Reflection-impulsivity in retarded adolescents and nonretarded children of equal MA.

Educable mentally retarded (EMR) adolescents and nonretarded children of equal MA were given the preschool and elementary forms of the Matching Familiar Figures Test to assess reflection-impulsivity. We found that the EMR adolescents did not differ significantly in accuracy and had somewhat longer response latencies than did the nonretarded children. In view of these results, it is unlikely that impulsivity contributed to the previously reported performance decrement displayed by retarded individuals on problem-solving tasks.