Related Experiment Videos
Classical conditioning of profoundly retarded, multiply handicapped children
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
|December 1, 1979
Summary
Classical conditioning was explored in profoundly intellectually disabled children with multiple handicaps. Basic learning processes were observed, with conditioning successful in the two most advanced children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Psychology
- Special Education
Background:
- Profound intellectual disability and multiple handicaps present unique challenges in understanding basic learning processes.
- Classical conditioning is a fundamental learning mechanism that may be applicable even in severely impaired populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the feasibility of classical conditioning in profoundly intellectually disabled children with multiple handicaps.
- To explore basic learning processes in this specific population.
Main Methods:
- A classical conditioning paradigm was employed using a sound (conditioned stimulus), air puff to the cornea (unconditioned stimulus), and eye-blink (conditioned response).
- Five children with profound intellectual disability and multiple handicaps, aged 48-108 months (mental age 0-5.5 months), participated.
Main Results:
- Conditioning was successfully established in the two most developmentally advanced children.
- An intermediate pair exhibited orienting responses but no clear conditioning.
- The most developmentally delayed child did not respond to the conditioning stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Classical conditioning may be a viable method for assessing learning in some profoundly intellectually disabled children with multiple handicaps.
- Learning capacity varies significantly within this population, even with similar chronological ages.
- Further research is needed to understand the generalizability of these findings to broader groups of profoundly intellectually disabled children with multiple handicaps.