THE EFFECT OF THE SELF-INSTRUCTIONAL TRAINING COMPONENT OF A COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION FOR IMPULSIVE, EDUCATIONALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN (PRIVATE SPEECH)

Eighty impulsive children between the ages of 8 and 12 were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) self-instructional training (SIT); (2) a cognitive-behavioral training without the SIT component; (3) an attention-placebo group; or (4) a no-contact control group. Twenty subjects were assigned to each condition. All subjects were measured before and after the six-week training period on the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT), the Self-Control Rating Scale, the Piers-Harris Children\u27s Self-Concept Scale, and the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children. It was hypothesized that subjects exposed to the SIT and the cognitive-behavioral training conditions would demonstrate significant improvements in the error and latency scores of the MFFT, but that only subjects exposed to SIT would demonstrate significant changes in self-concept, as measured by the Piers Harris Scale and the Self-Worth Subscale of the Harter Self-Perception Profile. Multivariate analysis of covariance, univariate analyses of covariance, post-hoc Scheffe contrasts, and t-tests for correlated means confirmed that both the SIT and the cognitive behavioral groups demonstrated significant changes from pre- to posttreatment on the MFFT. However, only the SIT group demonstrated significant changes in self-concept. The findings were interpreted in the light of Vygotsky and Kohlberg\u27s theories of the development of private speech as an internal self-regulatory mechanism. SIT appears to be an effective remedial treatment for the development of private speech, which does not develop spontaneously in impulsive children. SIT was recommended for use with impulsive children in the classroom