Verbal Reinforcement,Socio-Economic Status,and Intelligence Test Performance of Preschool Children

Abstract

90 preschool children of middle- and low-socioeconomic-status were administered Form A of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the verbal portion of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence under three treatment conditions to study effects of verbal reinforcements on individual test performance. Data indicate that subjects of middle status scored significantly higher than their lower-status counterparts on both the Peabody and the WPPSI measures. No significant verbal reinforcement effect or interaction of status × reinforcement was found. Correlations of .58, .65, and .75 between the Peabody and the WPPSI scores were demonstrated in the groups, control, praised, and “correctness” feedback.

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