Objective: To test if visual focusing and mimic display as features of self-regulation in ADHD children show a curvilinear relation to rising methylphenidate (MPH) doses. To test if small dose steps of 2.5mg MPH cause significant changes in behavior. And to test the relation of these features to intellectual performance, parents' ratings, and…

Objective: Few previous studies assessed specifically attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, predominantly inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) in nonreferred samples. This study investigated the association between ADHD-I and prenatal exposure to nicotine. Method: In a case-control study performed between September 2002 and April 2005, we assessed a…

This study tested the claim that television viewing reduces preschoolers' perseverance, increases their impulsivity, and induces restlessness. In the first of two laboratory visits with a parent, 328 5-year-olds were given the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. During the second visit, the parent completed the Parent Temperament Questionnaire and…

Research has shown that learned-helpless children, who make attributions for failure to lack of ability, tend to show impaired performance of decreased persistence in the face of challenge. In similar situations, mastery-oriented children, identified by their tendency to attribute failure to insufficient effort, show improved performance or…

In a study of mothers' assessment of their infant's temperament during the first 3 months, a total of 116 mothers completed 23 scaled items assessing the 9 New York Longitudinal Study temperament dimensions, and cuddliness and soothability, at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after delivery. Although nearly half of the mothers could not rate approach…

To determine whether Downs Syndrome (DS) persons' recall could be improved by procedures that minimized auditory and visual distractions during auditory memory tasks, 16 DS, 12 non-DS mentally retarded and 12 non-mentally retarded persons (mean ages 16, 16, and 5 years, matched for mental age) listened to, looked at, and tried to remember digit…

Eighteen moderately mentally retarded adults, 20 nonretarded elementary age children, and 20 nonretarded adults were exposed to three conditions of an auditory detection task (location, meaning, and a combination of both). Developmentally immature subjects (retarded adults and nonretarded children) demonstrated less efficient attentional capacity.…

Examines the relationship between visual attentiveness, search behavior, and duration of independent mobility for 56 eight-to ten-month-old infants when presented with three versions of the Piagetian Stage IV object permanence task. (HOD)

Hearing impaired students and on-task classroom time were examined in a study of hearing impaired classrooms. Characteristics of the effective teacher of the hearing impaired included: avoidance of excessive reprimands, maintenance of sufficient contact time for comprehension, and periodical monitoring of comprehension. (Author/DF)

Describes an examination of the interaction of sustained attention, simultaneous processing, and successive processing with nine variables related to the reading, spelling, and mathematics achievement of 165 elementary students in New South Wales. Results suggest the importance of sustained attention to reading and spelling achievement but not to…

Performance on tasks of memory and of attention was consistently interrelated for nonlearning disabled children and less consistently so for learning disabled subjects. Hyperactivity was also related to poorer performance on the cognitive measures. (Author/DB)

Eleven infants with Down's syndrome and 10 of 11 nonhandicapped infants operated an automatic device which enabled them to choose to listen to nursery rhymes sung or played on musical instruments. Both groups preferred the singing, and the Down's Syndrome infants had much longer response durations for the more complex auditory stimuli. (Author/DB)

A modified operant design demonstrated the effectiveness of the feedback procedure. Significant changes were evidenced by all groups of subjects. Initial results and follow-up observations indicated that the attending behavior of the experimental subjects increased and was maintained, without the use of tangible reinforcers. (Author)

Group behavioral social skills training was more effective than the control condition in increasing positive social behavior, attention to the transaction, and degree of empathy. It was also more effective in decreasing negative social skill behavior. (Author)

Examined the effect of heart rate and behavioral measures of attention on infants' distractibility. Found longer distraction latencies during attentional engagement as defined by heart rate changes or behavior than for inattentive periods. Infants had longest distraction latencies when heart rate and behavior measures both indicated engagement.…