Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T08:13:12.786Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Separable/integral classification by hyperactive and normal children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Kiran Amin ,
Virginia I. Douglas ,
Morton J. Mendelson  and
Joan Dufresne
Kiran Amin*
Affiliation:
McGill University
Virginia I. Douglas
Affiliation:
McGill University
Morton J. Mendelson
Affiliation:
McGill University
Joan Dufresne
Affiliation:
McGill University
*
Address reprint requests to: Dr. Kiran Amin, Samaritan Rehabilitation Institute, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, 1012 E. Willetta, Phoenix, AZ 85006.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This research tested the hypothesis that information-processing deficits associated with hyperactivity implicate a self-regulatory dysfunction. Hyperactive and control children were compared on nonspeeded classification tasks. In Studies 1 and 2, children classified sets of either three (triads) or four (tetrads) stimuli. The stimuli varied simultaneously on size and brightness or on length and density. They could be classified analytically (separably) on the basis of identical values for one dimension and holistically (integrally) on the basis of overall similarity. Control children made an equal number of dimensional classifications for triads and for tetrads. As predicted, however, hyperactive children made fewer dimensional classifications for tetrads, suggesting that they apparently resorted to less effortful holistic responding under the increased processing load. In an unexpected finding in Study 1, older hyperactive children appeared to behave like younger controls, making more dimensional classifications when size, rather than brightness, was the shared dimension. Study 3 explored the possibility that hyperactive children lagged behind the controls in their responding to the shared dimensions. Three age groups of normal children (mean ages: 5, 8, and 11 years) and adults were asked to classify stimuli that varied on size and brightness. Consistent with the lag hypothesis, normal preschoolers behaved like the young hyperactive children in Study 1, classifying equally on the basis of size and brightness. The discussion focuses on the contribution of processing load and stimulus salience to the cognitive deficits of hyperactive children.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , Summer 1993 , pp. 415 - 431
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
August, C. J. (1987). Production deficiencies in free recall: A comparison of hyperactive, learning-disabled and normal children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 15, 429–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barkley, R. A., Grodzinsky, G., & DuPaul, G. J. (1992). Frontal lobe functions in attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity: A review and research report. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20, 163–188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blishen, B. R., & McRoberts, H. A. (1976). A revised socioeconomic index for occupations in Canada. Canadian Review of Sociology & Anthropology, 13, 71–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chelune, G. J., Ferguson, W., Koon, R., & Dickey, T. O. (1986). Frontal lobe disinhibition in attention deficit disorder. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 16, 221–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, N. J., Weiss, G., & Minde, K. (1972). Cognitive styles in adolescents previously diagnosed as hyperactive. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 3, 203–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Douglas, V. I. (1983). Attentional and cognitive problems. In Rutter, M. (Ed.), Developmental neuropsychiatry (pp. 280–329). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Douglas, V. I. (1988). Cognitive deficits in children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines (Monograph Supplement). Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Douglas, V. I., & Benezra, E. (1990). Supraspan verbal memory in ADD-H, normal and reading disabled boys. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 18, 617–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Douglas, V. I., & Peters, K. G. (1979). Toward a clearer definition of the attentional deficit of hyperactive children. In Hale, G. A. & Lewis, M. (Eds.), Attention and cognitive development (pp. 173–248). New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1981). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Flavell, J. H. (1977). Cognitive development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Garner, W. R. (1974). The processing of information and structure. Potomac, MD: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Gibson, E. J. (1969). Principles of perceptual learning and development. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.Google Scholar
Goyette, C. H., Conners, C. K., & Ulrich, R. F. (1978). Normative data on revised Conners parent and teacher rating scales. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 6, 221–236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamlett, K. W., Pellegrini, D. S., & Conners, C. K. (1987). An investigation of executive processes in the problem-solving of attention deficit disorder hyperactive children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 12, 229–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hopkins, J., Perlman, T., Hechtman, L., & Weiss, G. (1979). Cognitive style in adults originally diagnosed as hyperactives. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry & Allied Disciplines, 20, 209–216.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Houghton, R. R., & Tabachnick, B. G. (1979). Muller-Lyer illusion in hyperactive boys. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 12, 18–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoy, E., Weiss, G., Minde, C., & Cohen, N. (1978). The hyperactive child at adolescence: Cognitive, emotional and social functioning. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 67, 311–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kemler, D. G. (1983). Holistic and analytic modes in perceptual and cognitive development. In Tighe, T. J. & Shepp, B. E. (Eds.), Perception, cognition, and development: Interactional analyses (pp. 77–102). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Kinsbourne, M. (1977). The mechanism of hyperactivity. In Blau, M., Papin, I. & Kinsbourne, M. (Eds.), Topics in child neurology (pp. 289–306). New York: Spectrum Press.Google Scholar
