Abstract
Three experiments examined the influence of videotaped classroom events on the academic performance and study behavior of reading-disabled and normally reading children in grades 1 through 6. In experiments 1 and 2a an experimenter-controlled presentation of these distractors resulted in performance decrements, the magnitude of which was greater for higher difficulty tasks. The distractor effects were similar for the two groups in this condition. However, when the children themselves were allowed to control their degree of exposure to the same distractors in experiment 2b, the reading-disabled children were less likely to act to escape the distraction. Results are discussed in terms of children's metacognitive awareness of distraction, and implications for the classroom are considered.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, N. H. Scales and statistics: Parametric and nonparametric.Psychological Bulletin, 1961,58, 305–316.
Brown, A. L. Knowing when, where, and how to remember: A problem in metacognition. In R. Glaser (Ed.),Advances in instructional technology. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum, 1978.
Cruickshank, W. M., & Paul, J. L. The psychological characteristics of brain-injured children. In W. M. Cruickshank (Ed.),Psychology of exceptional children and youth. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1971.
Douglas, V. I., & Peters, K. G. Toward a clearer definition of the attentional deficit of hyperactive children. In G. A. Hale & M. Lewis (Eds.),Attention and cognitive development. New York: Plenum, 1979.
Hale, G. A., & Flaugher, J. Distraction effects in tasks of varying difficulty: Methodological issues in measuring development of distractibility.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1977,24, 212–218.
Kahneman, D. Remarks on attention control.Acta Psychologica, 1970,33, 118–131.
Pelham, W. E. Selective attention deficits in poor readers? Dichotic listening, speeded classification, and auditory and visual central and incidental learning tasks.Child Development, 1979,50, 1050–1061.
Ross, A. O.Psychological aspects of learning disabilities and reading disorders. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976.
Rost, K., & Charles, D. C. Academic achievement of brain-injured and hyperactive children in isolation.Exceptional Children, 1967,34, 183–187.
Routh, D. K. Activity, attention, and aggression in learning disabled children.Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 1979,8, 183–187.
Sen, A., & Chowdhury, B. P. R. Effects of distraction on a letter cancellation task.Psychological Studies, 1974,19, 69–77.
Torgeson, J. K. The role of nonspecific factors in the task performance of learning disabled children: A theoretical assessment.Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1977,10, 27–34.
Willows, D. M. Individual differences in distraction by pictures in a reading situation.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1978,70, 837–847.
Workman, E. A., & Hector, M. A. Behavioral self control in classroom settings: A review of the literature.Journal of School Psychology, 1978,16, 227–236.
Zentall, S. S., Zentall, T. R., & Barack, R. Distraction as a function of within-task stimulation for hyperactive and normal children.Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1978,11, 540–548.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Patton, J.E., Routh, D.K. & Offenbach, S.I. Televised classroom events as distractors for reading-disabled children. J Abnorm Child Psychol 9, 355–370 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00916840
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00916840