Browsing by Subject "Cognition in children"
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Item A cognitive and behavior modification technique using cognitive plus make-believe training for preschoolers(Texas Tech University, 1983-05) Lessenberry, Leigh AnnNot availableItem Altering egocentrism and the effects on young children's ability to conserve.(Texas Tech University, 1974-12) Cesare, Mary KathleenNot availableItem An investigation of concept formation in children with learning disabilities(Texas Tech University, 1972-08) Parucka, Mary RobinNot availableItem Cognitive assessment of average and superior children: the Kaufman assessment battery for children versus the Das research battery(Texas Tech University, 1987-05) Hoke, William EugeneThe Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) is a relatively new measure of cognitive/intellectual abilities. Results from the experimental literature have challenged the validity of the K-ABC Sequential Scale with gifted children and the use of optional verbal and manual coaching of test procedures. These subjects were the foci of the present study. The K-ABC was administered to 100 children equally divided into gifted and average-intelligence groups. The Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment Battery was also administered to validate the K-ABC Sequential Scale. As well, subjects were administered measures of receptive language and reading comprehension. Finally, the frequency and patterns of use of "teaching the task" were evaluated. Results of principal component and factor analysis indicated a very strong primary factor in both batteries. Secondary factors were non-significant in factor analysis and minimally significant in principal component analysis. Measures of short-term auditory and visual memory contributed the most variance to the primary factors. Varimax rotation failed to significantly match the a_ priori distribution of subtests along the sequential-simultaneous axes. Findings regarding "teaching the task" revealed that only 8 of the 100 subjects required additional assistance. Overall, results clearly showed that the two-factor model of the K-ABC was not supported with this sample. Results also indicated that the definition and assessment of sequential processing need significant refinement. As a result, the paradigm underlying the K-ABC seems to be tenuous. Future research should concentrate on refining the underlying construct of the K-ABC.Item Cognitive processes of inattention in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes(2003) Booth, Jane Elizabeth; Carlson, Caryn L.The primary objective of this study was to compare and evaluate attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, predominantly inattentive (ADHD/IA) and combined (ADHD/C) types and comparison controls on the Attention Networks Test (ANT), a computer task designed to assess cognitive processes of alerting, orienting, and conflict, associated with three anatomically distinct networks of attention. A secondary aim was to examine the utility of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) as a classification variable for identifying a more cognitively homogeneous subgroup of children with ADHD/IA. Performance results on the ANT demonstrated an attentional distinction between the subtypes, a greater alerting effect ADHD/IA relative to ADHD/C groups. This finding suggests that the cognitive functioning of ADHD subtypes can be distinguished by the efficiency of the alerting network of attention. Groups did not differ on measures of orienting or conflict. Findings for the utility of SCT as a classification variable in this sample were mixed. Several items presumed to measure this construct did not distinguish between the ADHD subtypes. High SCT in ADHD/IA, as determined by scores on a two-item composite, was associated with slower task performance and a greater alerting effect, though these effects were nonsignificant and small. Results provide support for the neurocognitive distinction of ADHD/IA and ADHD/C subtypes and suggest further consideration of SCT symptoms in subtype classification.Item Item "Do you know what I think?": a cross-linguistic investigation of children's understanding of mental state words(2004) Souza, Debora Hollanda; Echols, Catharine H.Two studies were conducted to: (1) investigate children’s developing understanding of mental state words , specifically “think” and “know,” and (2) explore possible differences between U.S. English-speaking and Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children in their understanding of these words. Brazilian Portuguese is of interest because it has two words for “think” (one indicating a lesser degree of certainty, ‘achar,’ and another indicating the process of thinking, ‘pensar’) and two words for “know” (one indicating knowing a fact, ‘saber,’ and another indicating knowing a person, ‘conhecer’). Predictions were that there would be developmental changes in the understanding of these words and that having such distinctions marked in their language would help Brazilian children in the process of acquiring a conceptual understanding of “think” and “know.” In Study 1, 48 English-speaking children, divided into three age groups (21⁄2, 31⁄2, and 41⁄2) participated in a series of tasks during which the degree of certainty about the identity of an object was varied. Children were asked “Do you know that this is a .... or do you think that this is a ....?” In Study 2, 32 Brazilian Portuguese-speaking and 32 English-speaking children in each of 3 age groups (4, 5, and 6) saw a series of videotaped scenarios during which the two senses of “know” and the two senses of “think” were indicated by novel words. Participants were asked to interpret the novel words. Children also were asked metalinguistic questions regarding whether each pair of words differed in meaning. Results suggest that a complete understanding of these mental state words starts emerging at age 4 and that an understanding of “know” may precede an understanding of “think.” The effects of language were less than anticipated. The two senses of “think” and “know” that were tested may be represented conceptually by U.S. children even if they are not marked in the language. Nonetheless, having the distinctions marked in the language appear to increase older children’s awareness of the distinctions at a metalinguistic level.Item Logo and learning: does Logo training increase the use of formal operational thought?