Piagetian Task Performance of Learning Diabled Children

Abstract

Tests of visual integration and hierarchical classification (both Piagetian tasks) were administered to 77 middle-class, white boys who ranged in age from 4 to 12 years. Thirty of these subjects (equal numbers of 8-, 10-, and 12-year-olds) were classified as learning disabled; the remainder served as age-matched controls. The Visual Integration Test measured ability to perceive both part and whole relationships within a set of ambiguous visual stimuli. The Hierarchical Classification test assessed ability to understand class inclusion. The findings showed that (1) older children outperformed younger ones in a manner consistent with the developmental sequence described by Piaget and (2) older learning disabled children performed similarly to controls who were 2 to 4 years younger. The results were consistent with the view that learning disabled children experience a delay in developing certain concrete operations.