A Study of Emotional Conflict on Delinquent and Non-Delinquent Boys

This experiment dealt with the disorganization of responses in delinquent and non-delinquent boys by the use of the Luria Technique. This consists essentially of an instrumental and objective measurement of the affective state as it appears through disturbances in the smooth flow of a complex response to a controlled word association test. Thirty delinquent boys held by probation office and thirty non-delinquent boys with no record of court appearance were used as subjects. The age range was twelve to seventeen years. The boys were individually matched on the basis of C.A., M.A., school grade placement, school, and a rough index of socio-economic status. The results show a small quantitative difference between the groups in disorganization of response in the experimental situation, with large individual differences in both groups. The non-delinquent were slightly less variable and more rapid in reaction time, more normal in verbal responses, and showed a lower incidence of disturbed motor reactions. It appears that the greatest differentiation appears in a qualitative analysis of intensity and pattern of response

The Reliability of the Psychoneurotic Inventory with Delinquent Boys

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of the psychoneurotic inventory when given under varying conditions. The conditions chosen were the group situation and the individual interview after a definite attempt had been made to establish rapport with the subject. The subjects were forty-eight delinquent boys from two state institutions. The Woodworth-Cady Personal Data Sheet and the Bell Adjustment Inventory were used. In the oral interview six questions from the Cady and fifty-three questions from the Bell inventory were used. Results indicate a 20 to 40 per cent reversal in identical items between the two methods of administration. The correlation for gross scores was.36

The Specificity of Response Obtained on the Association Motor Test

As a result of extensive testing of more or less normal individuals, the investigators were led to believe that word association might better be conceived of as a general mental process and that disturbances in association tests might be indicators of the amount of disturbance existing in a given individual\u27s total process rather than rising from a specific situation which is presented to the subject\u27s mind by the specific test word