AN EVALUATION OF VARIABLES AFFECTING THE COMMUNICATION PERFORMANCE OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN.

The study was designed to evaluate the importance of a number of variables, outlined in the literature, to the development of effective verbal communication skills. Sixty preschool children were evaluated on a number of different variables, including language tasks, visual tasks, roletaking tasks and a variety of other tasks. Demographic variables were taken into consideration when the children were screened for the study. The results indicated two separate aspects of verbal communication performance were related to similar, yet different predictor variables. The estimate of length or quantity of response was influenced more by both verbal and visual processes. In contrast, the qualitative component of the response was related to verbal and social development-popularity processes. Clear differences were found between what is significant for preschool verbal communication performance, and what would be expected on the basis of the literature. The results are discussed in relation to the work of the existing research in the area.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1980 .W384. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: B, page: 1137. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1980