behavioral features of the mentally retarded adolescent; implications for mainstream educators

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Prq'cholog., in the Srhoolr 1982. I!?, 98-10.5 BEHAVIORAL FEATURES OF THE MENTALLY RETARDED ADOLESCENT; IMPLICATIONS FOR MAINSTREAM EDUCATORS PATRICK J. SCHLOSS AND ROBERT A. SEDLAK Soulhern Illinois Universily-Carbondale The present paper presents current psychological and educational literature associated with the behavioral characteristics of the mentally retarded adolescent. Empirical constructs including adaptive behavior, motivation, reinforcer effectiveness, locus of control, and social discrimination skills of the mentally retarded are discussed. Current literature is translated into practical strategies for working effectively with the mentally retarded adolescent in the secondary classroom. Educational efforts on behalf of the mentally retarded adolescent have been greatly expanded in recent years. Federal and state support in the form of PL 94-142 and other mandates have promised all adolescents, including those traditionally viewed as un- educable, a free and appropriate education. The same legislation has stated that educational services must be provided in the least restrictive environment. In many cases, the least restrictive educational environment is the regular classroom with special sup- port services. The emphasis on integrating the mentally retarded adolescent with nonretarded adolescents in the regular classroom has direct implications for the training of regular education teachers. There has been a trend for states to require all teachers to receive for- mal in-service training in working with handicapped youth. Unfortunately, the force of this movement will not be felt for some time (Gearhart & Weishahn, 1976). In light of this fact, there is an immediate and urgent need for high school educators to acquire knowledge regarding the special learning and behavioral characteristics of mentally retarded adolescents. The need for in-service training is highlighted by research that has demonstrated that teachers who have had little exposure to children with exceptional learning characteristics tend to respond to the labeled individual in an atypical manner (Foster, Ysseldyke, & Rees, 1975; Kester & Letchworth, 1972; Rothbart, Dalfen, & Barrett, 197 1 ; Schloss & Miller, in press). Brophy and Good (1970) identified discrepancies in the way teachers socially reinforce high-achieving students and low-achieving children, with high achievers receiving less criticism for incorrect responses. Also, the authors found that instructors prompted or supplied answers to the high-achieving students more often. The previous practice of isolating classes for the mentally retarded has deprived regular education teachers of the opportunity to become familiar with the more appropriate behavioral characteristics of the mentally retarded. The sparsity of social contact and in- teraction may, as is exemplified in the previous study, predispose teachers to respond in a biased manner toward children with exceptional characteristics (Gardner, 1977). Teachers previously insulated from adolescents with exceptional characteristics are now faced with the task of establishing conditions that foster social and cognitive growth. Wilson and McLaughlin (in press) reported that subtle changes in the manner in which teachers respond to a student can resuit in socially desirable behaviors replacing inap- propriate behaviors. Gardner (1974) emphasizes that a teacher's programming decisions Requests for reprints should be sent to Patrick J. Schloss, Dept. of Special Education, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901. 98

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Page 1: Behavioral features of the mentally retarded adolescent; Implications for mainstream educators

Prq'cholog., in the Srhoolr 1982. I!?, 98-10.5

BEHAVIORAL FEATURES O F THE MENTALLY RETARDED ADOLESCENT; IMPLICATIONS FOR MAINSTREAM EDUCATORS

PATRICK J . SCHLOSS A N D ROBERT A . SEDLAK

Soulhern Illinois Universily-Carbondale

The present paper presents current psychological and educational literature associated with the behavioral characteristics of the mentally retarded adolescent. Empirical constructs including adaptive behavior, motivation, reinforcer effectiveness, locus of control, and social discrimination skills of the mentally retarded are discussed. Current literature is translated into practical strategies for working effectively with the mentally retarded adolescent in the secondary classroom.

Educational efforts on behalf of the mentally retarded adolescent have been greatly expanded in recent years. Federal and state support in the form of PL 94-142 and other mandates have promised all adolescents, including those traditionally viewed as un- educable, a free and appropriate education. The same legislation has stated that educational services must be provided in the least restrictive environment. In many cases, the least restrictive educational environment is the regular classroom with special sup- port services.

The emphasis on integrating the mentally retarded adolescent with nonretarded adolescents in the regular classroom has direct implications for the training of regular education teachers. There has been a trend for states to require all teachers to receive for- mal in-service training in working with handicapped youth. Unfortunately, the force of this movement will not be felt for some time (Gearhart & Weishahn, 1976). In light of this fact, there is an immediate and urgent need for high school educators to acquire knowledge regarding the special learning and behavioral characteristics of mentally retarded adolescents.

