The effect of induced aggressiveness on opinion change.

The hypothesis that aggressively aroused persons are more influenced by a punitively oriented communication and less by a leniency oriented one than are nonaggressive persons is investigated. One group of Ss is exposed to a failure-insult procedure to evoke instigation to aggression, the other group of Ss to an ego-satisfying experience. Then half of each group read a communication urging punitiveness toward delinquents and the other half read a communication suggesting leniency and consideration in America's dealings with her allies. An immediate-after opinion questionnaire followed. The data support the research hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compliance and attitude change under conditions of differential social reinforcement.

12 Ss known to have positive attitudes toward the church, as measured by a modification of Thurstone's scale, were induced to read a strongly antichurch essay before 3-person audiences. Unknown to any of the Ss, 4 speakers addressed prochurch listeners, 4 read the speech to neutral groups, and 4 faced audiences composed of antichurch individuals. All of the groups then discussed the communication for 12 min. The speakers as a group showed a change in attitude toward the church consistent with the position taken by the comunication. This change toward a less favorable stand was found to come principally from those speakers who had discussed the speech with individuals who were either neutral or negatively disposed toward the church. The results are interpreted as supporting a reinforcement theory of attitude change in an induced compliance situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of forewarning in persuasive communications.

Previous studies have shown that a forewarning will nullify the effect of a persuasive communication. This study investigated whether the same information presented after the persuasive communication will have the same effect. 3 groups of experimental Ss were exposed to a communication advocating an extreme point of view; a control group read a neutral communication on a different topic. 2 of the experimental groups were informed of the propagandistic nature of the comunication; one group was forewarned, the other group was "warned" after they had read the communication. The 3rd experimental group was given no information about the intent of the communication. The results indicated conclusively that the temporal placement of this information is crucial in determining the effect of a persuasive communication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delinquents' perceptions of their parents.

The Parent-Child Relations questionnaire was administered to 30 delinquent boys, mean age 15 yr., and to a matched group of nondelinquents. The 1st hypothesis concerning a significant difference between the delinquent and nondelinquent boys in their perceptions of their parents, with the latter group holding more favorable attitudes, was clearly confirmed. The 2nd hypothesis concerning greater difference between the 2 groups in their perceptions of their fathers than their mothers was also confirmed. The unfavorable attitude of the delinquents toward their fathers was especially marked on the Rejecting and Neglecting scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Displaced aggression and its modification through exposure to antiaggressive communications.

This study explores the conditions under which displacement of aggression to delinquents takes place and the effect of exposure to group norms emphasizing nonaggresive responses to provocation. 55 college Ss were assembled in groups of 3 to discuss by notes the fictitious case of a juvenile delinquent. ? of these Ss received noncommittal, neutral communications, while ? received notes which stressed rational, constructive approaches to instigatory situations. ? of each group was subsequently insulted by the E. Ss exposed to neutral communications were significantly more punitive toward the delinquent following insult while those receiving the nonaggressive communications did not show this displacement effect and were also less negative toward the E than the neutral Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prior knowledge activation: Inducing engagement with informational texts.

Failure to engage with informational texts is a problem frequently noted at the high school level, at which students are expected to read independently. As a means of addressing this issue, a prior knowledge activation strategy (PKA) was taught to ninth-grade students in which they were encouraged to make spontaneous connections between their personal knowledge and informational texts. Students who learned to use the PKA strategy consistently outperformed students in a main idea (MI) treatment group and those in a no-instruction control group on application-level comprehension questions but not literal-level questions. A second study replicated the operations of the first study, with the addition of an MI-PKA treatment designed to combine both strategies. Both the PKA and the MI-PKA combination groups performed higher on application-level comprehension questions and demonstrated more positive attitudes toward reading than the other groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delinquency and school dropout behavior as a function of impulsivity and nondominant values.

This study tested the hypotheses (a) that over and above social class differences, delinquents and school dropouts are more impulsive than nondeviants; and (b) that these deviant groups maintain a nondominant value system. The data were collected prior to the occurrence of the deviant behavior. Ss were selected from 4 Texas nonurban areas. The deviant groups differed significantly from the nondeviant group on 3 psychomotor tasks, 2 tasks that require the maintenance of a convergent set, and surgency. These findings are consistent with the impulsivity postulate. Self-reported values were not found to differentiate the groups. By and large, the delinquents and school dropouts were similar in performance on the measures included in this investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward authority of delinquent and non-delinquent boys.

