Until about 1970, little was published on research pertaining to the influence of perceptual acuity in relation to gifted children. This study was undertaken to provide empirical data that might lead to a better understanding of such a relationship, to review research performed in the fields of both perception and giftedness, and to assess the usefulness of a non-verbal instrument for elementary teachers of art in diagnosing giftedness at a perceptual level. The study was designed to determine, by means of a perceptual index test, whether or not gifted children who display above average intellectual skills, also exhibit above average perceptual skills. The MacGregor Perceptual Index (MPI) was administered to a group of twenty-four gifted and twenty-six non-gifted children between the ages of ten and twelve years. Categories included:- perception of distance, perception of embedded figures, perception of shape, perception of similarities and differences, perception of the vertical, perception modified by constancy, and perception of contour. The investigation revealed similarities and differences among children of specific intellectual capacity and ages in how they perceive and interpret visual stimuli. It was found that children with above average intellectual ability performed at a higher level on the Perceptual Index test than did subjects drawn from an average group. The findings in this study led to recommendations for further investigation. The MPI, a non-verbal perceptual test, was judged to be a reliable instrument for diagnosing gifted children. In the synopsis of factors revealed in this study, it was concluded that there is a statistically significant relationship between perceptual ability and intellectual ability. The results of the study imply that training in perceptual problem-solving skills may generally enhance a child's intelligence level, and thus should be considered as part of the school curriculum. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

It is possible to determine the degree of intelligence of an individual by use of the M (human movement) response of the Group Rorschach Blank arranged by M. R. Harrower. Is there a significant difference between the correlation of summed human movement Rorschach scores and intelligence test scores earned in a sixth grade elementary school population. The writer is attempting to determine further whether or not it is possible to predict the intelligence of an individual by use of the M (human movement) response of the Group Rorschach Blank.

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Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Educational Psychology

This study utilized the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and the Personality Inventory for Children, Second Edition (PIC-2) as measures of cognitive and personality functioning for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder with comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (FASD/ADHD) and children with ADHD. This study revealed the WISC-IV and PIC-2 each provided unique information to the neuropsychological examination of children with FASD/ADHD and ADHD. Furthermore, the FASD/ADHD group and the ADHD group were found to have significant differences in terms of cognitive and personality functioning. The results also indicated the groups could be differentiated using the WISC-IV and the PIC-2 independently with a high degree of accuracy. The current study further elucidated the unique cognitive and personality profiles of children with FASD/ADHD and ADHD and identified key areas of difference between the two groups. Moreover, the current study documented the utility of the Classification and Regression Tree procedure as a useful diagnostic tool in the differential diagnosis of FASD versus ADHD using commonly used cognitive and personality measures. / Department of Educational Psychology

The majority of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) have comorbid Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (95%; Fryer et al., 2007). The goal of this study was to compare the neuropsychological and adaptive skills profiles of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with or without comorbid FASD in order to improve interventions for both of these populations. This study paid particular attention to neurological, cognitive, and adaptive skills strengths and weaknesses in children with ADHD/FASD and children with ADHD without comorbid FASD. By identifying these strengths and weaknesses recommendations were able to be made to help the functioning of each of children with ADHD/FASD and children with ADHD in their home, community, and school environments based on their neuropsychological and adaptive skills profiles. Neurologically, children with ADHD/FASD and children with ADHD have been shown to have impairment in the basal ganglia, cerebellum, corpus callosum, frontal lobes, hippocampus, hypothalamus, occipital lobes, parietal lobes, temporal lobes, and thalamus. Cognitively, children with ADHD have been shown to have difficulty in areas such as working memory and processing speed with less significant deficiencies in verbal ability and perceptual organization whereas children with ADHD/FASD have shown impairment in all of these cognitive abilities. When compared to typically developing children with approximately the same level of general intelligence, children with ADHD have been shown to obtain lower standard scores in all domains of adaptive functioning and children with FASD have been shown to demonstrate significant adaptive skills deficits throughout the lifespan. This study used specialized statistical procedures including Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), Discriminant Analysis (DA), and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) in order to investigate the neuropsychological and adaptive skills in 81 children with ADHD/FASD and 147 children with ADHD. The statistical analyses indicated that children with ADHD/FASD and children with ADHD have similar cognitive and adaptive skills profiles; however, the children with comorbid ADHD/FASD were significantly more impaired in verbal ability, perceptual reasoning, working memory, processing speed, and overall adaptive skills. The current study took a step forward in helping to make diagnostic decisions based on the similarities and differences between children with ADHD with and without comorbid FASD. Given the data from the current study indicating the significant differences in cognitive and adaptive skills in these two samples, it is imperative that psychopharmacological interventions be tailored to these two seemingly similar yet different groups, especially as these two groups may respond differently to stimulant medication, the first line of medicinal treatment for ADHD. Children with ADHD/FASD should also be treated with more intense interventions in the home, community, and school than children with ADHD. / Department of Educational Psychology

