Two hypotheses were developed from Staats' 1967 theoretical position. These were tested in four studies that differed mainly in the ages of the subjects from college-age subjects to elementary school-age subjects. The studies with the younger age groups did not support the hypotheses. An additional study with elementary-age subjects was designed to test a possible explanation of the results. When Staats' theory proved inadequate to explain the results, other explanations were examined. Effectance motivation as developed by Harter is used to explain the results and to suggest new research.
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