Abstract:
Although extensive research has been conducted into the imitative learning of the normal child, there is little information on the imitative learning of the moderately intellectually retarded child. The major aim of the present study is therefore to investigate the similarities and differences in the imitative learning of the moderately retarded child and the normal child of equivalent mental and chronological age.
Current research on the imitative learning of the normal child emphasizes the importance of attentional factors. In the light of recent theoretical postulation of, and extensive empirical evidence of, a specific attentional deficit in the moderately retarded child, a second aim of this study is to investigate the role of attention in the imitative learning of both the retarded and the normal child. Three experiments are reported, each including a control of the attention variable.