This paper reports the study of 83 children with a diagnosis of ‘minimal cerebral dysfunction’. Minimum criteria for inclusion in the study were any one of the following:

Remediation of the Conduct Problem Child in the Special Class Setting

This paper describes principles and assumptions which underlie an experimental special class for conduct problem children which has been developed cooperatively by an interdisciplinary university research center and a public school. A conceptualization of the nature of childrens behavior disorders is offered, and some principles of behavior modification and remediation of academic deficiencies are discussed. Some particular characteristics of the conduct problem child relevant to the education process are outlined. Also considered are factors relevant to remediational efforts within the public school setting, including the problem of group versus individual techniques, the role of mental health professionals, the place of other than classroom treatment, the goals of the special class, and the utilization in the regular class of techniques developed in the special class.

Conditioning visual orientation of conduct problem children in the classroom

Five hyperactive, aggressive children in a special class served as Ss in an experiment designed to increase visual orientation toward the teacher. E observed Ss individually while they were listening to a story read by the teacher. After baseline, if S looked at the teacher continuously during a 10-second observation period, he was reinforced by a light flash which appeared in a small box attached to his desk, followed by candy and/or social reinforcement for the number of light flashes he had earned. The mean number of visual orientation responses significantly increased in the candy plus social reinforcement phase. Although there was a significant decrease in mean number of responses from the last time block of candy plus social reinforcement to the first time block of social reinforcement alone, the mean number of responses significantly increased in the social reinforcement phase, and the mean number of responses significantly decreased in the extinction phase.

Personality Patterns in Pre-Adolescent Delinquent Boys12:

IN a series of prior studies Tve have attempted to determine the principal dimensions of personality associated with juvenile delinquency in samples of institutionalized adolescents. The factorial analysis of data obtained from case histories (Quay, 1964b), questionnaire responses (Peterson, Quay and Cameron, 1959; Peterson, Quay and Tiffany, 1961; Quay and Peterson, 1964), and ratings of problem behavior (Quay, 1964a) has revealed a remarkable conceptual similarity in factor structure. Generally, the majority of variance is accounted for by three factors which we have labeled psychopathic-unsocialized, neurotic-disturbed, and subculturalsocialized. A fourth factor, usually accounting for less than 10 percent of the variance, has also emerged on occasion and we have called this vector inadequacy-immaturity. This structure also bears considerable similarity to that suggested by other studies of problem behavior in nondelinquent as well as delinquent children. (Hewitt and Jenkins, 1946; Jenkins and Glickmnn, 1947; Peterson, 1961 ; Quay and Quay, 1965). Since the development of a system of statistically covarying and

The facets of educational exceptionality: a conceptual framework for assessment, grouping, and instruction.

A framework for understanding educational exceptionality in terms of stimulus, response, and reinforcement is offered. Every educationally exceptional child is seen as having some measurable defect in one of 41 areas which represent points of interaction of receptive functioning, response mechanisms, and responsivity to reinforcement. The framework provides a guideline for assessment, for grouping for instruction, and for remedial techniques in terms of observable behavioral variables.

Disease Ideology and Mental Health Research

The belief system underlying medical science has been applied to more and more social problems. The disease model is sketched as an ideology having important consequences for mental illness research as well as treatment and public policy. New definitions of mental illness are noted. These definitions have in common the premises of overt behavior judged as deviant in relation to a social situation; and none of the definitions assume a disease process. Research propositions, generated from other frames of reference, are advanced. These propositions are thought to demonstrate that research of relevance to social and behavioral science could result, if the hidden assumptions of the disease ideology are replaced with other notions.

A Method of Observing Classroom Behavior of Emotionally Disturbed Children

The measurement of emotional disturbance in children has two broad facets: (a) diagnosis of emotional disturbance or differentiation from normality for purposes of treatment, such as placement in special classes for the emotionally disturbed, and (b) assessment of change in an emotionally disturbed childs condition, particularly as a function of treatment. The authors describe a technique developed at the University of Illinois for the measurement of classroom adjustrnent of elementary school children by means of direct frequency counts of a number of behaviors, some deviant and some work related. The technique also provides some information on teacher-pupil relationship in terms of the frequency and nature of contacts. An advantage is that the technique can be performed by a relatively unskilled observer without any professional experience. Experience with the instrument in both regular and special classes (for the emotionally disturbed) has shown it (a) to be of satisfactory interjudge reliability; (b) to have value as a dependent variable measure of particular therapeutic interventions such as medication, use of reward systems, ete.; (c) to be useful as a general instrument to assessa childs progress in a special class setting and the success of his rehabilitation into a regular class; and (d) to hold potential as a diagnostic instrument for discriminating between normal and emotionally disturbed children.

Research on Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Selected Essays

S uccess in the education of exceptional children is currently being seriously attenuated by the lack of basic knowledge about almost all facets of exceptionality. Many present day programs and practices are not based on firm empirical foundations. The recent review in this journal by Johnson regarding the effectiveness of special class placement for the mentally retarded leads directly to the conclusion that these programs, representing an area of major emphasis in special education. arc lacking in some fundamental ways. The essays to follow are not intended to be fact-presenting reviews of the literature. The task set for the essayists is fundamentally that of problem-posing rather than problem-solving. Their primary aim is to point out research needs and the problems attendant upon meeting such needs. While each area has its special problems, a number of commonalities among all areas is evident. The problem of definition and the influence of definition on what is to be studied about whom remains a central concern. Similarly. questions relative to identification and measurement continue to be asked. In all areas the need for more research seems obvious. The need for better research is perhaps less apparent. Better research involves the combination of two major factors: intelligent and creative hypothesis formation and an ap-