A picture projective test designed to measure attitudes toward authority incorporating two levels each of three variables, male and female authority figures, high and low power authority figures, and high and low threat situations, was administered to 20 delinquent and 20 non-delinquent boys of age 10-12. The hypothesis that there are differences in attitudes of delinquents and non-delinquents toward authority was not supported. Results indicated significantly greater expressed hostility of both groups toward female authority figures than to male authority figures. Responses to different levels of threat and power varied significantly from individual to individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategies for preparing clients for treatment. A review

Substantial numbers of mental health clients do not return following their initial therapy visits or drop out of treatment prematurely. Two general classes of strategies designed to reduce premature attrition and enhance treatment participation are reviewed. Research on psychotherapy preparatory techniques (role induction, vicarious therapy pretraining, and experiential pretraining) indicates that these educational techniques are effective in reducing early treatment attrition and may be especially effective with populations at high risk for dropout (e.g., lower socioeconomic groups, chronically mentally ill clients, and institutionalized juvenile delinquents). Motivational interviewing, a technique originally developed for clients with alcohol problems, is designed to reduce client ambivalence toward therapy and change and enhance commitment to and motivation for treatment. Research in the alcohol field suggests that a session of pretreatment motivational interviewing enhances treatment outcome. Both motivational interviewing and psychotherapy preparatory techniques are relatively brief and easy to incorporate into existing mental health care.     

Changes in self-concepts during group psychotherapy as a function of alternate sessions and vicarious therapy pretraining in institutionalized mental patients and juvenile delinquents.

Attempted to evaluate the effects of alternate sessions and vicarious therapy pretraining (VTP) in connection with time-limited group psychotherapy in 4 groups each of institutionalized juvenile delinquents and hospitalized mental patients. Ss were administered self- and ideal-self-concept Q sorts pre- and posttherapy. It was found that: (1) the use of alternate sessions did not facilitate improvement in self- and ideal-self-concepts, but effected negative changes in self-concept as contrasted with a standard expert ideal sort; (2) the use of VTP appears to have had a positive effect on change in ideal-self-concept in the direction of what experts regard as ideal; (3) there were no differential effects of VTP and alternate sessions in the 2 populations under study; and (4) mean changes in self-concept measures from pre- to posttherapy were in a positive direction for the mental patients and in a negative direction for the juvenile delinquents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Juvenile delinquents' perceptions of childhood parental rearing patterns

This study compared individuals who have been identified as engaging in delinquent behavior, but who perceive their childhood differently. It examined the differentiating family and social characteristics between delinquents who were maltreated in childhood (based on self-report data) and delinquents who were not maltreated. The sample consisted of the entire population of juvenile delinquents (N = 287) in all institutions and prisons in Greece. Childhood abuse and neglect were defined on the basis of perceived parental rearing patterns as assessed by the EMBU questionnaire, and groups of abused/nonabused and neglected/non-neglected delinquents were formed. Perceived parental abuse and/or psychological neglect (paternal and/or maternal) were found to be associated with various family and social characteristics. Specific parameters connected to the Greek societal and cultural context have also been identified.     

External threat and the definition of deviance.

Studied how task-oriented groups of 5 members each responded to threats. 240 17–30 yr old males joined task groups to evaluate the case histories of juvenile delinquents and make correctional treatment recommendations to criminal justice authorities during a 55-min discussion period conducted by an observer. One member of the team was a confederate. During the 1st 30 min of group interaction, groups experienced a mild-threat condition (a criminal justice authority indicated he had to leave to observe another group and said that the group should probably not continue), a strong-threat condition (the authority said that the group should not continue), or no threat (the authority simply left the meeting). Discussion was allowed to continue, and at the end of the meeting Ss were asked if they would like to remain members of the group; each S was extensively interviewed after the meeting. Results show that level of threat was directly related to the extent of rejection and negative definition; noncomformity to the central task norm was not systematically related to deviant status; high-status actors were more involved in the rejection of the deviant; sociometric rejection of the deviant was accompanied by negative definition in the strong-threat condition; and the level of group solidarity was related to the extent of rejection and negative definition. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling and group discussion in the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents.

Compared the relative effectiveness of 2 group methods of communicating information relevant to the social, vocational, and educational adjustment of 15-18 yr old institutionalized male juvenile delinquents (N = 192). One method relied on modeling procedures and required Ss to imitate roles which they had observed models perform. The other method employed structured discussions of the same material but without modeling or imitation. Both groups were attended by 2 models or discussion leaders and 4 or 5 Ss. A control group did not participate in any meetings and received no special condition. Treatment effectiveness was evaluated through changes on a number of attitude, self-concept, and behavior ratings, obtained on a repeated-measures basis, and through follow-up interviews and indices of recidivism. Both treatment conditions prompted more positive attitudes, behavior change, and less recidivism among participants than did the control condition. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning factors as determiners of pretest sensitization.