The need for in-service training is highlighted by research that has demonstrated that teachers who have had little exposure to children with exceptional learning characteristics tend to respond to the labeled individual in an atypical manner (Foster, Ysseldyke, & Rees, 1975; Kester & Letchworth, 1972; Rothbart, Dalfen, & Barrett, 197 1 ; Schloss & Miller, in press). Brophy and Good (1970) identified discrepancies in the way teachers socially reinforce high-achieving students and low-achieving children, with high achievers receiving less criticism for incorrect responses. Also, the authors found that instructors prompted or supplied answers to the high-achieving students more often. The previous practice of isolating classes for the mentally retarded has deprived regular education teachers of the opportunity to become familiar with the more appropriate behavioral characteristics of the mentally retarded. The sparsity of social contact and in- teraction may, as is exemplified in the previous study, predispose teachers to respond in a biased manner toward children with exceptional characteristics (Gardner, 1977).

Teachers previously insulated from adolescents with exceptional characteristics are now faced with the task of establishing conditions that foster social and cognitive growth. Wilson and McLaughlin (in press) reported that subtle changes in the manner in which teachers respond to a student can resuit in socially desirable behaviors replacing inap- propriate behaviors. Gardner (1974) emphasizes that a teacher's programming decisions

Requests for reprints should be sent to Patrick J. Schloss, Dept. of Special Education, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901.

98

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Men tally Retarded A dolescen t 99

can have a major impact on the degree to which the adolescent benefits from the educational environment. The notion that carefully designed and consistently im- plemented educational programs can have dramatic effects on individuals’ progress has been well documented (Robinson & Robinson, 1976). It is important to note that effec- tive program development relies on the teacher’s ability to recognize and accommodate individual behavioral characteristics of the learner.

The present paper seeks to add to the secondary school teacher’s resources by translating current learning theory research into educational program implications for the mentally retarded adolescent. It is hoped that this information will facilitate in- dividual behavioral analysis that can identify the unique behavioral characteristics of each student.

LIMITED BEHAVIORAL REPERTOIRE Mental retardation, by definition, refers to significantly subaverage intellectual

functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior (Grossman, 1973). Adaptive behavior is the degree to which the individual exhibits behaviors that contribute to social adaptation and personal independence. These behaviors may be identified as be- ing motivational, affective, intellectual, social, motor, and so on.

A more detailed explanation of the function of adaptive behavior is advanced by Leland, Nihira, Foster, Shellhaas, and Kagin (1968). They suggest that adaptive behavior is an indication of an individual’s ability to cope with the immediate environ- ment. Three abilities are considered to be subsumed under adaptive behavior. The recognition of strengths and weaknesses in any of these facets is an important starting point for teachers wishing to program successfully for the retarded adolescent. Independent Functioning

In general, independent functioning refers to the individual’s ability to successfully reach closure on a task that is appropriate to his/her age and expected by the com- munity. Deficits in independent functioning lead to a dependence on more socially com- petent people in the environment. While a reliance on others may be functional in some instances, a pervasive dependence on others may limit the extent to which all adolescents can benefit from and contribute to educational and vocational experiences. Personal Responsibility

This may be viewed as the person’s ability to control his/her personal behavior and assume the responsibility for its outcome. In addition, personal responsibility refers to the person’s willingness to engage in behaviors that s/he is capable of performing. This area underlies the person’s decision-making process. Social Responsibility.

This facet involves the ability of the individual to conform to standards inferred from his/her peer group. It also includes social adjustment, emotional maturity, and the acceptance of civic responsibility, which ultimately leads to a degree of economic in- dependence.

Educators can not assume that independent functioning, personal responsibility, and social responsibility develop adequately in the mentally retarded independent of special environmental influences. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the retarded do not develop these attributes commensurate with their age group (Leland, Shellhaas, Nihira, & Foster, 1967). This is explained in part by the retarded individual’s relative in-

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100 Psychology in the Schools, January, 1982, Vol. 19, No. 1.

ability to interpret and respond to environmental influences in a way that will promote new learning. Limited learning diminishes the number of positive social responses that may be exhibited by the individual when faced with demanding situations. The result may be that the individual behaves inappropriately because of not being able to identify and/or utilize adaptive behaviors that others acquire without special learning ex- periences.

