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American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias logoLink to American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
. 2011 Jun;26(4):273–281. doi: 10.1177/1533317511404394

Effects of Different Learning Methods for Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Patients With Alzheimer’s Dementia: A Pilot Study

Arnaud Dechamps 1, Luciano Fasotti 2, Jeltine Jungheim 3, Elsa Leone 4, Erna Dood 5, Apolline Allioux 6, Philippe H Robert 7, Xavier Gervais 8, Nathalie Maubourguet 9, Marcel G M Olde Rikkert 10, Roy P C Kessels 11
PMCID: PMC10845318  PMID: 21502092

Abstract

We examined whether errorless learning (EL) and learning by modeling (LM) were more advantageous than trial and error learning (TEL) in the acquisition of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) patients (n = 14). Using a counterbalanced within-subject design, participants performed 3 learning conditions. EL consisted of straightforward prompts before any action, LM focused on the modeling of each step of the tasks and standard TEL without cues was used as a control condition. The participants had to (re)learn 3 IADL. Repeated-measure analyses during learning and follow-up assessments were performed 1 and 3 weeks after learning. The LM and the EL procedures resulted in significantly better learning compared to TEL, with effect sizes (partial eta squared) of 0.42 and 0.35, respectively. This is the first controlled study to show that (re)learning of IADL is possible in patients with AD using an error-reduction approach.

Keywords: errorless learning, modeling, trial and error, instrumental activities of daily living, learning and memory, Alzheimer’s dementia, neuropsychology

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Contributor Information

Arnaud Dechamps, Department of Geriatrics and Alzheimer Centre Nijmegen, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Luciano Fasotti, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Sint Maartenskliniek, Research Development and Education, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Jeltine Jungheim, Department of Geriatrics and Alzheimer Centre Nijmegen, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Elsa Leone, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche du CHU de Nice, Université Nice-Sophia Antipolis, France.

Erna Dood, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Apolline Allioux, EHPAD les Balcons de Tivoli, le Bouscat, France.

Philippe H. Robert, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche du CHU de Nice, Université Nice-Sophia Antipolis, France.

Xavier Gervais, Fédération des Associations de Médecins Coordinateurs en EHPAD, FFAMCO, Bordeaux, France.

Nathalie Maubourguet, Fédération des Associations de Médecins Coordinateurs en EHPAD, FFAMCO, Bordeaux, France.

Marcel G. M. Olde Rikkert, Department of Geriatrics and Alzheimer Centre Nijmegen, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Roy P. C. Kessels, Department of Geriatrics and Alzheimer Centre Nijmegen, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Department of Medical Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, r.kessels@mps.umcn.nl .

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