Effect of a first-trial cue on spontaneous recovery by moderately mentally retarded adults

The effect of a distinctive first-trial cue on the degree of spontaneous recovery of moderately mentally retarded adults was investigated. The group given the cue showed more recovery of the operant response than did control groups for disinhibition on unextinguished discriminative stimulus. The group receiving the conventional procedure to produce spontaneous recovery, however, displayed significantly greater recovery than did any of the other groups. There was thus limited support for the hypothesis that cues associated with the first trial of a training session have greater significance for learners than do other cues.