The Effect of Strategy on the Recall of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure in Children with or without Learning Disabilities

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the effect of two copying strategies on children's recall of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF). The study included 75 children with learning disabilities (LD) and 75 typical children (NC). Children were assigned to either a three-step strategy (condition A), a seven-step strategy (condition B), or a no-strategy condition (condition C), with 25 children in the LD and NC groups in each condition. Children copied the ROCF and then drew it from memory immediately after. The results showed that the NC group performed better than the LD group on recall accuracy, and the groups receiving a strategy performed better than groups without a strategy. For recall organization, children in conditions A and B did better than children in condition C. However, there was no significant difference between the NC and the LD groups in condition A. For recall style, more drawings were “configurational” when a strategy was provided for both the LD and NC groups. This study confirmed that breaking down the steps of a complex task may facilitate its learning.