Children's Responses to Nonexplicit Requests for Clarification

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Abstract
67 learning- and 60 non-disabled children in Grades 1 to 8 participated in a referential communication task in which they provided clues for an experimenter who indicated with varying levels of explicitness the need for a second clue. Facial feedback expressing non-comprehension did not acquire the functional equivalence of explicit requests until Grades 7 to 8. Learning disabled girls in Grades 1 and 2 were less likely than non-disabled girls to respond to facial feedback; however, learning disabled boys in these grades were more likely to respond than non-disabled boys. A locus of control measure administered to children in Grades 3 to 8 indicated that responsiveness to the implicit request, “I don't understand,” was related to a belief in internal responsibility for failure.