This study was designed to investigate the relatively poor performance of lower class children on tests of auditory discrimination. Each of 30 middle class and 15 lower class kindergarten children was individually administered two tests of auditory discrimination. One of the tests was the Wepman, and the other was similar to the Wepman except that phonemes were exchanged between word pairs to create nonsense syllables. Error scores were analyzed, and it was shown that social class differences in error scores disappeared with the use of the distorted form of the Wepman. The results seem to suggest that the Wepman may measure a vocabulary factor in addition to auditory discrimination.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Christine, Dorothy, and Christine, C.: The relationship of auditory discrimination to articulatory defects and reading retardation. Elem. School J., 1964, 65, 97–100.
2.
Clark, Ann, and Richards, Charlotte: Auditory discrimination among economically disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged preschool children. Exceptional Child., 1966, 33, 259–262.
3.
Deutsch, Cynthia: Auditory discrimination and learning: social factors. Merrill-Palmer Quart., 1964, 10, 277–296.
4.
Deutsch, Martin: The role of social class in language development and cognition. Amer. J. Orthopsychiatry, 1965, 35, 78–88.
5.
Goetzinger, C., Dirks, D., and Baer, C.: Auditory discrimination and visual perception in good and poor readers. Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, 1960, 127–136, March.
6.
Weiner, P.: Auditory discrimination and articulation. J. Speech and Hearing Disorders, 1967, 32, 19–28.
7.
Wepman, J.: Auditory Discrimination Test (Manual of Directions). Chicago: Language Research Associates, 1958.
8.
Wepman, J.: Auditory discrimination, speech and reading. Elem. School J., 1960, 60, 325–333.
9.
Wepman, J.: The interrelationship of hearing, speech and reading. Reading Teacher, 1961, 245–247.
10.
Wepman, J.: The perceptual basis for learning. Educating Children With Learning Disabilities; Selected Readings. In Edward Frierson and Walter Barbe (Eds.). New York: Appleton-century Crofts, 1967.
