The effects of identifying objects on a concept-matching task performed by four preschool groups.

Subjects for the present study were 20 retarded, 20 brain-injuried, 20 normal, and 20 disadvantaged children equated for average MA of 4 years 10 months. The study focused on a Concept-Matching task that required subjects to match an index object to one within a multiple-choice array on the basis of function or class. Materials were controlled so that this choice had a conceptual, rather than perceptual, base. Subjects were required to identify objects before proceeding to the Concept-Matching task. It was assumed that Identification responses served as mediators for the Concept-Matching task. Materials consisted of 84 common objects and a duplicate set of drawings. One set of hypotheses predicted that all groups would be hampered by the two-dimensional format for both the Identification and Concept-Matching tasks. A second set of hypotheses pertained to the correlation between Identification and Concept-Matching responses. They predicted (a) significant correlations between Identification and Concept-Matching scores for all groups; (b) a rank order for these correlations as follows: brain-injured greater than normals greater than disadvantaged greater than retardates. Hypotheses dealing with format were confirmed with two exceptions: the retarded and the brain-injured did equally well on the Concept-Matching task in either format. Data concerned with correlations were significant and followed the predicted rank order in the case of three groups: the retarded, disadvantaged, and brain-injured. Results were interpreted in the light of two interrelated theories that emerged from the study: a mediational pattern theory and a coping response theory.