Effects of vibratory, edible, and social reinforcement on performance of institutionalized mentally retarded individuals

Ottenbacher, K.; Altman, R.

American Journal of Mental Deficiency 89(2): 201-204

1984


ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9351
PMID: 6486186
Document Number: 230888
The relative effectiveness of verbal praise, vibration, and edible reward as methods of enhancing and maintaining performance on a perceptual-motor task was investigated. Sixty-six mentally retarded students were divided into high- and low-MA groups and randomly assigned to reinforcement conditions. Data analysis revealed that response rates for the low-MA students in the verbal condition reinforcement and the nonreinforcement phases were significantly lower than the response rates for the low-MA students in any phase of the edible or vibratory conditions. No significant difference in reinforcer effectiveness was observed across various phases for students in the high-MA groups.

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