Attention and attentional shift efficiency in individuals with and without mental retardation

Adults with and without mental retardation and equal-MA children were presented with a modified Stroop paradigm to assess both attention and attentional shift efficiency. The lateralized presentation of Stroop color words, neutral words, and the subject's usual first name (Stroop/name trials) revealed that although the adults with mental retardation and the equal-MA subjects were comparable in terms of correct response latencies for the Stroop and the name trials, the former were significantly less accurate relative to the equal-MA subjects and adults without mental retardation. The random placement of low frequency name trials among the Stroop trials permitted the assessment of the subject's ability to shift attention. The lack of a greater left hemisphere interference across groups for the Stroop/name trials was not consistent with the left hemisphere advantage obtained for the reading trials. This finding was discussed in relation to the right hemisphere's involvement in tasks requiring attention.