Date of Award

1981

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to test a particular peer modeling procedure, (a) for the modification of impulsive cognitive style and (b) for improvement of academic performance in the areas of Reading, Spelling and Arithmetic. The study was designed to train for and to assess generalization effects of academically relevant training materials. Subjects consisted of seven boys and three girls whose MFF20 scores placed them within the impulsive quadrant of the sampled fifth grade population. All subjects were within the range of ten to eleven years of age and met all the requirements necessary for inclusion in the study. Impulsive subjects were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions or a control condition. Each treatment condition differed in the content of the training materials. Each impulsive subject selected a reflective peer model by means of a sociometric measure. The MFF20 was utilized to assess impulsive cognitive style. Each impulsive subject was assessed by means of teacher made or selected quizzes in each of the three academic areas over a seven-week observation period. Training sessions were held three times weekly for one-half hour for three weeks. Each training session was attended by both the impulsive subject and his selected reflective peer model. Sessions were conducted by one of two trainers. A single subject experimental design was chosen for the study. This design allowed for an in-depth study of the effects of the treatment and generalization upon each impulsive subject. The design incorporated an internal direct replication. The study was implemented in three stages: pretreatment assessment, administration of treatment intervention and posttreatment assessment. The findings of the study included the following: seven of eight impulsive students placed within the reflective quadrant of the pretreatment median split procedure when trained on task-specific or academic materials only. Statistically significant (p < .05) treatment effects, or generalization of treatment effects to one academic area only, were indicated in the performances of three of eight subjects. A comparison of mean error percent scores revealed that improved academic performance in one or more academic areas occurred in seven of eight subjects. No changes in impulsive responding and academic performance were indicated by the results of the two control subjects. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of school.) UMI

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