To what behaviors do attending adults respond? A replication

In a replication of a study by Warren and Mondy (1971), we observed the responses of staff in four institutional setting, three large community units, and five small community houses to the behavior of a total of 90 severely and profoundly mentally retarded adults. In the institutions and large community units, staff members showed problems in their responding similar to those reported by Warren and Mondy, in particular a lack of responding to appropriate behavior. Staff in the small community houses showed a greater level of encouragement of appropriate behavior and a discrimination in attending to appropriate as opposed to other behavior of 3:1. Whether this finding was due to the difference in size of the residential settings, their organization, or staff characteristics and training was discussed.