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Biomedical subjects

B N Gordon

Publications and source records attributed to B N Gordon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Children's testimony: a review of research on memory for past experiences.

This review of children's testimony focuses on research related to memory for past experiences. The aspects of the memory system that are involved in testimony are discussed and the development of autobiographical memory is examined. Relevant research findings are summarized in the context of an information-processing model of memory and the implications of this work for clinical practice are outlined. We conclude that (1) under certain conditions, even very young children can remember and report past experiences with some accuracy over very long periods of time; (2) substantial and significant developmental differences have been demonstrated in children's abilities to provide eyewitness testimony; (3) children can be influenced in a variety of ways to provide complete and elaborated reports of events that never occurred; and (4) even experts cannot always tell the difference between true and false reports.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

The abilities of children with mental retardation to remember personal experiences: implications for testimony.

Investigated the abilities of children with mental retardation to remember the details of a personally experienced event. A simulated health check was administered to 20 children with mental retardation and 40 normally developing children, half matched on mental age (MA) and half matched on chronological age (CA) with the children with mental retardation. The children's memory was assessed immediately after the health check and 6 weeks later. Overall, the children with mental retardation accurately recalled the health check features, provided detail, and resisted misleading questions about features that did not occur. The group with mental retardation performed similarly to the MA matches on virtually all of the memory variables. The children with mental retardation performed worse than the CA matches on most of the memory variables, although they were able to recall a similar number of features. The findings are discussed in terms of the ability of children with mental retardation to provide accurate testimony.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Young children's long-term retention of a pediatric examination.

Children at ages 3, 5 and 7 (N = 187) provided reports of their physical examinations immediately following the checkup and after a delay of either 1, 3, or 6 weeks, or only after 3 weeks. The protocol used for all interviews consisted of initial general prompts, followed by increasingly specific questions as needed. Recall of standard features of the examinations was scored, along with responses to questions concerning acts that did not occur. Retention of the event was extensive and accurate. Although clear age effects were observed in recall, the delay interval did not strongly affect performance over the 6-week period. The amount of forgetting was significant at ages 3 and 5, but not at age 7. With increasing age, a greater percentage of the features was spontaneously recalled. When presented with incongruous questions, all children evidenced rates of correct denials that exceeded chance and few errors of commission. The initial interview did not affect delayed recall. Implications for children's testimony are discussed.

Attention↗
PubMed1991

Children's ability to remember activities performed and imagined: implications for testimony.

This study examined the ability of six year old children to remember activities performed or imagined when they are done alone or interactively with another person. Results suggest that children remember activities performed better than those imagined, both immediately and after an eight week delay. Activities performed interactively with another person were remembered better than those performed alone after the delay. Children provided fewer responses to open-ended than to specific questions, but their responses to open-ended questions were more likely to be correct. Responses to questions about events that did not occur were quite good initially but accuracy decreased significantly in response to follow-up probes.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Children's knowledge of sexuality: a comparison of sexually abused and nonabused children.

Sexually abused and nonabused children, matched for age and social class, were compared for knowledge of various aspects of sexuality. No differences between groups were found. Many of the abused children, however, gave unusual affective responses to the stimuli of the child interview, whereas none of the nonabused children did so. Implications for clinicians working with sexually abused children are discussed.

Attitude↗
PubMed1988

A conceptual model for tracking high-risk infants and making early service decisions.

Recent passage of PL 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Amendments of 1986, has presented a unique opportunity for physicians and educators to work together on behalf of very young children who are at risk for, or are known to have, handicapping conditions. A conceptual model for systematizing, tracking, and making early intervention service decisions for infants born at risk for developmental problems is described. The model is contrasted with others recently proposed, particularly by Aylward and Kenny (1979). The model proposed conceives of risk as additive across areas at any given time, but not cumulative over time. It provides for (1) assessment of risk status at several times during early development, (2) assessment of risk in several areas at each time, (3) differential weighting of risk in each area depending on the time of measurement, and (4) allows for the fact that individuals move in and out of risk at various times. Research ideas are addressed, along with a practical suggestion for use of the model.

Developmental Disabilities↗
PubMed1981

Child temperament and adult behavior: an exploration of "goodness of fit".

This research investigated the relationship between children's temperamental characteristics and adult behavior. Children were selected for four sex-by-temperament groups on the basis of parent report of temperament and were observed interacting with either a highly controlling or a very permissive adult. The results indicated that the degree of adult control or demands is an important component in understanding the "goodness of fit" between parent behavior and child characteristics and that a child's temperament and its relationship to adult behavior cannot be considered in isolation from other child characteristics, particularly the child's sex. Children's sex and temperament were found to interact in relationship with adult controlling behavior while no child behaviors varied as a function of sex or temperament alone. Adults were found to adjust their controlling behavior as a function of the child's sex and temperament. The results are discussed in light of the cross-sex effects of social reinforcement.

Child Behavior Disorders↗
PubMed1975

A mother-instruction program: Documenting change in mother-child interactions.

Measures of mother-child interaction change are reported in a series of 30 mothers and their children, aged 2 to 10. Videotaped play sessions were analyzed in detail to provide baseline measures from which individualized modification guidelines were derived. Mothers were instructed in eight weekly sessions via bug-in-the-ear. Postinstruction observations provided quantification of observed changes following instruction. The target of change was mother-child behavior contingency patterns, effected by intervening into the mother component on those patterns. Measured changes in mother and child behaviors, mother-child contingency patterns, and mother's preceptions of child behaviors are compared.

Affect↗
PubMed1975

A mother instruction program: behavior changes with and without therapeutic intervention.

Mother-child behavior changes over therapeutic intervention and no-contact periods were compared. Fifteen dyads had 8 weeks of instruction followed by no contact; 15 followed a reversed schedule. Overall change was about the same in both groups, and both changed more during instruction than during no-contact periods. Mothers receiving immediate instruction showed greater and more systematic immediate changes following instruction. Children in the group with later follow-up exhibited a greater proportion of behavior change during that no-contact period than during instruction. Thus, no-contact periods cannot be considered no-change periods, though immediate intervention probably ensures more systematic change than intervention preceded by waiting-list experience.

Behavior Therapy↗