Response-contingent learning capabilities of six profoundly retarded, multiply handicapped infants were examined using an operant conditioning paradigm. Results showed that infants learned criterion behavior although conditioning latencies were likely to occur when the children were required to produce free-operant responding. Findings are…

Four developmentally disabled children (ages 3-5) identified as noncompliant received a standard set of adult requests under three conditions: no reinforcement, noncontingent reinforcement, and reinforcement contingent on compliance. Among results was that the contingent reinforcement procedure produced covariation in all subjects' compliance and…