Identification by retarded and nonretarded children of stimuli varying along one, two, or three dimensions

The effects of number and type of dimension of stimulus variation, type of dimensional combination, and delay of response upon the identification performance of retarded and nonretarded children were examined. A retarded-nonretarded subject difference in identification ability and delay effects found in an earlier study (Smith & Kaufman, 1972) was replicated, and a developmental effect for nonretarded children was found as well. A retarded-nonretarded subject interaction was indicated for the effects of increasing number of dimensions of variation and for the effects of type of dimensional combination (figure-figure combinations as opposed to figure-ground combinations).