J. Melvin Witmer

The effects of verbal approval and disapproval upon the performance of third and fourth grade children on four subtests of the Wechsler intelligence scale for children

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of three modes of test administration upon the performance of third and fourth grade boys and girls on four subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Ninety Ss were randomly assigned to three groups, two experimental and one control. Each of the three groups was subdivided to enable two examiners to administer the same treatment. The Approval group was given verbal approval after the first response in each subtest and between subtests. Verbal disapproval was given in the same sequence for the Disapproval group. The Neutral group received the standard test administration without any intended approval or disapproval. For both examiners the Approval group performed significantly higher (p < .05) than the Disapproval group; the Neutral group performed higher than the Disapproval group and lower than the Approval group, although the differences were slightly less than significant at the .05 level.

The Factorial Validity of the Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale for a Sample of Intermediate-Level EMR Students Enrolled in Elementary School.

Several factor analytic studies have obtained encouraging but inconclusive evidence for the construct validity of the Piers-Harris Childrens Self-Concept Scale. In this study scores on the Piers-Harris scale from a sample of elementary-school-age, educable mentally retarded subjects were factor analyzed. Partial support for the construct validity of the Piers-Harris scale was obtained by replicating Piers-Harris factors bearing on physical appearance and behavior. Some support was also found for Piers-Harris factors reflecting popularity, academic ability, and anxiety. The factor analytic results are compared with those from other studies. Suggestions for future research include more clearly defining emotionally toned factors, broadening the response structure of the Piers-Harris scale, considering maturational effects in attempting to replicate factors across age periods, and searching for a general self-concept factor.