Abstract
The present study examined the effect of attribution training and strategy training on the use of strategies by adolescents with mental retardation. An additional purpose of the present study was to obtain further data on the reported difference in the results of training with a method using an overly easy task (memory-span task) compared to a method using a moderately difficult task with a mix of success and failure outcomes (supra-span task). A total of 45 adolescents participated in the experiment (average age, about 16 years; average IQ, about 55). The experimental design was 2 training methods (strategy training, strategy training+attribution training) ×2 tasks (memory-span task, supra-span task). A recall readiness task was employed in training and in pre-post tests, and a standard sequential memory task that was difficult for the students was used to evaluate the effects of the training. A reliable difference was not found among the groups on the posttest. On the standard sequential memory task, the greatest improvement was observed in the group that had had both strategy training and attribution training with the supra-span task.
