Effects of mentally retarded children's behavioral competence on nonretarded peers' behaviors and attitudes: toward establishing ecological validity in attitude research.

This study was designed to begin establishing the ecological validity of laboratory research indicating that nonretarded children's responses toward mentally retarded peers are positively affected by the retarded peers' competence in different areas. Groups of 3 children (1 retarded and 2 nonretarded fourth through sixth-graders) played a bean bag toss game in which the retarded child was either the best or an average player. Then children selected one of their two partners as a partner for a subsequent game and indicated their attitudes toward each peer and their attribution for each peer's performance. Retarded children who were the best players were selected as partners significantly more often than retarded children who were average players. Nonretarded children's attitudes toward retarded peers, however, were the same regardless of the retarded peers' performance. A relationship was also found between children's attributions of retarded peers' success to ability and their selection of the same peers as partners.