Abstract
Reversal errors in letter identification are frequently used as diagnostic evidence of neurological dysfunction. An alternative explanation for reversals is that they represent learned behaviors susceptible to training. The purpose of the present study was to provide evidence bearing on this issue. Five severely learning disabled students from grades three through five were presented with the task of naming lower-case letters b, d, p, and q in 30-second trials and un-timed, respectively. A multiple-baseline design across subjects was used experimentally to determine the extent to which changes in the incentive conditions would have any clear and immediate affect on the students' reversal errors. The results, in general, showed that reversal errors decreased abruptly when incentives were introduced and, in some instances, did not increase when incentives were removed. The findings provide a basis for viewing reversals optimistically as behaviors which may be changed through training rather than pessimistically as signs of neurological or perceptual defects.
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