Influence of a misleading context on a design-copying task with children with and without learning disabilities.
OBJECTIVE
I investigated developmental and ability differences on a visual-motor task that requires inhibition of misleading information.


METHODS
Children, including those with and without learning disabilities, and adults copied simple line or dot figures inside a tilted frame with instructions to make the figures straight. Two response methods were used: drawing (motor) and placement of bars or washers (motor reduced).


RESULTS
All participants were influenced by the misleading frame, making figures that deviated from true vertical in both motor and motor-reduced formats. Adults were less influenced than children, and children with learning disabilities were more influenced than their peers. Production of more complex figures resulted in increased influence of the misleading frame.


CONCLUSIONS
The ability to inhibit misleading contextual information and find an appropriate frame of reference may be an important developmental process in visual-motor skill development. Implications for assessment and task analysis are discussed.
Coté
Carol A
CA
Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510, USA. cotec2@scranton.edu
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005364:Field Dependence-Independence; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult