An exploratory study compared 49 educable retardates with 20 third and 19 sixth grade normal children on measures of locus of control, level of aspiration, and n-Achievement. The results were consistent with a developmental progression, sixth graders scoring more internal in locus of control and more realistic in level of aspiration than third graders. The retardates who were chronologically older than the sixth graders tended to resemble third graders on these various measures.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BattleE. S.RotterJ. B.Children's feelings of personal control as related to social class and ethnic group. Journal of Personality, 1963, 31, 482–490.
2.
BaumeisterA. A.Problems in comparative studies of mental retardates and normals. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1967, 71, 869–875.
3.
BelmontJ. M.ButterfieldE. C.The relations of short-term memory to developmental level and intelligence. In LipsittL. P.SpikerC. C. (Eds.), Advances in child development and behavior. Vol. 4. New York: Academic Press, 1969. Pp. 29–82.
4.
BialerI.Conceptualization of success and failure in mentally retarded and normal children. Journal of Personality, 1961, 29, 303–320.
5.
GardnerW. I.Reactions of intellectually normal boys after experimentally induced failure—a social learning theory interpretation. Ann Arbor: Univer. Microfilms, 1958. (59-1100)
6.
GozaliJ.BialerI.Children's Locus of Control Scale: Independence from response set bias among retardates. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1968, 72, 622–625.
7.
JordanT. E.DeCharmsR.The achievement motive in normal and mentally retarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1959, 64, 457–466.
McGeeJ. P.MilgramN. A.RiedelW. W.Prediction of performance by retardates and normal children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1970, in press.
10.
MilgramN. A.The rational and irrational in Zigler's motivational approach to mental retardation. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1969, 73, 527–532.
11.
MillerM. B.Locus of control, learning climate, and climate shift in serial learning in mental retardates. Ann Arbor: Univer. Microfilms, 1961. (No. 61-5815)
12.
RiedelW.An investigation of personal constructs through nonverbal tasks. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, in press.
13.
RiedelW. W.MilgramN. A.Locus of control and interpersonal perception in institutionalized retardates. A paper read at the annual American Association of Mental Deficiency conference in Boston, May, 1968.
14.
RingelheimD.Effects of internal and external reinforcements on expectancies of mentally retarded and normal boys. Ann Arbor: Univer. Microfilms, 1958. (No. 59-1116)
15.
RotterJ. B.Level of aspiration as a method of studying personality. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1942, 31, 410–422.
16.
RotterJ. B.Social learning and clinical psychology. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1954.
17.
RotterJ. B.Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 1966, 80, No. 1 (Whole No. 609).
ZiglerE.Developmental versus difference theories of mental retardation and the problem of motivation. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1969, 73, 536–555.