THE EFFECTS OF 2 TYPES OF EXPOSURE ON ATTITUDES TOWARD ASPECTS OF JUVENILE-DELINQUENCY

Four violent juvenile offenders from a local correctional facility spo ke to a class of U.S. undergraduates studying abnormal psychology. Two weeks later, the students attended a tour sponsored by the correction al facility that had provided the speakers. The results of a semantic differential scale administered both before and after the talk and tou r indicated that the students' attitudes became significantly more pos itive for the 3 dimensions assessed by the scale: juvenile delinquent, state correctional facility for juvenile delinquents, and treatment s taff for juvenile delinquents. The talk and the tour appeared to be eq ually effective in bringing about positive changes in the students' at titudes.