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Work by Terman helped refute the negative stereotype that highly intelligent children were maladjusted, but Hollingworth contended that children in the very highest IQ groups were prone to maladjustment problems. The present study examines whether the relationshp between intelligence and personality adjustment is negative or positive within the gifted range. Subjects are 83 7- to 11-year-old children, with IQs between 120 and 168, who were enrolled in either a public or private school gifted program. Results with both parent- and child-report instruments (Personality Inventory for Children, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale) support the view that intelligence is positively related to adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents some of the evidence indicating the importance of noncognitive variables in determining how well the socioculturally retarded child will achieve in structured testing and scholastic situations. Socioculturally retarded children come from intellectually and experientially restricted environments, and such environmental restrictions appear to influence the personality structures of these children. They approach formal testing and scholastic situations with poor achievement motivation, with little expectation for success and high expectation of failure, with heightened anxiety, with poor self concepts, and with a need for emotional nurturing. These noncognitive variables influence learning so that consideration must be given these factors along with the consideration given to cognitive variables in formal academic programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of grouping children in the classroom for the purpose of improving teaching has been traditionally approached by making groups homogeneous on the basis of age, intelligence test scores, achievement tests, or personality measures. Using an alternative approach, involving direct assessment of academic productivity and pretraining to work in groups, two studies are presented in this article. Experiment I showed that through the management of reinforcement contingencies a teacher could develop and maintain a high rate of academic productivity in a group of two boys with school adjustment problems. Experiment II, which applied similar techniques to a larger group, showed that high rates of work behavior could be maintained as the size of the group increased, and suggested that the proximity of the teacher may be related to the amount of study behavior generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the operation of a program which accommodates atypical children in the Diagnostic Preschool of The Miriam School in Saint Louis, Missouri. The program is intended to analyze the developmental patterns of the children, design a developmentally planned school program and work together with parents to improve the child's ability to function in the home and community. Each child is thoroughly guided for him to realize his maximal intellectual potential. All children have been evaluated and reevaluated on a number of visual motor dimensions.

Groups of gifted and average elementary school children from upper and lower status backgrounds were compared on measures of height, weight, personality traits, interests, activities, and creative thinking. Group differences between upper and lower status gifted children were found to be associated with differences in socioeconomic background. Group differences between gifted and average children regardless of socio-economic background were also disclosed. The findings emphasize the importance of controlling for socioeconomic status in studies where gifted and nongifted children are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Children's Personality Questionnaire was administered by two investigators to children enrolled in special classes for the educable mentally retarded in Indiana. One group included 158 children and the other 171 for a total of 329 children with a mean age of about 12 years and mean IQ's about 65, range 50–80. The studies, conducted independently, are reported in parallel so that results may be compared. There is some evidence that this questionnaire does reveal a pattern of personality which may be useful in identifying children for special class assignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to evaluate the desirability of pressuring creative children for academic achievement, and the personality theories underlying such decisions. Neither the emotional adjustment nor the personality characteristics of creative children were significantly affected by their achievement level. This suggests that arguments based on the effect that pressure for academic excellence will have on the personality of the creative child are without foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the concept of neutralization as a useful tool for teachers of disturbed children. Neutralization means freeing the child's area of problem that depends on those personality characteristics in which he happens to be weakest. The schools are planning for disturbed children by providing special counseling and referral services. It is suggested that neutralization can be considered an additional classroom tool to minimize the influence of personality problems on the learning process of disturbed children.

The article investigates the reaction of deaf children and normal hearing children to frustration. A number of studies have been dedicated to determine the different kinds and degrees of personality disturbance associated with hearing loss. Questionnaires, rating scales, paper and pencil personality tests were used to measure indirectly to measure the adjustment of hearing impaired children. The response tendency of hard of hearing children reflects their ability to endure and meet the emotional stresses of frustrating experiences.

A list of periodical articles and pamphlets related to exceptional children is presented. They include "Measurement of the Intelligence and Personality of the Deaf: A Review of the Literature," by Stanley Berlinsky, "Counseling the Parents of Acoustically Handicapped Children," by Leroy D. Hedgecock and "A Report on the Hearing Survey in the Public Schools of Pennsylvania," by James E. Landis.

The article discusses the principles associated in the philosophy and practice of teaching exceptional children. Teachers of exceptional children need to be acquainted with the aspects of physical, social and biological sciences in terms of their apprehension of normal behavior and personality structure. They must have the skill in the art of interdisciplinary relationships. It is when teachers recognize symptoms and referrals or plan consultations when the need arises. Moreover, there should be a free flowing exchange of ideas between teacher, supervisor and administrator.

The article presents the 34th spring conference of the Woods Schools in cooperation with the Technical Planning Project of the American Association on Mental Deficiency and Other Private and Governmental Agencies that will be held on May 1 to 3, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It includes fundamental issues in research strategy, principles and philosophy. The diverse aspects of measurement problems as matching, cooperative utilization of data, analyses of populations in institutions for the mentally retarded and the study of personality development in pre-adolescent mentally retarded children. Also included are some concepts of medical, psychological and sociological variables in the etiology of mental retardation.