(Texas Tech University, 1987-08) Hyink, Barbara Gale WalkerThe purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Logo training on seventh grade students' use of formal operational thought as described by Piaget, on higher level thinking skills as described in Bloom's taxonomy, and on levels of creative thought as described by Torrance. Logo is a computer programming language developed to help children develop higher level thinking skills. Supporters claim that its use may make abstract concepts more concrete for the learner, and thus allow the learner to advance to levels of formal thought. Much anecdotal evidence has been collected to support this claim, but little positive evidence has come from traditional experimental research. This study followed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design because random assignment to treatment groups was impractical. The experimental subjects were 25 seventh graders identified as being the "best" sixth-grade computer students during the previous year. Students in the experimental group were enrolled in a one-semester class (approximately eighty-five 50 minute periods) devoted to Logo programming. Control subjects were 30 seventh graders at a different junior high, similarly identified, and who received no Logo instruction during the treatment period. Students in both groups had from one to three years prior computer instruction including some Logo.Item Metamemory knowledge and application in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a developmental perspective(Texas Tech University, 1997-12) Folstrom Bergeron, Brenda MarieChildren with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) typically demonstrate significant difficulties producing and achieving in the academic setting. Research efforts are needed to illuminate the effects deficits associated with the primary characteristics of ADHD have on other cognitive processes. Such efforts are imperative to defining effective instruction and remediation that is specific to the learning needs of the ADHD child. Investigations undertaken thus far have consistently demonstrated that ADHD children do not exhibit deficits in memory capacity or show deficiency on memory and learning tasks that require automatic or less effortful, strategic processing (e.g., Benezra & Douglas, 1988). ADHD children, in contrast, show impairment on tasks requiring more effortful, planful deliberate operations (e.g., August & Garfinkel, 1990). The nature of the ADHD children's performance on such tasks is less clear. It is not understood, for example, whether children with ADHD lack or are delayed in acquiring knowledge of effective strategies or have the appropriate knowledge, but fail to apply it.Item Modeling and motor performance: an examination of model similarity and model types on children's motor performance(Texas Tech University, 1999-05) Griffin, L. KentBased on Bandura's social learning theory (1977), social cognitive theory (1986) and Yando et al. (1978) this study will examine the effect of model similarity (i.e., gender) and the effect of model type (i.e., learning/skilled) on children's acquisition, retention, and transfer of a novel motor task.Item Piagetian assessment of the cognitive stages of development of four-through seven-year-olds(Texas Tech University, 1985-05) Gaines, Betty LandNot availableItem Piagetian Spatial Concepts Related to Aural Space and The Young Child(Texas Tech University, 1981-08) Jones, Fae LNot Available.Item Reflection-Impulsivity in the Play of Preschool Children(Texas Tech University, 1979-05) Asher, Rita AnnNot Available.Item Relationship between empathy, IQ, and perspective-taking in young children(Texas Tech University, 1982-05) Strand, Janice KNot availableItem The relationship between executive functions and broad written language skills in students ages 12 to 14 years old(2004) Hargrave, Jennifer Leann; Semrud-Clikeman, MargaretItem Relationship between make-believe play and cognitive and social understanding skills(Texas Tech University, 1981-05) Mehran, MaryamNot availableItem Relationship of childrearing practices to the development of logico-mathematical skills in children aged five through eight(Texas Tech University, 1980-08) Brewer, Jo AnnNot availableItem The nature of the relationship between cognitive-developmental level and mental imagery(Texas Tech University, 1984-12) Asher, Rita AnnThe present study assessed the relationship between the development of mental imagery and the acquisition of concrete-operational thought. Piaget and Inhelder’s theory (1971) that mental imagery progresses in a predictable and hierarchical structure from reproductive-static imagery to forms of imagery that are kinetic and involve anticipation was assessed among sixty middle-socioeconomic children between 5 and 14 years. The children’s cognitive-developmental levels were operationalized by a composite of scores on tasks of conservation, animism, and combinatorial reasoning. Two weeks following the cognitive assessment, the children were tested individually for five types of mental imagery—reproductive—static imagery, reproductive-kinetic imagery, anticipatory-kinetic imagery, reproductive images of transformation, and anticipatory images of transformation. Co relational analyses and analysis of variance procedures measured the relationships between the development of mental imagery and that of cognition. As hypothesized, a canonical correlation confirmed a positive relationship between cognitive development and mental imagery r(58)=.87, p<.0001. However, a multivariate, repeated-measures analysis of variance that compared the children’s frequency of correct responses with their responses to the five imagery tasks determined that the five types of mental imagery occurred in varying developmental sequences for children with different cognitive abilities. No consistent hierarchy within mental imagery development was determined. Finally, one-way ANOVA’s compared the scores of children with different cognitive levels on each mental imagery task. For every type of mental imagery, concrete-operational children scored significantly higher than preoperational children, although all types of mental imagery were present to some degree at both operational levels. As Piaget and Inhelder (1971) suggested, the movement from preoperational to concrete-operational thought was highly related to the development of mental imagery. However, the results of the present study demonstrated only quantitative changes in imagery development; children’s proficiency with all types of mental imagery increased with the acquisition of concrete-operational thought. Evidence demonstrating a consistent hierarchy of imagery structure was not determined within this study’s sample.Item The relationship between response speed and stereotyped behavior in children(Texas Tech University, 1986-08) Plumlee, Gary G.The relationship between response latency and stereotyped behavior in young children was investigated using a concept identification task. Thirty-eight reflective and impulsive students selected on the basis of scores on the Matching Familiar Figures Test were obtained from kindergarten and second-grade elementary school students. Subjects were administered five discrimination learning problems using blank-trial probes. Kindergarten subjects showed significantly more position stereotypes than did second-grade subjects. Response latencies on experimental tasks were significantly shorter for second-grade subjects than for kindergarten subjects. Reflective subjects did not significantly differ from impulsive subjects in the use of stereotypes. A significant correlation was obtained between increased latency to responding and stereotyped patterns of responding. The results were interpreted as not supporting the concept of reflection-impulsivity or models of discrimination learning based on Piagetian theory. The critical role of pretraining procedures in investigations of hypothesis behavior in children was discussed.