Alternative reinforcement and learning of adult mentally retarded learners

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of two types of reinforcement on the rate of learning of mentally retarded learners. The null hypothesis tested was: There is no significant difference between affective reinforcement methods and tangible reinforcement methods on the rate of learning of adult mentally retarded learners. Thirty-one mentally retarded male and female adult learners between the ages of 21 and 68 years who resided at the Beatrice Campus of the Martin Luther Home were the subjects for the study. The two groups of randomly assigned subjects received one of two reinforcement conditions (i.e., affective or tangible). A group of 16 subjects received affective reinforcement, and the other group of 15 subjects received tangible reinforcement. The dependent variable was the percentage of correct scores on a coin identification task. The means and standard deviations of correct scores were computed for each group and compared using a t-test. Findings from the study included: (1) There was no significant difference between affective reinforcement methods and tangible reinforcement methods on the rate of learning of adult mentally retarded learners. Therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted. (2) The mean number of correct responses on the coin identification task for the tangible condition ranged from 8.0 to 11.0, and the mean number of correct responses for the affective condition ranged from 7.5 to 9.6. A gradual but steady increase in learning was noted for both treatments across the span of thirty days