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Task persistence among organically impaired mentally retarded children
American Journal of Mental Deficiency
|January 1, 1986
Summary
This study found that persistence in young children with intellectual disabilities, including those with Down syndrome, varied with task difficulty. Their persistence did not reliably indicate mastery motivation when tasks were too easy or too challenging.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Neurology
- Special Education
Background:
- Mastery motivation is crucial for cognitive development in infants.
- Assessing mastery motivation in young children with intellectual disabilities presents unique challenges.
- Previous research has primarily focused on nonretarded infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate goal-directed persistence in young children with intellectual disabilities.
- To determine if persistence on challenging tasks reflects mastery motivation in this population.
- To examine age-related changes in persistence and task performance.
Main Methods:
- Studied 44 organically impaired children (12-36 months) with intellectual disabilities, including 39 with Down syndrome.
- Assessed goal-directed persistence on tasks of varying difficulty.
- Analyzed the relationship between persistence, task ability, and task difficulty.
Main Results:
- Significant age-related increases in persistence and task performance were observed.
- Children's persistence was strongly correlated with their ability to perform tasks.
- Persistence differed significantly between easily solvable and slightly difficult tasks.
Conclusions:
- Persistence alone may not be a reliable indicator of mastery motivation in young children with intellectual disabilities.
- Task difficulty significantly influences persistence in this population.
- Further research is needed to refine methods for assessing motivation in children with intellectual disabilities.