The study compared the behavior of 61 preschool autistic children with that of 35 retarded children matched for mental age and 30 normal children matched for chronological age. Ss were rated on a 67 item Behavior Observation Scale during three free play sessions. Among findings were that six behaviors (grimace/gesticulation, echolalic speech,…

It was hypothesized that behavior patterns, learned early in life and maintained by almost continuous reinforcement, are determined by basic physiology, which in this study is represented by the duration of postrotary nystagmus (involuntary eyeball movement following rotational stimulation). The Southern California Postrotary Nystagmus Test was…

A study was conducted to observe the behavior of preschool children (1) varying in age, sex and identified by teachers as thriving or not thriving; (2) in day care programs differing in mode of choice-making, i.e., teacher initiates or child initiates; (3) in the context of an analysis of physical setting and program structure; and (4) in terms of…

Assertive behavior in children is characterized as manipulation and exploration of the environment. Assertive behavior can be nondestructive or destructive. It has been suggested that learning is dependent on assertion and that distortion or inhibition of assertive behavior may restrict or distort the learning process. Fifty Head Start children…

A report is presented of the findings of an investigation into the development of compliance, dependence and independence of two-year-old boys in the context of parent-child interaction, as well as in relation to genetic factors. The three techniques used in assessing children's and parents' characteristics and for studying the parent-child…

Convergence between temperament ratings from two different sources (mothers and observers) and observer codings of peer-peer interaction was assessed. (Author/MP)

Ten parents of preschoolers with autism and 10 parents of typical preschoolers were given the Detection of Autism by Infant Sociability Interview, which elicits reports on 19 aspects of social engagement characteristics. Findings indicate that infants with autism had marked limitations in both person-to-person and person-person-object social…

This study seeks to determine the degree to which certain behavioral measures interact with intelligence, whether in a linear or curvilinear fashion, to help one predict academic achievement in Head Start children to a greater degree than would be possible were intelligence test performance alone used as the predictor variable. Children were…

DURING THE PERIOD 1930 TO 1938, THE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR OF A BASIC SAMPLE OF 138 THREE TO FOUR AND ONE-HALF YEAR-OLD CHILDREN WERE OBTAINED BY TEACHER RATINGS. THE TEACHERS USED A RATING CHART OF 61 BEHAVIOR VARIABLES. TEN BEHAVIOR PATTERNS WERE ISOLATED FROM THIS GROUP. EACH PATTERN, FOR EXAMPLE, EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY, WAS COMPRISED OF SEVERAL…

Presents data that establish the convergent and discriminant construct validity of a new behavior-rating scale for use with the early childhood-preschool population, the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS). The scale appears to show promise as a research tool, screening device, and assessment instrument for assessing social-emotional…

THE INTENT OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR OF NURSERY SCHOOL CHILDREN, AND TO DETERMINE HOW THESE ARE RELATED TO BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AND ACHIEVEMENT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IN 1930-1938, THE BEHAVIORS OF 138 NURSERY SCHOOL CHILDREN WERE CHARACTERIZED BY THEIR TEACHERS IN TERMS OF 61 MOLAR VARIABLES. SUB-SAMPLES OF THIS GROUP…

The study examined the interaction behaviors of nonhandicapped siblings of 60 preschool children with either hearing impairments, cognitive/language impairments, or Down Syndrome, and compared these behaviors with those of 35 siblings of nonhandicapped children. Videotapes of social interactions were evaluated for behaviors suggesting imitation,…

In an effort to determine whether intelligence and school readiness could be estimated from observin g behavior and if middle class Head Start teachers ranked highly those pupils whose behavior resembled middle class behavior, the behavior patterns of 36 Head Start pupils were compared with their teachers' ranking of perceived intelligence and…

This paper describes the Early Screening Project (ESP), a system to identify behavior problems among preschool children ages 3 to 5. The ESP is a three-stage, multiple-gating set of procedures which assesses both the frequency and intensity of adjustment problems. In Stage 1, teachers rank students on externalizing and internalizing behavior…

This study investigated the association between personality traits and the intellectual performance of Head Start children. A total of 90 economically disadvantaged Anglo and Mexican American Children from six Head Start classrooms were administered the Preschool Inventory (PSI) to obtain a measure of intellectual development. Each child was also…