An experimental study of persistence

Abstract

83 children in London schools ranging from 7 to 16 years and classified into four groups—physical defectives, mental defectives, orphaned children, and normal children—were given six individual tests aimed at measuring persistence. The tests included two mechanical puzzles, card house building, addition of sums, copying a picture, and cancelling of A's. Persistence in these tests (length of time) correlated .30 with IQ. No characteristic differences were found between the four groups of children. Boys tended to persist longer in the arithmetic test. The most persistent children seemed to talk least, to be quieter, and to be of the "introverted" type. An application of the tetrad-difference technique indicates that there are group factors as well as specific factors "probably including general intelligence, special abilities, perseveration and determination." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)