Cognitive research in mental retardation.

Virtually all investigators currently conducting cognitive research in mental retardation address directly or indirectly the question of cognitive modifiability. Within that context we have dichotomized the research for discussion purposes into two classes. The first class includes research aimed at the development of an empirically based cognitive model of mental retardation. Investigators who do this work believe that strategies for cognitive modifiability will follow directly from a thorough understanding of the structures and processes that comprise the cognitive system. The second class of cognitive research in mental retardation is composed of studies on intervention. This research is focused on identification of cognitive deficiencies and subsequent attempts to alleviate these deficiencies. In this paper we have briefly provided examples of research from both classes chosen from ongoing research at the John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Education and Human Development.