Comparison of Normals and Retardates on Three Perceptual and Motor Tasks

Abstract

A group of 40 institutionalized retarded individuals with a wide range of CA and IQ was compared with a group of 40 normal second and third graders of approximately the same mental age on three tasks. Of these, the first, a finger oscillation test, is primarily motor; the second, an embedded figures test, is perceptual; the third, a design-copying test, is perceptual-motor. The retarded group showed greater variability than the normal group on finger oscillation and design copying. No significant differences between raw scores of the two groups were found on finger oscillation or embedded figures, but the normal Ss were superior on design copying (p = .001). This pattern seems related to the complexity of the task requirements.