| Abstract: | The ability of 23 educable retarded children to transfer verbal elaboration techniques to a standard paired-associate task was tested following one, two, or no elaboration experiences. An additional 18 retardates were tested in two outside control conditions, which were used to identify the effects of reversal experience (R-S recall) on acquisition and transfer. Since analyses revealed no differences in performance attributable to reversal experience, the two outside control conditions were combined with the appropriate experimental conditions for further statistical analyses. Relative to the performance of subjects not receiving elaboration experience, those receiving one elaboration experience showed little evidence of transfer while those receiving two elaboration experiences revealed quite clear transfer performance. The relevance of these findings to previous failures to find transfer and their implications for educational practice are discussed. |
