Naturalistic studies of institutionalized profoundly or severely mentally retarded persons: the relationship of density and behavior.

Observational data were collected on institutionalized mentally retarded people to determine the relationship between density and behavior in order to discover (a) in what size groups do such persons typically congregate? and (b) what effect does density have on their behavior within that group? Results showed that (a) this population was alone or only with peers more than with staff by a 3:1 ratio; (b) when they were with staff, they were with two or more peers 75 percent of the time; and (c) when they were not with staff, they were with two or more peers more than they were alone or with only one other peer. Results also showed that certain types of behavior changed in frequency as density changed.