Related Experiment Videos
Getting there: directions given by mildly retarded and nonretarded adults
Monographs of the American Association on Mental Deficiency (1982)
|January 1, 1984
Summary
Mentally retarded adults often struggle with giving accurate directions, making more frequent and unique errors than nonretarded adults. This study confirms that communicative competence, not just language structure, is key for effective communication in this population.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Special Education
Background:
- Studies on language and mental retardation traditionally focus on phonological, morphological, lexical, and syntactic deficits.
- These traditional deficits are often insignificant for individuals with mild mental retardation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the communicative competence of mentally retarded adults in giving directions.
- To compare the types and frequency of errors made by mentally retarded and nonretarded adults when providing directions.
Main Methods:
- Assessed the ability of mentally retarded and nonretarded adults to provide accurate directions to their residences.
- Analyzed the types and quantity of errors in the directions given by both groups.
Main Results:
- While many mentally retarded adults provided adequate directions, 55% gave inaccurate or ineffective directions.
- A significant portion of mentally retarded individuals made errors in communicative competence, including a lack of knowledge of direction structure and communicative design.
- Mentally retarded individuals made similar errors to nonretarded individuals but with greater frequency, confirming previous hypotheses.
Conclusions:
- The ability to provide clear and accurate directions is a measure of communicative competence.
- For individuals with mild mental retardation, deficits in communicative design and competence are more significant than traditional linguistic deficits.
- Effective communication strategies and support should address broader communicative competence beyond basic language structures.