Attentional characteristics and teachers ratings in hyperactive, reading disabled, and normal boys

Impulsivity, intelligence, and discriminating reinforcement contingencies in a fixed-ratio 3 schedule

Research conducted in academic contexts suggests a moderating effect of impulsive behavior on the relationship between aptitude and achievement. According to these studies, intelligence scores being equal, higher levels of impulsivity have an adverse effect on achievement (Helmers, Young, & Pihl, 1995; Vigil-Colet & Morales-Vives, 2005; Zeidner, 1995). The present study aims to contrast the aforementioned moderator effect in the context of a discriminant learning task, carried out under a fixed-ratio 3 reinforcement schedule. To that end, an impulsive behavioral pattern was identified in a sample of 1,600 participants' task execution based on response rate and latency. Said pattern was consistent and stable across several trials and can be ascribed to subjects' interactive style (Hernández, 2000). The observed interaction effect supports the hypothesis that impulsivity has a moderating effect on the aptitude-achievement relationship, highlighting how it impacts achievement differentially depending on the subject's level of aptitude.

Psychometric Properties of a Spanish Adaptation of the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT-20)

Summary: This study constitutes the first stage of the Spanish adaptation of the Matching Familiar Figures Test 20 (MFFT-20; Cairns & Cammock, 1978 ). The normative data for reflexivity-impulsivity and efficiency-inefficiency were obtained by means of the Salkind and Wright formula (1977) . The study sample was composed of 700 Spanish children, aged 6 to 12. This paper presents the results for reliability and latency-error correlation. The development of errors and latencies at older ages and gender differences were also analyzed. No significant differences between boys and girls were observed with respect to any of the variables. A high reliability was established for errors as well as for latencies. Errors decreased and latency increased with age. It is important to note that the data for both sexes at 8, 9, and 10 years of age reveal a stabilization in the latencies even though the errors continue to decrease. The psychometric properties of the Spanish adaptation of the MFFT-20 are discussed. Results are analyzed by examining the instrument's validation using the normative data presented here. The study concludes that the MFFT-20 is a reliable and valid measure of reflexivity-impulsivity.

An examination of youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and language learning disabilities: a clinical study

This study examined the performance of 96 youth hospitalized at an acute-care psychiatric hospital on a battery of language measures. The participants were separated into four groups: (a) participants with language learning disabilities (LLD; n = 14), (b) participants with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 26), (c) participants with both ADHD and LLD (ADHD/LLD; n = 18), (d) participants with neither ADHD nor LLD (Neither; n = 38). Participants with ADHD/LLD performed significantly more poorly than did the ADHD group or the Neither group on measures of phonology and syntax, but not semantics. However, participants with ADHD/LLD did not significantly differ from participants with LLD on a majority of language-based measures. This finding suggests that participants with ADHD/LLD have profiles more similar to those of participants with LLD than participants with ADHD. Educational implications for instruction for students with ADHD/LLD are presented.

The performance of attention-deficit-disordered and normal children on conservation tasks

The present study was designed to investigate whether a specific subgroup of learning-disabled children (attention-deficit-disordered, ADD) differed from their normal counterparts on Piagetian tasks of conservation. The subjects were 34 third-and fourth-grade children. Seventeen children had been diagnosed as ADD; the remaining half were designated as normal. The two groups were equivalent in chronological age, mental age, and intelligence. The results indicated significant differences between the two groups on tasks tapping conservation of substance and number. These results may support the theory of a lag in the development of conservation in children with specific learning disabilities (ADD). Implications of the present research for therapeutic and remedial programs that serve ADD children are also discussed.

Methylphenidate and cognitive therapy: a comparison of treatment approaches with hyperactive boys

This study of hyperactive boys evaluated the effects of three modes of treatment in relation to an untreated group. The treatments were administered over a 3-month period and included cognitive training, stimulant drug therapy (methylphenidate), and the two treatments combined. A follow-up assessment was conducted approximately 3 months after contact between the training staff and the child had ceased. Analyses of attentional deployment and cognitive style measures, tests of academic achievement, and behavioral ratings showed that only those children in the two medication treatment conditions demonstrated improvement in attentional deployment and behavioral ratings. In the cognitive therapy condition, there were changes only on measures of attentional deployment. The data did not provide evidence indicating that the combined medication and cognitive therapy condition was any more effective than that condition involving medication alone. Discussion provides future guidelines for evaluation of the relative effectiveness of stimulant drug therapy and other psychological treatment modalities.