GUESSING BEHAVIOR OF NORMAL AND RETARDED CHILDREN UNDER TWO RANDOM REINFORCEMENT CONDITIONS

Abstract

Trial and error behavior was compared for normal and retarded children in an unsolvable multiple-choice task. The Ss were reinforced randomly on 10 per cent or 25 per cent schedules. The results indicated that patterns of responding were more redundant (as measured by consistency of responding) under the 25 per cent schedule of reinforcement. Also, the retardates' patterns of response preferences were more stereotyped than those of normal children.