Can Intelligence Be Altered Through Cognitive Training?

Abstract

The authors caution that in neglecting to focus on cognitive training, special educaton may be denying the very ideology on which it is built. Evidence is presented that (a) cognitive development is alterable via environmental and instructional influences; (b) cognition in handicapped populations is difficult to ascertain and is therefore being neglected; and (c) current special education treatment interventions and methodologies have in the past occluded research developments in cognitive training. It is also argued that investigations of cognitive approaches to instruction are so characterized by design flaws that no substantive conclusions can be drawn regarding the usefulness of cognitive theory. Finally, social learning theory is suggested as a means of providing special educators with valuable insights regarding the training of cognitive processes.