A previous study of the relation between early experience and subsequent social behaviour in severely subnormal children has been followed up with a similar study of 130 more advanced severely subnormal children living in hospital. Groups which were distinguished on the basis of the type of social response to the investigator differed significantly in other aspects of behaviour both in the individual situation and in the classroom. The type of social response shown by children in hospital was significantly related to the presence or absence of adverse factors in the home before admission and to the number of previous hospital admissions. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.