Outerdirectedness as a Function of Success and Failure in Educationally Handicapped Boys

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We lack sufficient knowledge regarding the specific effects of academic failure on the performance strategies of learning disabled children. Considerable research concerning mentally retarded children who have experienced failure has shown that their work may be more characterized by “outerdirectedness” than “distractability,” the latter term being more typically applied to the learning disabled. Outerdirectedness represents a motivational style of problem solving in which the child uses external cues rather than relying on his own cognitive resources. While the study presented is somewhat inconclusive, perhaps owing to the fact that different learning disabled children adopt different coping styles, the concept of outerdirectedness is an important one for teachers and one which needs further research among children who are learning disabled. — G.M.S.