Noncompliant behavior of people with mental retardation

Literature pertaining to noncompliant behavior of people with mental retardation was reviewed. Noncompliant behavior was considered in terms of antecedents (characteristics of instructions), behaviors (characteristics of tasks being refused), and consequences (environmental results of noncompliance). Literature pertaining to nondisabled "oppositional" children was incorporated along with literature pertaining to persons with mental retardation. Research involving antecedent conditions suggested that noncompliance is more likely when instructions are vague and interrupted with other instructions. It also suggested that a series of high probability requests could enhance compliance to a subsequent low probability request. Research into behavior variables suggested that noncompliance is more likely when task demands are too difficult. Research into consequent conditions indicates that either positive or negative reinforcement may maintain noncompliant behavior. Treatment studies suggested that oppositional children respond poorly to verbal reward alone and somewhat better to tangible rewards and to programs utilizing timeout. By contrast, noncompliance by people with mental retardation appears to respond well to programs utilizing combinations of social and tangible rewards, but results also suggest that results of timeout programs are mixed. Implications for treatment were discussed along with suggestions for future research.