REMEMBERING SPATIAL LOCATIONS - EFFECTS OF MATERIAL AND INTELLIGENCE

The aim of the present work was to test some of the criteria for autom aticity of spatial-location coding claimed by Hasher and Zacks, partic ularly individual differences (as intelligence invariance) and effortf ul encoding strategies. Two groups of subjects, 15 with mental retarda tion (Down Syndrome, mean chronological age, 20.9 yr.; mean mental age , 11.6 yr.) and 15 normal children (mean age, 11.5 yr.), were administ ered four kinds of stimuli (pictures, concrete words, nonsense picture s, and abstract words) at one location on a card. Subsequently, subjec ts were presented the items on the card's centre and were required to place the items in their original locations. Analysis indicated that t hose with Down Syndrome scored lower than normal children on the four tasks and that stimuli were better or worse remembered according to th eir characteristics, e.g., their imaginability. Results do not support some of the conditions claimed to be necessary criteria for automatic ity in the recall of spatial locations as stated by Hasher and Zacks.