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Learning and Memory Strategies in the Mentally Retarded

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Cognitive Strategy Research

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Cognitive Development ((SSCOG))

Abstract

The development and use of strategic skills may well be the most researched topic in the broad areas of learning and memory in the mentally retarded (see Detterman, 1979; Ellis, 1979). Interest in control processing in the retarded was spurred by the theoretical insights of Norman Ellis (1970). Having pioneered work on structural deficits in retarded learning (Ellis, 1963), he began to shift his research focus in the late 1960s to rehearsal processes as key factors in explaining the memory failures of retarded children. Ellis (1970) concluded that differential performance of mentally retarded and nonretarded individuals on memory tasks was due to the former’s failure to use active rehearsal strategies. For instance, retarded individuals recalled as many items as nonretarded individuals on the last few positions of a serial list, but significantly fewer items on the early positions of the list. It is important to note that the earlier items require active rehearsal processing for good recall. Since an increase in exposure time did not noticeably enhance memory for earlier items for retarded individuals, Ellis (1970) concluded that rehearsal deficiencies characterized the encoding processes of the mentally retarded.

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Authors
  1. John G. Borkowski
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  2. Fredi P. Büchel
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C2

    Michael Pressley

  2. Department of Educational Psychology and Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA

    Joel R. Levin

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Borkowski, J.G., Büchel, F.P. (1983). Learning and Memory Strategies in the Mentally Retarded. In: Pressley, M., Levin, J.R. (eds) Cognitive Strategy Research. Springer Series in Cognitive Development. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5522-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5522-2_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-5524-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-5522-2

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