Presentation rate effects on paired associate learning by attention deficit disordered children.

2 methods of varying presentation rate during paired associate learning were contrasted in attention deficit disordered (ADD) children. Previous studies have varied presentation rate across different (fixed rate) lists, and they have demonstrated that ADD children perform poorly at slower rates. In the present study, this method of presentation was contrasted with one in which half the items within a single list were presented at a fast rate and half at a slow rate. The debilitating effect of the slow rate was obtained in ADD children (but not in normal controls) only with the fixed list method. This finding suggests that the rate effects occur in ADD children because they are vulnerable to the experimental context created when items are presented at a slow rate over an extended time period.