Locus of control and the spontaneous use of mnemonic strategies in a motor memory task.
A test was developed which enabled isolating the effects of locus of control over specific parts of the learning process, while studying its effect on the spontaneous use of mnemonic strategies. Fifty-six adults with mild or moderate mental retardation were randomly assigned to four groups that differed by both internal versus external control, and empty versus filled interval. Recall after an empty interval was significantly better than that following a filled one, suggesting the spontaneous use of mnemonic strategies. No effect was found for the locus of control variable. A longer "warm up decrement" in this population is suggested.
Yalon-Chamovitz
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Department of Occupational Therapy, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. shirayc@post.tau.ac.il
Jarus
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D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors