Affiliation:
1. Northern Illinois University
Abstract
The thesis was presented that behavioral differences in groups of “exceptional” children do not imply different principles of behavior are applicable to each group, as is often suggested, but instead are consequents of differences in learning capacity and modified environmental conditions associated with the exceptionality. Methodological problems in the identification of unique characteristics of the exceptional child were discussed, and it was suggested that studies of deviant groups address the following problems: (1) Is the behavior of the given group unique to that group? (2) What are the learning antecedents of observed group differences?