The effects of two types of exposure on attitudes toward aspects of juvenile delinquency.

Four violent juvenile offenders from a local correctional facility spoke to a class of U.S. undergraduates studying abnormal psychology. Two weeks later, the students attended a tour sponsored by the correctional facility that had provided the speakers. The results of a semantic differential scale administered both before and after the talk and tour indicated that the students attitudes became significantly more positive for the 3 dimensions assessed by the scale: juvenile delinquent, state correctional facility for juvenile delinquents, and treatment staff for juvenile delinquents. The talk and the tour appeared to be equally effective in bringing about positive changes in the students attitudes.