Effects of Rate, Nonrelevant Information, and Repetition On the Listening Comprehension of Hyperactive Children

Abstract

The present study involved a theoretically based investigation to determine whether the problems that hyperactive children experience in listening could be attributed to (a) delays that encourage impulsive responding or (b) factors related to the nature of the stimulus input. Hyperactive and normal elementary school children were administered four story conditions that differed in presentation rate and information (information, repeated information, and information plus nonrelevant detail) in a repeated measures design counterbalanced for task and condition order. Significant differences in activity and performance attributable to story conditions were found for only the hyperactive children. Hyperactive children were more active than normal controls in the repeated information (minimally stimulating) condition and made fewer correct responses in the nonrelevant stimulation condition. These findings suggested that rate of information presentation is not as important as type of stimulus input, and the problems previously observed in slow presentation rates may be attributable to inadequate levels of stimulus input.