Differential observing responses (DORs) are additional response requirements used to promote orientation to a stimulus in a discrimination task. Farber and Dickson (2023) recently provided a DOR taxonomy, and these authors reported that no prior research has compared the effects of distinct DOR requirements. We compared the effects of two DOR…

A skill essential for successful inclusion in general education settings is the ability to learn by observing others. Research, however, has documented children with autism display significant deficits in the fundamental skills necessary for observational learning. This article outlines the skills essential for observational learning from an…

One 9-year-old child was taught conditional discriminations between dictated names in Spanish and their corresponding pictures across three stimulus sets while her 10-year-old brother observed. Posttests revealed the emergence of symmetry relations in the form of oral naming skills by both children. (Contains 2 figures.)

In separate studies, observers viewed upright biological motion, inverted biological motion, or arbitrary motion created from systematically randomizing the positions of point-light dots. Results showed that observers (a) could learn to detect the presence of arbitrary motion, (b) could not learn to discriminate the coherence of arbitrary motion,…

Six studies relevant to the analysis of generalized imitative behavior are described. The first examined the role of verbal instructions in generalized imitation by comparing the use of a "do this" instruction with no such instruction and the use of positive reinforcement with no reinforcement. The tenacity of generalized imitation in this study…

Investigates preschoolers' knowledge of counting principles by examining their ability to discriminate between features essential for correct counting and features typically present but unessential. Skill in executing the standard counting procedure was found to precede knowledge of the underlying principle. (Author/AS)

Research was conducted relevant to two questions: First, does generalized imitation reflect the child's failure to discriminate reinforced from non-reinforced occasions? Second, are the results which characterize generalized imitation a function of confounded social and instructional influences that operate within the procedures used in…

This study was designed to investigate the effects of modeling or training with and without rule provision on the employment of strategies in solving four-dimensional, discrimination-learning problems. Subjects were 144 second and sixth-grade children from the New York City Public Schools. The blank-trial hypothesis testing paradigm was used. The…

This book is a compilation of literature and research concerning how children learn. The first chapter is a historical introduction to research in learning that summarizes the major developments of the last 100 years and relates these developments specifically to children's learning. The main body of the text is divided into six major topics: (1)…

Studies the impact that musical discrimination training which incorporates models and discriminator foils, as well as modeling and imitation, has on beginning instrumental music classes. Shows that musical discrimination can be developed using these methods. Recommends further study to find effects of discrimination training on instrumental music…

Sex typing among preschool children was investigated by means of a complete experimental design to test which factors maintain sex-typed behaviors, to test whether sex-typed behaviors are learned, and to reduce sex typing. The complete experimental design, it is maintained, allows investigators to focus on the consequences of sex typing rather…

This volume includes reports of five research projects of the Kansas Center for Research in Early Childhood Education: (1) Individual Differences in Newborn and Young Infants, including research with the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale and laboratory studies of infant discriminative abilities; (2) Development of Social Competence, including…

This report summarizes the results of research studies on instructional practices that significantly affect the cognitive, language, or mental abilities of students with disabilities. The investigation reviewed current research on instruction of students with moderate disabilities and sought to identify effective instructional practices. The steps…

This bibliography with 1,273 entries is an updated supplement to the preliminary 1997 bibliography on informal adult learning. It is a useful resource guide for those interested in publications (e.g. academic papers, government reports, grassroots publications) aimed at furthering understanding of how learning and teaching takes place in different…