D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology) / The generalizability of scores obtained on the General Scholastic Aptitude Test (GSAT) was investigated for a number of subpopulations. It was shown that acceptable procedures for limiting bias against certain subpopulations had been implemented in the course of test development. In order to facilitate an empirical investigation of the GSAT, random samples of Afrikaans-speaking whites, English-speaking whites, Afrikaans-speaking coloureds, English-speaking coloureds and English Speaking Indians were tested. The nature and intensity of cognitive stimulation as well as the direction of intellectual development differed from group to group and had definite implications for achievement in a test such as the GSAT. All the groups contained persons who could be regarded as fully integrated into an advanced technological society, but their average level of development, measured against this criterion, differed considerably. The test displayed a one-factor structure with respect to all the groups. On the basis of the content of the subtests this factor can be equated with Spearman's g factor. The ecological validity of test scores was studied on the basis of Berry's model for the generalization of behaviour aeross various environmental contexts. The nature of the differences between the groups with respect to both the internal and external structure of the test scores was investigated by means of conceptual as well as statistical analyses. The extent to which test scores could be generalized was indicated for different combinations of groups. On the basis of regression models it was shown that could to a large extent be used as a substitute for group membership as regards the explanation of GSAT scores. Differences in functioning found between the groups could often be attributed to differences in levels of achievement. Within Berry's experimental context the test was found to be almost equally valid for all the groups and it measured developed general scholastic ability equally well. With respect to most of the pupils in the white groups, the Indian group and the English-speaking coloured group, the test results could be generalized similarly in the behaviour context. The test measured general reasoning ability with scholastic symbol material almost equally well for these four groups, so that cross-cultural comparisons witp respect to this type of reasoning ability could be made reasonably reliably. However, most of the Afrikaans-speaking coloured subjects were probably handicapped by a lack of relevant experience. There are substantial differences between the groups as regards the generalizability of scores to intellectual achievements in the ecological context. In respect of the majority of white pupils such generalization is probably acceptable, as they could be regarded as fully integrated into an advanced technological society.

Despite the concept of twins and twinning being a highly explored area of research for many years, limited research has been conducted on the comparison of first and second born twin development. The nature of twins leads people to believe that twins will present with similar characteristics, however, this study explores the possibility that due to their ordinal position they could in fact present with differing characteristics and could differ developmentally. The early holistic development of a child influences the rest of their lives. Concerning twins, the development of individuality and self-knowledge is especially important. Theorists, such as Piaget (1950), propose that child development takes place in stages and that although the order in which children proceed through these stages is the same, the pace at which this takes place can vary. The necessity of monitoring the child’s journey through these stages highlights the value of child developmental assessment. This form of assessment needs to be holistic, needs to involve a multidisciplinary team of professionals and needs to utilize assessment measures that are valid, reliable, culture-fair and standardized. The Griffiths Mental Development Scales-Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) is one such measure. This study, focusing on twin development, aimed to contribute and provide valuable information to a larger research project that is currently under way aiming to increase the applicability of the Griffiths Mental Development Scales-Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) in the South African context. The primary aim of the study, however, was to explore and compare the performance of normal first born and second born twins, aged between 2 and 8 years 4 months old, on the GMDS-ER. The purpose of the study was to generate information on the relationship between first born twins’ general development and second born twins’ general development. An exploratory, descriptive quantitative design was used. Participants were selected through a combination of non-probability purposive, convenience and snowball sampling. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and dependent sample t-tests were employed to compare the General Quotients (GQ’s) of the first and second born twins in the sample. Results showed that no significant differences were found between the first and second born twins’ general development. Information generated from this study contributed to 1) child development research; 2) twin developmental research within a South African context; and 3) a greater group of studies on the GMDS-ER, currently underway in the United Kingdom and South Africa, aiming to contribute to the international credibility of this measure

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability among children and adolescents in the US. Children and adolescents who sustain moderate and severe head injuries are much more likely to evidence significant deficits in neuropsychological functioning when compared with children with mild head injuries. Information about the recovery process and functional sequelae associated with moderate and severe head injuries remains limited, despite clear indications that children who experience such injuries typically exhibit notable deficits in intellectual functioning, particularly during the acute phase of recovery. Thus, the present study was conducted to augment research on intellectual functioning in children with moderate or severe head injuries. To accomplish this, the study first examined the proposed factor model of the WISC-III in children with moderate and severe TBI. Given high prevalence rates and similar trends in cognitive impairment, particularly within the frontal lobe structures (e.g., disrupted cognitive flexibility and divided attention), the study also examined this same factor model for a group of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and compared it with the model fit from the TBI group. In the second phase of the study, both the TBI and AHDH groups were evaluated to determine if distinct WISC-III index score cluster profiles could be identified. Lastly, the cluster groups for both the TBI and ADHD samples were validated using important demographic and clinical variables, as well as scores from independent neuropsychological measures of attention, executive functioning, and working memory. Parent reports of psychological and behavioral functioning were also used in an attempt to further distinguish the cluster groups. Study limitations and future research implications were also discussed.