COLOR-FORM PREFERENCE, DISCRIMINATIVE ACCURACY AND LEARNING OF DEAF AND HEARING CHILDREN

Abstract

Given choices between stimuli in the color, form, and size dimensions, most elementary school children with hearing prefer form, and most deaf elementary school children prefer color. Pairs of deaf and hearing Ss were matched for age, sex, and IQ and compared, first, on ability to discriminate accurately in the color and in the form dimensions and, second, on a successive discrimination-learning task. Hearing Ss discriminated among forms more accurately than deaf Ss; deaf Ss discriminated among colors more accurately than hearing Ss. Hearing Ss learned the form-discrimination task with fewer errors than deaf Ss. There was no difference in learning between deaf and hearing Ss on the color-discrimination task. The discussion centers on preference-response characteristics and how preference relates to perceptual discrimination and learning behaviors. Suggestions for future research are made, based on a possible source of color and form preference.