Intellectual engagement (IE) refers to enjoyment of intellectual activities and is proposed as causal for knowledge acquisition. The role of IE for cognitive development was examined utilizing 2-year longitudinal data from 112 ninth graders (average baseline age: 14.7 years). Higher baseline IE predicted higher baseline crystallized ability but…

Discontinuation at ages five to six of dietary restriction in 14 children with classic phenylketonuria (PKU--a metabolic disorder which, if untreated, is associated with mental retardation) resulted in deterioration in intellectual function for some of the Ss. Deficits included visual motor integration and cognitive problem solving. (CL)

Results of Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test for 251 deaf and 101 hearing children in Israel included that (1) factor structure for total deaf group differs from that of hearing group; (2) differences in cognitive structure were evident by age level for deaf; and (3) differences exist between cognitive structures of hearing and deaf…

To examine whether or not retarded individuals have the same structure of intelligence as normal IQ individuals, test scores from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), Reitan's Trail Making Test (TMT), and Beery's Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI) for both a mildly retarded and normal IQ population of…

Results of the study with 24 mildly or moderately retarded subjects (ages 11-55 years) indicates that a separability hypothesis of perceptual development can be extended to retarded populations. Representation as wholistic objects dominated among moderately retarded subjects, and with increasing intelligence, representation of objects as component…

The study examined the intellectual performance of 248 school age students 157 of whom were taken from public school settings. Of these, 93 were emotionally handicapped (EH) students and 64 were regular education students. The remaining subjects came from a residential school for EH children and youth (n=15) and from a summer program for…

All of the children were presented conservation of liquid and weight problems and 12 metaphor items. The results suggest that hearing loss did not affect the solution of either conservation or metaphor. (Author)

Do stage-related patterns of early cognitive development reported for normally developing children also characterize at-risk and handicapped children when mental age organization of data is used? Mental age predicted Piagetian-based cognitive levels one to three but did not predict highest-level symbolic functioning in 95 handicapped children.…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that examined 216 comparably aged children and adolescents (ages 2-18) with fragile X or autism to determine whether longitudinal change in cognitive ability and adaptive behavior was similar in the two groups. Results found decreases in Intelligence Quotient scores in young children with fragile X as…

This inquiry had two aims: to assess children's ability to interpret maps in geography; to relate the assessed ability to maturity of thought as proposed by Peel, general intelligence, and age. It was found that performance on four tests depended more on intelligence than on maturity of thought or age. (Author/SJL)

A study of 700 children (ages 5-12) investigated whether children's conceptions of and expectations of friendship are determined by chronological age or by mental age. Results found children of differing intellectual abilities pass through the five conception stages of friendship at different ages and at different rates. (Contains 4 references.)…

This study attempted to determine whether attendance at a traditional preschool resulted in significant cognitive gains for young children over a 3-year period. The experimental group consisted of 59 children at four preschools. Each was matched with a nonattender on such variables as age, sex, intelligence, and family characteristics. The mean…

Suggests that the general ability structure for retardates is more complex than the structure for normals, containing a "stimulus trace" factor in addition to verbal-educational and spatial-perceptual parameters. (RL)

Examined major discriminating factors for cognitive development in high-IQ and low-IQ children in child care who had been adopted after age four. Found that birth rank, maternal mental retardation, pregnancy/delivery complications, severe prematurity or low birthweight, and number of hospitalizations differentiated the two groups. Over time, IQs…

Army alpha longitudinal data on the same 96 males tested in 1919, 1950, and 1960 were analyzed in addition to data on 123 undergraduates tested in 1972-4. Young adults in 1919 and 1970 were similar. Results suggest that traditional factor analysis taxonomies for young adults misrepresent elderly persons. (Author/CP)