70 S in 4 general psychology sections were randomly assigned to different treatment conditions. After being read a summary of the story of a film, 2 groups were asked to summarize it. 1 group viewed the film 12 days later. 1 group had neither the summarizing experience nor saw the film. All 4 groups had the posttest 12 days after being read the story. A pretest sensitization operating above the effect of the treatment condition was shown; however, it presumes some degree of learning in the pretest. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensation seeking scale with deviant populations.

Administered the sensation seeking scale to 148 felons, 152 juvenile delinquents, and 165 adult mentally ill. Males and females were analyzed separately. Age was negatively correlated for both sexes. Covariance analyses removed group differences for males but not for females. Mentally ill females were significantly different from felons and from juvenile delinquents. Mmpi scores for hypomania were related to sensation seeking with male felons and female delinquents. Male mentally ill were reliably different from each other by broad diagnostic categories, but females were not. The personality picture corresponded well with expectations from studies with normals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of group psychotherapy with high accurate empathy and nonpossessive warmth upon female institutionalized delinquents.

The hypothesis that time-limited group psychotherapy, led by therapists who offer high accurate empathy and nonpossessive warmth, would produce significant change in delinquent behavior was supported. Significant superiority of the treated Ss, compared with controls, was demonstrated in percentage of time spent out of institution during a 1-yr follow-up as well as on the Conformity scale of the Minnesota Counseling Inventory, designed to differentiate delinquents from nondelinquents. A major mediating effect of therapy was to change self-concepts in a positive direction which increased the congruence between the self and the ideal self. Group psychotherapy also had significant positive effects upon attitudes toward parents and siblings. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delinquency, delay of gratification, recidivism, and the Porteus Maze Tests.

Two principal scores are derived from an S's performance on the Porteus Maze Test: Test Age (TA) and Qualitative (Q) score. It was originally thought that a person's delinquent tendencies could be predicted on the basis of the relationship between his/her TA and IQ, but a careful review of the literature does not support this view. Reanalysis of previous studies shows that the Q score was specifically developed to identify delinquents and appears to do so very well. When Q scores of delinquent and normal groups are compared, the differences are consistent and highly significant. When the established cutoff points are used, Q score correctly identifies about 70% of delinquents sampled, as well as 70% of normals. Additional Q score findings within delinquent and nondelinquent groups are also discussed. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect on learning of postinstructional responses to questions of differing degrees of complexity.

Investigated the effect on the learning of science subject content of having students respond to questions of different degrees of complexity following segments of instruction. The study involved 193 7th-grade students in 5 groups. Questions of differing degrees of complexity were interspersed every 20th frame of the programmed instruction material for 3 treatment groups. The 4th treatment group read a paragraph related to the questions. The 5th group acted as a control. The groups that completed the instructional materials and responded to the interspersed questions scored significantly higher than the group that completed the instructional materials and did not respond to questions. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

IQ and delinquency: A direct test of the differential detection hypothesis.

A number of studies have reported that juvenile delinquency is negatively related to IQ scores. The IQ/delinquency relation has been questioned on the basis of the differential detection confound, which attributes the apparent relaton to biased likelihood of detection, and thus inclusion in research, of low-IQ delinquents. A direct test of the differential detection hypothesis was conducted by comparing the mean IQ scores of two groups of delinquent subjects from the same birth cohort. Group 1 had been detected in delinquent acts by police. Group 2 was not known to police, but was equivalent to Group 1 on amount and seriousness of self-reported delinquency. The two groups did not differ significantly on IQ, but both groups scored significantly below nondelinquent cohort members. Results were inconsistent with the prediction of group differences posed by the differential detection hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-validation of the Jesness Inventory with delinquents and nondelinquents.

Using the Jesness Inventory (JI), personality patterns of 2 groups of 12–16 yr old institutionalized delinquents—those formally adjudicated by the courts for 2 or more charges and those not formally charged—were compared with a socially acting-out group and a matched control group. The Asocial Index of the JI was significant across and between all groups with a progressive increase in T scores directly related to delinquent involvement. The JI scales of Social Maladjustment, Value Orientation, Autism, Manifest Aggression, and Denial all demonstrated significant differences between controls and various delinquent Ss. Findings demonstrate that the JI is a valid personal instrument for both gross and specific aspects of delinquency differentiation. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)