Electrodermal activity during passive and active listening tasks for 4 hyperactive (from 3 yr., 9 mo. to 6 yr., 2 mo.) and 43 healthy preschool children (from 4 yr., 8 mo. to 6 yr., 5 mo.) was studied. The procedure consisted of the following phases: baseline recordings (3 min.), a passive listening task, instructions, and an active listening task. The hyperactive subjects tended to exhibit lower levels of arousal, as indicated by the frequency of spontaneous responses, and more marked habituation with repeated stimuli. Also, they tended not to show the increased responsivity expected when attention is active rather than passive. Hyperactive preschool children, moreover, are believed to have shorter attention spans.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association. (1980) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. (3rd ed.) Washington, DC: Author.
2.
BowerA. C.TateD. L. (1976) Cardiovascular and skin conductance correlates of a fixed-foreperiod reaction time task in retarded and nonretarded youth. Psychophysiology, 13, 1–9.
3.
ConteR.KinsbourneM. (1988) Electrodermal lability predicts presentation rate effect and stimulant drug effect on paired associate learning in hyperactive children. Psychophysiology, 25, 64–70.
4.
DelamaterA. M.LaheyB. B. (1983) Physiological correlates of conduct problems and anxiety in hyperactive and learning-disabled children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 85–100.
5.
DelamaterA. M.LaheyB. B.DrakeL. (1981) Toward an empirical subclassification of “learning disabilities”: A psychophysiological comparison of “hyperactive” and “nonhyperactive” subgroups. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 9, 65–77.
6.
DykmanR. A.AckermanP. T.ClementsS. D.PetersJ. E. (1971) Specific learning disabilities: An attentional deficit syndrome. In MyklebustH. R. (Ed.), Progress in learning disabilities. Vol. Ii. New York: Grune & Stratton. Pp. 56–98.
7.
DykmanR. A.AckermanP. T.OglesbyD. M.HolcombP. J. (1982) Autonomic responsivity during visual search of hyperactive and reading-disabled children. Pavlovian Journal of Biological Science, 17, 150–157.
8.
HastingsJ. E.BarkleyR. A. (1978) A review of psychophysiological research with hyperkinetic children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 6, 413–447.
9.
JanesC. L.HesselbrockV.SternJ. A. (1978) Parental psychopathology, age, and race as related to electrodermal activity of children. Psychophysiology, 15, 24–34.
10.
KatkinE. S. (1975) Electrodermal lability: A psychophysiological analysis of individual differences in response to stress. In SarasonI. G.SpielbergerC. D. (Eds.), Stress and anxiety. Vol. 2. New York: Wiley. Pp. 141–176.
11.
KroeseB. S.SiddleD. A. T. (1983) Effects of an attention-demanding task on amplitude and habituation of the electrodermal orienting response. Psychophysiology, 20, 128–135.
12.
MiyashitaA. (1986) [Arousal level and information processing of perception.] In NiimiY.SuzukiJ. (Eds.), [Electrodermal activity.']Tokyo: Seiwa Shoten. Pp. 120–133. [Japanese].
13.
PrichepL. S.SuttonS.HakeremG. (1976) Evoked potentials in hyperkinetic and normal children under certainty and uncertainty: A placebo and methylphenidate study. Psychophysiology, 13, 419–428.
14.
RapoportJ. L.ZametkinA. (1980) Attention deficit disorders. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 3, 425–440.
15.
RosenthalR. H.AllenT. W. (1978) An examination of attention, arousal, and learning dysfunctions of hyperkinetic children. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 689–715.
16.
SatterfieldJ. H.SchellA. M.BacksR. W.HidakaK. C. (1984) A cross-sectional and longitudinal study of age effects of electrophysiological measures in hyperactive and normal children. Biological Psychiatry, 19, 973–990.
17.
ShibagakiM.YamanakaT. (1990) Attention of preschool children—electrodermal activity during auditory stimulation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 70, 207–215.
18.
SpringC.GreenbergL.ScottJ.HopwoodJ. (1974) Electrodermal activity in hyperactive boys who are methylphenidate responders. Psychophysiology, 11, 436–442.
19.
ZahnT. P.AbateF.LittleB. C.WenderP. H. (1975) Minimal brain dysfunction, stimulant drugs, and autonomic nervous system activity. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, 381–387.
20.
ZahnT. F.LittleB. C.WenderP. H. (1978) Pupillary and heart rate reactivity in children with minimal brain dysfunction. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 6, 135–147.
