The Use of IQ as a Measure of Problem Solving Ability with Mongoloid and Nonmongoloid Retarded Children

Summary

A major purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of MA and IQ to learning a task, among retardates, involving conceptualization. Such tasks are considered by Jensen, in his theory on mental abilities, to test Level II abilities as opposed to Level I abilities which involve rote learning and primary memory. The theoretical basis for this part of the experiment are the opposing hypotheses of Weir and Zigler concerning the use of IQ or MA as the best measure of learning rate. Specifically, a dimension-abstracted oddity task was presented to 40 mongoloids and 40 nonmongoloids. The results supported Weir's hypothesis, as IQ was found to determine the rate of learning the task. A second major finding was that the nonmongoloids learned the task faster than the mongoloid Ss.