Upper-middle and low socio-economic level (SEL) subjects were compared on a discrimination learning task and on personality measures of locus of control of reinforcement and need for approval (Napp). Upper-middle SEL subjects were found to be faster discrimination learners than low SEL subjects only when the relevant stimulus cue was on a highly…

THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES INFLUENCE THE PROCESS OF KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION IS DISCUSSED. THE ROLE OF PARTIAL AND FULL SENSORY ISOLATION AND DEPRIVATION AND ITS NEGATIVE EFFECT ON LEARNING IS SHOWN TO BE SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH. THE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY IS ENGAGED IN RESEARCH DEALING WITH THE…

Response rates and latencies of white, lower-, and middle-class preschool children were measured in an experimentally-induced frustration situation. Socioeconomic class differences in frustration situation. Socioeconomic class differences in frustration reactions were found; two possible hypotheses are offered in explanation. (SDH)

Middle- and lower-class children who had been treated by E in a warm or aloof manner were given a discrimination learning task under one of six conditions forming a 3 by 2 design: three reinforcement types (Verbal-intoned, Verbal-nonintoned, or Symbolic) and reinforcement for correct or incorrect responses. (Editor)

TWO GROUPS OF CHILDREN ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS NURSERY SCHOOL FOR EIGHT WEEKS. THE MORNING CLASS WAS HELD FOR 20 FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN OF MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES. THE AFTERNOON CLASS WAS FOR 24 FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES. THREE COMPARATIVE STUDIES WERE MADE. IN STUDY I NO CHANGE WAS FOUND ON THE PEABODY PICTURE…

AS PART OF THE RESEARCH ON THE INFLUENCE OF RESPONSE-CONTINGENT REINFORCERS ON THE LEARNING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN, THE EFFECTS OF A LIMITED NUMBER OF VARIABLES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CHILDREN OF THREE AGE LEVELS (4-5, 7-8, AND 10-11), SELECTED EQUALLY FROM MIDDLE- AND LOWER-CLASS BACKGROUNDS, WERE INVESTIGATED. THE EXPERIMENTAL…

Reproduction training improved performance only on the reproduction test; discrimination training improved performance only on the discrimination test. The effects of discrimination were seen both on forms used in training and on other similar forms, while the effects of reproduction training were seen only on trained forms. (Author/BJG)

Three experiments compared cognitive processes in Caucasian nursery school children from different socioeconomic backgrounds who were equated for performance on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The first demonstrated that children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds experience more difficulty in solving a series of extradimensional and…