Some Effects of Verbal Instruction on Learning by Developmentally Handicapped Adults

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Two studies are presented dealing with the verbal instruction of young mentally retarded adults. The first study examines speed of instruction, and the second study complexity or redundancy within instruction and its effect on the learning and performance of a non-verbal task. The results are described in relation to form of instruction, task, and ability level of the subjects. It appears that increasing the speed of verbal instruction can reduce the level of non-verbal performance particularly in subjects with poor non-verbal scores. Slight increases in speed of instruction can have major and negative impacts. Further, redundancy in verbal instruction inhibits learning in non-verbal tasks and the major damage is associated with individuals who have low verbal ability. The possible relevance of the findings to research and practice within the field of habilitation are discussed.