Resumen de The Influence of Developmental Aphasia in Training‐‐with Special Reference to Abstract Thinking
Three methods of training were used to instruct 26 adolescent control subjects and 21 adolescent aphasic subjects in the completion of two tasks: the tying of a bowline knot and the assembly of a 15‐part torch. Methods of training differed in the degree of abstraction they imposed on the subject. A further eight control and three aphasic subjects received no training for the tasks.
In all, eight groups were examined with comparable groups of aphasic and control subjects being trained by one of the three instructional methods, or receiving no training at all.
The performance of aphasic subjects was compared with that of the controls and in addition each instructional method was assessed for its effectiveness. Though some results conflicted, there is some evidence to show that the performance of aphasic subjects is significantly below that of the control subjects. Analysis based on instructional method showed the least abstract method (a demonstration) to be most effective in the instruction of aphasic adolescents. When this method was employed, the performance of successful aphasic subjects was statistically no different from any of the control subjects. None of the three instructional methods proved more successful than the others in the proportion of aphasic success it produced.
In conclusion it is interpreted that aphasics have a deficit of abstract thinking which can prove a handicap in a training situation. The evidence indicates that such a handicap can be minimized if the aphasic student is taught by a method that makes little or no demand on abstract thinking.
