TRAINING AND GENERALIZATION OF A GREETING EXCHANGE WITH A MENTALLY RETARDED, LANGUAGE-DEFICIENT CHILD

Modeling, fading, and reinforcement procedures were used to teach a mentally retarded child how to respond to adult-initiated questions within the context of a greeting exchange. Following acquisition of each of four responses, an assessment session was conducted in a non-training setting to measure stimulus and response generalization. For three of four responses, consistent stimulus generalization was observed. The student produced previously acquired responses in the non-training setting, both during and following training, and while in the presence of individuals who were not associated with training. A fourth response did not generalize until a modified version was taught. No response generalization was observed during the course of the study.