Incidental Learning and Short-Range Memory in Normals and Retardates

Abstract

Denny's hypothesis of an incidental learning deficit in retardates was tested and largely confirmed. Eighteen normal kindergarteners and 18 MA-matched moderately retarded and organically impaired Ss were given two tasks: Geometric Shapes, requiring sorting according to shape and recalling and recognizing according to color (with color representing incidental learning), and Familiar Objects, requiring naming the color of common, familiar, pictured objects and recalling and recognizing according to object name (with object name representing incidental learning). Normals showed more incidental learning on the objects task, significantly so for recognition. On the shapes task, retardates gave incorrect responses; normals did not. Thus, retardates learn incidentally but tend to be inferior to normal peers.