Effective programming must consider whether or not a sufficient range of adaptive behaviors are present in the individual’s repertoire to meet the demands imposed by educational, vocational, or recreational environments. If it can be determined that the in- dividual lacks the skills necessary to behave in an acceptable manner, then specific adap- tive behaviors must be taught. Role playing, modeling, and behavior rehearsals around specific situations have been demonstrated to be effective strategies for promoting social learning with mentally retarded adolescents (Bates, 1980). Rehearsal sequences should be structured as closely as possible to environmental events that result in maladaptive behavior. Modeling and practicing positive social behaviors immediately following a troubling incident may be the most concrete method of promoting social learning.

REDUCED MOTIVATION People become socially competent as the result of numerous interactions with their

environment. These interactions begin at birth and become more complex through adulthood. People become more competent in interacting with and benefiting from the environment as they become older. This process of refining individual abilities allows the person to control the environment as s/he reaches social or intellectual maturity (White, 1 960).

The motive that underlies this process has been termed effectance. ERectance can be described as satisfaction gained from the successful completion of a challenging task. Effectance encourages attention to and experimentation in subsequent tasks that require greater skill. The result of this hierarchical process is a continual growth in competence. Effectance motivation is facilitated by the satisfaction gained from a history of successes and failures across many areas. A review of the literature pertaining to effectance motivation by Harter and Zigler (1974) clearly demonstrated that pleasure is derived from mastery of difficult tasks. Also, the more challenging the task, the greater the sense of personal reward that one gains from its completion. Other reviewers have presented similar findings (Hunt, 1965; Piaget, 1952).

The concept of effectance motivation has strong implications for the mentally retarded. Fundamental to the paradigm is the notion of success in increasingly more challenging tasks motivating future performance; however, tasks that are excessively difficult result in feelings of laboriousness, frustration, and ultimate failure. It has been shown that individuals who are required to engage in excessively difficult and frustrating tasks exhibit reduced levels of effectance motivation (Zigler, 1973).

The retarded are generally expected to perform at a level commensurate with their chronological-age peers. The tasks that are deemed challenging for others are often overwhelming for the retarded. Because the retarded adolescent finds little enjoyment in accomplishing these tasks, future endeavors of a similar nature are not intrinsically motivating.

The effectance motivation construct has major implications for those designing educational programs for the mentally retarded adolescent. Primarily, instruction should be provided at a level that challenges the student but does not lead to excessive frustra-

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tion or failure. It is also important that the student and his/her peers not perceive the work as being demeaning. Also, tangible or strong social reinforcement may be required to attract the student to a task in lieu of effectance motivation. As optimally challenging tasks are completed and reinforced, effectance motivation may increase, allowing the gradual fading of contrived reinforcers.

LIMITED RANGE OF REINFORCING EVENTS The mentally retarded are often characterized by a limitation in events that are rein-

forcing (Gardner, 1977); in effect, there are fewer functional incentives that a teacher may offer to promote achievement. Natural reinforcers that elicit the efforts of normal children are typically not effective with the mentally retarded (Levy, 1974). The limited range of reinforcement is influenced by several factors. The major detriment can be viewed in terms of the social learning theory advanced by Rotter (1954). Rotter’s for- mulation follows from the premise that people approach objects or events in which they have a high expectancy for success and reinforcement. Social behavior may then be predicted by examining one’s learning history in relation to goal or threat objects.

Rotter (1975) describes behavior as being a function of four major determinants: ex- pectancy, value of reinforcement, psychological situation, and behavior. The following formula denotes the relationship of the variables: BEHAVIORAL POTENTIAL = (ex- pectancy & reinforcement value). The formula denotes that the potential for a behavior to occur is a function of the expectancy or reinforcement following the behavior and the value of reinforcement. A substantial body of research has supported its utility in un- derstanding and predicting the behavior of the mentally retarded (see Mercer & Snell, 1977, for a review).

Because the retarded are subjected to an increased frequency of failure experiences, their expectancy of failure in future endeavors is increased (Chandler & Boroskin, 1971). The generalized expectancy for failure and nonreinforcement reduces the likelihood that the individual will approach the event in the future (Keogh, Cahill, & MacMillan, 1972). The reinforcement properties of the event are, as a result, reduced. Thus, events typically viewed as being reinforcing for the average student may not be reinforcing for the retarded because of the generalized expectancy of an aversive or neutral outcome.

