Effectiveness of adult and peer reinforcement on the performance of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized retardates.

20 institutionalized and 20 noninstitutionalized familial retardates of comparable MA and CA were socially reinforced by either a peer or an adult on a simple 2-part satiation task. Adult reinforcement was found to be more effective than peer reinforcement for the institutionalized retardates; the reverse pattern was found for noninstitutionalized retardates, where the peer was a more effective reinforcer than the adult. The generality of the frequently noted wariness or fearfulness of retardates was also examined. Institutionalized retardates were found to be more wary than noninstitutionalized retardates in both the adultand peer-reinforcement conditions. The findings were interpreted within the framework of the particular life histories of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized retardates.