Abstract
Previous research indicates that learning disabled (LD) children perceive more holistically than do their nondisabled (nonLD) peers. The present study investigated whether or not the holistic perception of LD children is structured by the principle of overall similarity. LD and nonLD children in the second and fourth grades performed a restricted classification task (RCT) with four types of materials. The RCT allows classifications based on overall similarity or dimensional structure. The fourth-grade LD children were more likely than the fourth-grade nonLD children to use overall similarity in making their choices and were less likely than the fourth-grade nonLD children to use the component dimensions of the stimuli. Second-grade LD and nonLD children did not differ. The nonLD children shifted away from similarity choices toward dimensional choices with increasing age, whereas the LD children did not. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for school performance, selective attention, and category generalization.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Blackman, S., & Goldstein, K. M. (1982). Cognitive styles and learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 15, 106–115.
Garner, W. R.(1974). The processing of information and structure.Potomac, MD: Erlbaum.
Gibson, E. J. (1969). Principles of perceptual learning and development.New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Gibson, E. J. (1983). Commentary on the development of perception and cognition. In T. J. Tighe & B. E. Shepp (Eds.), Perception, cognition and development: Interactional analyses. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1964). The early growth of logic in the child.New York: Norton.
McIntyre, C. W., Murray, M. E., & Blackwell, S. L. (1981). Visual search in learning disabled and hyperactive boys. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 14, 156–158.
Ross, A. O. (1976). Psychological aspects of learning disabilities and reading disorders.New York: McGraw-Hill.
Shepp, B. E., Burns, B., & McDonough, D. (1980). The relation of stimulus structure to perceptual and cognitive development: Further tests of a separability hypothesis. In F. Wilkening, J. Becker, & T. Trabasso (Eds.), Information integration by children.Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shepp, B. E., & Swartz, K. B. (1976). Selective attention and the processing of integral and nonintegral dimensions: A developmental study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 22, 73–85.
Smith, L. B. (1979). Perceptual development and category generalization. Child Development, 50, 705–715.
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.
Vurpillot, E. (1976). The visual world of the child.New York: International Universities Press.
Ward, T. B. (1980). Separable and integral responding by children and adults to the dimensions of length and density. Child Development, 51, 676–684.
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 & Performance, 9, 103–112.
Ward, T. B. (1985). Individual differences in processing stimulus dimensions: Relation to selective processing abilities. Perception & Psychophysics, 37, 471–482.
Werner, H. (1961). Comparative psychology of mental development. New York: Scientific Editions.
Zelniker, T., & Jeffrey, W. E. (1976). Reflective and impulsive children: Strategies of information processing underlying differences in problem solving. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 41(5, Serial No. 168).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This project was funded by a grant from the Public Policy Resources Laboratory of Texas A&M University. The author thanks the principals and teachers of the Southwood Valley, South Knoll, and College Hills elementary schools for their kind cooperation in this project.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ward, T.B. Classifying by learning disabled and nondisabled children: Use of overall similarity versus dimensional relations. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 24, 131–134 (1986). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330525
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330525