Further complicating this effect is the notion that the mentally retarded individual generally is not exposed to the variety of pleasant activities and events encountered by the average student. This may be due to social deprivation, parental neglect, or in- stitutional upbringing. In any case, the lack of exposure to diverse reinforcing conditions inhibits the individual from forming positive associations with those activities or events. The retarded person does not anticipate the reinforcing qualities of an event because of the lack of experiences that would lead to an expectancy of reinforcement.

One would expect that the activities and events typically applied in educational set- tings as incentives and goals may not be effective with the mentally retarded. Further, a disproportionate number of events in the educational environment may have acquired aversive properties through the person’s learning history. The final result is that the men- tally retarded person may actively avoid events that other children consider to be intrin- sically reinforcing.

The implications of a reduced range of reinforcing events or properties for educational programming are clear. First, it is important that teachers work with adolescents in setting reasonable goals. Goal setting encourages the student to realistically assess his expectancies of attaining reinforcement following a behavior. If

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I02 Psychology in the Schools, January, 1982, Vol. 19, No. 1.

the adolescent’s expectancy of goal attainment can be increased, the targeted behavior is more likely to occur (Klieban, 1967).

A second implication for educational programming is that rewards should be paired with goal attainment or desirable behavior (e.g., doing homework, cleaning desk, answering correctly in class, etc.). The pairing of rewards with task completion increases the retarded person’s expectancy that the task will be completed (Piper, 1970). Teachers also must identify rewards that are viewed by the student as being reinforcing. It has been shown that the value of a reward is directly related to the individual’s expectancy for success (Chandler & Boroshin, 1971; Ollendick, Balla, & Zigler, 1971; Schuster & Gruen, 1971).

A third implication is that the retarded adolescent needs to engage in tasks and events that have a high probability of resulting in success (Ollendick, et al., 1971).

In general, establishing challenging but realistically attainable goals and reinforcing task completion appears to be essential in extending the retarded individual’s limited range of reinforcing events and motivating performance.

EXTERNAL Locus OF CONTROL Locus of control is a construct that has been derived from the social learning theory

literature (Rotter, 1954). According to the theory, reinforcement may be viewed as being a consequence of the person‘s own actions (internal) or as a result of an outside influence (external) such as the influence of others. It is important to recognize that locus of con- trol is considered to fall on a continuum with external at one extreme and internal at the other.

Lawrence and Winschel (1975) have proposed that the external-internal continuum may be described by a five-stage process:

1 . Stage I- The child attributes the events of his life, particularly failure, to forces beyond his control.

2 . StageII- Internality for success begins to emerge while externality for failure, though still evident, begins to fade.

3. Stage

4. Stage

11- The maturing child becomes essentially internal, although this belief is principally evident in self-responsibility for success.

V- The previous stage of development appears to be reversed, as a growing awareness of responsibility and a sense of courage in the face of difficulty lead to high internality for failure, coupled with a new modesty for one’s successes.

Stage V- With the onset of genuine self-reliance, the individual accepts equally the responsibility for his successes and failures (Lawrence & Winschel, 1975, p.487).

5 .

The authors suggest that mentally retarded adolescents frequently do not progress beyond the first two stages. This is attributed to numerous frhstration and failure ex- periences resulting from subnormal intellectual and academic ability. Fox (1972) has demonstrated that the mentally retarded cluster about Stages I1 and 111, and relatively few obtain the upper levels of the continuum. These findings indicate that the mentally retarded have a limited capacity for self-reliance and independence; therefore, they may not be effective agents in promoting their own development. If educational programming is to have a durable and generalized effect, the student must assume control of the con-

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Mentally Retarded Adolescent 103

tingencies that shape his/her behavior. Unfortunately, externally directed individuals perceive reinforcement as being under the control of others.

The major implication of these findings is that teachers should be aware of the student’s perceived locus of control. Once again, the adolescent must be provided with numerous success experiences, and consistent consequences should be paired with success. Immediate feedback should follow behavior, so that the student will begin to recognize the effect his or her behavior has on specific outcomes. It is imperative that social reinforcement be honest and directly related to the desired behavior, since noncon- tingent praise may serve to encourage the disassociation of behavior from consequences. An example of appropriate social reinforcement may be, “You’re really dressed sharply today. I especially like the shirt you have on.” A vague social reinforcer that may not be as effective is, “I like the way you look today. Keep it up.”

