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A 20-questions problem-solving task was given to 116 EMR adolescents and 65 nonretarded MA-equated fourth graders. The subjects' questions were classified as either constraint seeking or nonconstraint seeking, and the problem-solving strategies were evaluated in terms of their efficiency of solution. Results indicated that the nonretarded group asked more constraint-seeking questions, and their strategies reflected more efficient problem-solving solutions. The majority of subjects in both groups appeared to be in Mosher and Hornsby's (1966) suggested transitional stage, as demonstrated by the fact that their strategies fell between employing only questions that eliminated one item in the stimulus array (hypothesis scanning) and questions that consistently eliminated the maximum number of items (perfect focusing). In addition, nonretarded subjects' strategies reflected a greater awareness of the apparent organizational demands of the task and especially an awareness of the entire range of dimensions in the stimulus array.

A series of 5-item oddity tasks was administered to 44 EMR adolescents to determine whether a consistent strategy was used to achieve problem solutions. Such a strategy requires establishing a relational hypothesis for two items in a set and retaining that hypothesis in memory while testing subsequent items against it. Evidence for use of a consistent strategy would be found in a particular pattern of response latencies and errors dependent upon the position of the odd stimulus in each 5-item set. Analysis of variance of the mean latency scores and errors for the five positions in which the odd item occurred suggested that a consistent strategy was being applied.

The relationships of 35 community-based mildly mentally retarded adults and their siblings were examined through participant-observation techniques over an 18-month period. Five kinds of sibling relationships were identified based on the independent ranking of each sibling pair on a continuum that reflected three major relationship dimensions: warmth, frequency of contact, and degree of involvement. These relationships were described as were some general patterns that seem to have the greatest impact on relations between retarded adults and their siblings.

From ethnographic fieldnotes and life history interviews, basic descriptive data were presented that depict the adolescent life stage as it was recounted by 25 mildly retarded individuals and their parents. Patterns of adolescent adjustment are described in terms of the issues and concerns that preoccupied the retarded adolescents, the problem behavior exhibited by these young persons, and what parents did about their children's problems. Comparison of adolescent adjustment patterns and current adult status revealed that the central concerns of adolescence remain problems for only some mildly retarded adults. The majority regard normative achievements as most salient to their self-identity and well-being.

The ability of 60 EMR and 60 nonretarded children to acquire and retain a sorting and retrieval strategy designed to be facilitative of recall and clustering was examined. All subjects were given a baseline task and, based on their performance, were assigned to one of three groups: experimental, practice, and control. The experimental group received a multi-session training procedure that consisted of instructing the subjects to arrange the stimuli in conceptual arrays, to name individual stimuli and the superordinates to which the stimuli belong, and to count the number of stimuli in each superordinate. The practice group was presented with the same stimuli but received no training. The control group received only the baseline and criterion measures. Analyses of data showed superior performance by the experimental group on measures of short- and long-term recall, clustering, and sorting.