Chapter 15 - Implications of the Yerkes Technology for Mentally Retarded Human Subjects

Abstract

This chapter discusses the implications of the Yerkes technology for mentally retarded human subjects. There are numerous features of the Yerkes technology that might facilitate the acquisition of a symbol system by nonverbal retarded people. In the laboratory setting necessary for the computer, the stimulus field can be limited, thus aiding the focus of attention. With this system, the experimenter can easily pace the subject's responding, that is, reduce the tendency toward impulsive responding so often encountered in the performance of such subjects on extremely difficult tasks. The development of linguistic performance skills is limited by both output competence and perceptual development—one cannot develop reliable internal representations of entities that he cannot perceive in a stable manner. Consideration must be given to the development, of processes for differentiating environmental stimuli and for organizing them in ways that facilitate first, the recognition of existence; second, the conceptualization of defining properties; and, third, the comprehension of temporal and spatial relations among items. Performance tasks that exceed the ability of the subjects to handle these processes will be mastered either not at all or merely in rote fashion, and thus not be fully functional or completely under the subject's control. Thus, a manageable program must break the learning tasks into sequences of experiences that provide explicit focus of attention on the referents or on the linguistic functions of words.