Finally, every effort should be made to shift the perceived control of contingencies from the teacher to the student. This may be accomplished by: encouraging the student to establish his or her own goals; providing a system through which s/he can monitor progress toward the goal; and encouraging the student to identify the consequences of goal attainment (McLaughlin, 1976). Tangible reinforcers or contrived cues, when used, should be faded as the student becomes more cognizant of the natural positive conse- quences of his/her behavior (Swain & McLaughlin, in press).

DEFICIENCIES I N SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION The mentally retarded often have difficulty in making fine distinctions based on rele-

vant social cues (Gardner, 1977). This is evidenced by the fact that individuals frequently have adaptive behaviors in their repertoire, but are unable to utilize them at appropriate times. For example, the mentally retarded student may know how to shake hands but not know the conditions under which it is appropriate to greet a person in this manner. In effect, environmental cues that assist one in identifying appropriate behaviors do not have a strong and reliable influence on the mentally retarded adolescent.

Discrimination deficits have a major influence on the atypical behavior of the retarded adolescent. Not only is it important that an appropriate behavior be matched with a given social setting, but the intensity, duration, and magnitude of the chosen behavior must be discriminatively selected, based on the relevant social cues. For exam- ple, moving quickly from one class to the next between periods is generally rewarded, but running to class is punished; and playing hard at recess is rewarded, while being aggressive is punished.

Another major discrimination problem is the imitation of inappropriate behavior exhibited by poor models. The functional person is able to discriminate between good models and poor models in a number of settings; the retarded individual may not have this ability. For example, a behavior displayed out of the view of teachers by the “class clown” may be imitated by the retarded adolescent in view of the teacher. This problem is further complicated in that some individuals may be excellent models of some behaviors but be poor models of others. The adolescent may observe a professional foot- ball player making numerous touchdowns and thus choose to emulate his play. The player may also have a reputation for fighting. The student must learn to discriminate between good play and fighting behavior, modeling only the good play.

Discrimination skills must be a focus of educational and behavioral programming for the mentally retarded. It is not sufficient that teachers, parents, or significant others make crucial discriminations for the individual, since this leads to an overreliance on a restricted range of cues (i.e., the person behaves appropriately only in the presence of the

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I 04 Psychology in the Schools, January, 1982, Vol. 19, No. 1.

significant other). Such a dependence can only impede adequate social adjustment. Once again, structured behavior rehearsals around relevant social cues may be an effective means of developing discrimination skills.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Mental retardation, by definition, implies a limited range of adaptive behavior.

Adaptive behavior has been viewed as including: (a) independent functioning, (b) per- sonal responsibility, and (c) social responsibility. It can not be assumed that adequate development in these behaviors will occur independent of special environmental in- fluences. The educator must assess individual strengths and weaknesses and provide in- struction when appropriate.

It has been demonstrated that the frequent failure experiences encountered by the mentally retarded can have a deleterious effect on motivation. Failure experiences also have been shown to limit the range of events and activities that the individual finds rein- forcing. Activities and events that have been considered to be intrinsically reinforcing for the normal adolescent may be aversive or neutral for the retarded, as the result of the retarded individual’s learning history. Educational programs must endeavor to reinstill the motivational aspects of performance by providing the individual with frequent success experiences in challenging tasks. Tangible and/or strong social reinforcement may be required to encourage the adolescent’s maximum efforts. Contrived reinforcers should be gradually faded in favor of natural contingencies. Frustration and failure, fre- quently encountered by the mentally retarded, also have been shown to impede the development of inner-directedness or an internal locus of control. Most retarded in- dividuals do not exhibit self-reliance and independence, as the result of their outer- directedness. Dependency on others is a major element impeding the socialization of many retarded individuals. Inner-directedness can be promoted by including the follow- ing components in the mentally retarded individual’s education program: encouraging the child to identify realistic short- and long-term goals; assisting the child in monitoring his or her progress toward the goal; and encouraging the child to identify the conse- quence of goal attainment. Again, tangible or contrived cues, when used, should be faded in favor of naturally occurring contingencies.

Finally, the mentally retarded often have difficulty in making fine distinctions based on relevant social cues. Adaptive behaviors mastered by the individual may not be dis- played at appropriate times because the person is unable to effectively utilize en- vironmental cues. Discrimination training must be an integral part of the school and home environment. The retarded individual must reduce his/her dependence on signifi- cant others and increase his/her reliance on naturally occurring environmental cues. This process is essential to adequate social adjustment.

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