Effects of social reinforcement on motor performance of trainable retarded students on speed and persistence tasks

The effects of social reinforcement on two motor tasks by 40 retarded subjects with high and low MAs were investigated. Ages ranged from 10 to 18 yr., M = 14.46 yr. Mean IQ was 46.82; mental age for the high subjects was 8.09 yr., for the low 5.45 yr. Significant main effects for social reinforcement were found for the persistence measure but none for the speed measure. The effectiveness of praise on retarded subjects' performance is related to the type of motor task used.