The Use of Conditioning Techniques in the Study of Form Discrimination of Young Children

Abstract

Form boards have been used rather exI tensively by different experimenters as a means of measuring the ability of children of different ages to observe form differ ences and to see the relationship of like configurations in block and recess materials. Similarly card matching tests have been used as measures of form discrimination. In a study of form board accomplish ments of preschool children made by the au thor (4) certain geometrical form boards were simplified as to number and difficulty of forms to be applicable as a test for two year-old children. The data show that num ber of errors is sufficiently high at the two-year level to rule out the form board as being in any sense of the word a measure of form discrimination. The fact that the child failed to see the relationship between a cir cle block and a circle recess and instead at tempted to place the circle block in the square recess does not necessarily indicate that the child failed to discriminate circle from square. It may simply mean that he is not able to see the relationship of like forms in different elements (circle block as related to circle recess). In view of the complex factors involved in the use of form boards and card matching, an attempt has been made to develop a more simple technique by which form discrimina tion as such in young children could be meas ured. After repeated experimentation with different types of materials, the form dis crimination boards (later described) involv ing conditioning techniques were found to meet the needs satisfactorily. j Very few studies have been reported where conditioning techniques, have been used in experimental studies with young children, especially in the measurement of form dis crimination. Munn (3) has used a conditioning situa tion to study the relation of form to its accompanying background. He was interested in studying, (1) whether or not shape of background on which a form appeared was es sential to the accuracy of the discrimina tion of the form, and (2) whether or not it was possible to obtain in the young child the discrimination of form per se that could not be demonstrated in the chick. His sub ject was one child fifteen months old. The apparatus was a box with two doors hinged from the top. Form configurations to be dis criminated were placed on the doors in such a way that either figure or background could be changed at will. As a reward for success the child was given chocolate. The results showed that type of background was not an effective part of the stimulation. Changes in negative form led to no significant drop in accuracy of choice. Aldrich (1) has used simple condition ing as a method of determining relative sen sory discrimination among mentally defective children. Ten feeble-minded children rang ing in mental age from one year, five months to three years, three months were used. Chronological age ranged from three to twelve years. Size discrimination was studied. The child was required to raise one of two boxes differing in size in order to secure the reward of food (cooky). Position of boxes varied from trial to trial. Eighteen cor rect choices out of twenty was taken as the standard for successful conditioning in a situation where chance might account for 50 per cent of the correct choices. Results in dicated that the method proved satisfactory in the first discrimination problem with sev en of the ten children. Greater variations occurred when reconditioning to a different size was introduced.