| The effects of correctional school intervention on attitude change was investigated in a pre- and post comparison study. Wrightsman's (1964) Philosophies of Human Nature Scale (PHN) was used. Three groups participated: (1) adjudicated delinquent boys; (2) boys with similar anti-social behavior records, (3) non-delinquent high school students. Subjects were males, had an average age of 15 years, were of average intelligence, and from families with low to medium income. All adjudicated delinquent boys were involved in the correctional school intervention program. Results indicated that subjects from the correctional school changed significantly toward the concept of Variability, a sub-scale of the PHN-scale. Their lowered score on variability signified an expectation that others are more similar to themselves than previously thought. This was interpreted as an indication of success, due partially to daily group therapy, in which uniformity within the group in relation to new group norms is one of its agents of change. |
