Perception of contingency and mental retardation.

It is argued that the general learning difficulties exhibited by mentally retarded persons are similar in many respects to the learning difficulties of nonretarded persons who are in a state of learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975) or who are external in locus of control orientation. It is suggested that studies of locus of control and learned helplessness as theoretical constructs both directly concern the perceiving of relationships between behavior and outcomes, and that a systematic investigation of perception of contingency might increase our understanding of some of the learning difficulties of mentally retarded persons. An overview is given of the results of the few studies that have addressed perception of contingency and mental retardation, and suggestions for future research are offered.