Messer, S. (1976). Reflection-impulsivity: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 83, 1026–1052.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milich, R., & Kramer, J. (1981). Reflections on impulsivity: An empirical investigation of impulsivity as a construct. In Gadow, K. D. & Bialer, I. (Eds.), Advances in Learning and Behavioural Disabilities (Vol. III, pp. 57–94). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Miller, P. H. (1979). Stimulus dimensions, problem solving and Piaget. In Hale, G. A. & Lewis, M. (Eds.), Attention and cognitive development (pp. 97–118), New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Neill, M. E., & Douglas, V. I. (1991). Study strategies and story recall in attention deficit disorder, reading disabled and normal boys. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 19, 671–692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Neill, M. E., & Douglas, V. I. (1993). Rehearsal strategies and recall performance in attention deficit disorder and normal boys. Manuscript submitted for publication.Google Scholar
Parry, P. (1973). The effect of reward on the performance of hyperactive children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, McGill University, Montreal.Google Scholar
Rovet, J. (1980). A parametric measure of reflection-impulsivity. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 1, 221–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepp, B. E. (1978). From perceived similarity to dimensional structure: A new hypothesis about perceptual development. In Rosch, E. & Lloyd, B. B. (Eds.), Cognition and categorization (pp. 140–169). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Shepp, B. E., & Swartz, K. B. (1976). Selective attention and the processing of integral and nonintegral dimensions. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 22, 73–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shue, K., & Douglas, V. I. (1992). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the frontal lobe syndrome. Brain and Cognition, 20, 104–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, J. D., & Kemler Nelson, D. G. (1984). Overall similarity in adults' classification: The child in all of us. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 113, 137–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, J. D., & Kemler Nelson, D. G. (1988). Is the more impulsive child a more holistic processor? A reconsideration. Child Development, 59, 719–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, L. B. (1981). Importance of the overall similarity of objects for adults' and children's classifications. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 7, 811–824.Google ScholarPubMed
Smith, L. B. (1983). Development of classification: The use of similarity and dimensional relations. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 36, 150–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, L. B. (1989). A model of perceptual classification in children and adults. Psychological Review, 96, 125–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, L. B., & Kemler, D. G. (1977). Developmental trends in free classification: Evidence for a new conceptualization of perceptual development. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 24, 279–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tant, J. L., & Douglas, V. I. (1982). Problem solving in hyperactive, normal, and reading disabled boys. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 285–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vurpillot, E. (1976). The visual world of the child (Gillham, W. E. C., Trans.). London: George Allen & Unwin. (Original work published in 1972)Google Scholar
Ward, T. B. (1978). Dimensional responding in children and adults as a function of stimulus and response variables (Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison). Dissertation Abstracts International, 39, 4565b.Google Scholar
Ward, T. B. (1980). Separable and integral responding by children and adults to the dimensions of length and density. Child Development, 51, 676–684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, T. B. (1983). Response tempo and separable-integral responding: Evidence for an integral-to-separable processing sequence in visual perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 9, 103–111.Google ScholarPubMed
Ward, T. B. (1985). Individual differences in processing stimulus dimensions: Relation to selective processing abilities. Perception and Psychophysics, 37, 471–482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wechsler, D. (1974). Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children —Revised. New York: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1981). Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults—Revised. New York: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Weingartner, H., Rapoport, J. L., Buchsbaum, M. S., Bunney, W., Mikkelasson, E. J., & Caine, E. D. (1980). Cognitive processes in normal and hyperactive children and their response to amphetamine treatment. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89, 25–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Werner, H. (1957). The concept of development from a comparative and organismic point of view. In Harris, D. B. (Ed.), The concept of development: An issue in the study of human behavior (pp. 125–148). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Wilkening, F., & Lange, K. (1989). When is children's perception holistic? Goals and styles in processing multidimensional stimuli. In Globerson, T. & Zelniker, T. (Eds.), Cognitive style and cognitive development (pp. 141–171). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar