Developmental effects of social reinforcement on eye‐contact and speech in mildly intellectually handicapped children.

Abstract

This study investigates the developmental effects of soical reinforcement on the interview behaviour of 58 mildly intellectually handicapped children (CA = 11.8 years; IQ = 75). The subjects were divided into three age groups (8‐10 years, 10‐13 years, 13‐15 years) and categorized as dominant or dependent by teacher ratings. In the experiment, high and low social reinforcement for eye‐contact was given in an interview by one of their teachers. The data were analyzed, for each age group, according to the amount of speech and eye‐contact under the various conditions. Support for the earlier Exline and Messick (1967) findings indicated a feedback rather than reward model in explaining the effects of social reinforcement on eye‐contact. More important, however, for the mildly intellectually handicapped, no evidence was found for significant variations in eye‐contact as a function of age, sex or IQ.