OBJECT MASTERY MOTIVATION OF CHILDREN WITH DOWN-SYNDROME

Mastery motivation of children with Down syndrome and MA-matched typic ally developing children was examined. The two groups performed simila rly with respect to the quality of their play but differed in level of task engagement and causality pleasure. The children with Down syndro me appeared to be less engaged in the task than were the typically dev eloping group as indicated by shorter sequences of goal-directed behav ior and higher rates of toy rejection. In addition, the children with Down syndrome displayed less causality pleasure with object exploratio n than did the typically developing children.