Modeling, imitation, and observational learning in remediation experimentation 1979–1988: An analysis of the validity of research designs and outcomes.

Modeling procedures are frequently used as remedial and instructional techniques with diagnostic groups such as autistic, mentally retarded, and learning-disabled children. The authors describe the theoretical underpinning of the use of modeling in these atypical groups and then consider the scientific merit of 65 studies in 10 diagnostic categories, analyzed from a research design-validity basis. In the analysis of experimental design requirements for remediation research, it was suggested that within-S procedures are essential for interpretable experiments with atypical groups, but no appropriate within-S designs were found in the corpus of studies analyzed. Of the relatively few between-S experiments in the corpus, most were found to be valid in terms of their including the manipulation of at least one modeling variable. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)