EFFECTS OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE VERBAL REINFORCEMENT AND TASK DIFFICULTY ON THE VERBAL DISCRIMINATION LEARNING OF PSYCHOPATHIC AND NON-PSYCHOPATHIC CRIMINALS

• NCJ Number: 18931
• Author(s): S M SCOTT
• Date Published: 1968
• Length: 184 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DISSERTATION

Annotation

USING GROUPS OF CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHS AND CRIMINAL NONPSYCHOPATHS, THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE VIEW THAT THE PSYCHOPATH IS LACKING IN ABILITY TO RESPOND APPROPRIATELY TO AFFECTIVE PROPERTIES OF VERBAL COMMUNICATION.

Abstract

SELECTION OF THE CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATHIC GROUPS AND THE CRIMINAL COMPARISON GROUPS WAS BASED ON PSYCHOMETRIC CRITERIA PROVIDED BY THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY, THE ACTIVITY PREFERENCE QUESTIONNAIRE, AND THE REVISED BETA EXAMINATION. EIGHTY MALE OFFENDERS CONFINED IN THE PHILADELPHIA COUNTY PRISON SERVED AS SUBJECTS. FORTY COMPRISED THE PSYCHOPATHIC GROUP AND FORTY THE COMPARISON GROUP. IN TESTING THE EFFECTS OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENTS IN A LEARNING SITUATION, CVC TRIGRAMS WITH DIFFERENT ASSOCIATION VALUES WERE USED IN THE TASK. RESULTS SHOWED THAT WHEN VERBAL REINFORCEMENT AND TASK DIFFICULTY WERE COMBINED, THE PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPARISON SUBJECTS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY SUPERIOR TO THE PSYCHOPATHIC SUBJECTS. WHEN PSYCHOPATHIC AND COMPARISON SUBJECTS AND TASK DIFFICULTY WERE COMBINED, NEGATIVE VERBAL REINFORCEMENT RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANTLY SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE. WHEN PSYCHOPATHIC AND COMPARISON SUBJECTS AND REINFORCEMENT WERE COMBINED, THE EASY TASK RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANTLY SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE. THE STUDY SUGGESTS THAT NEGATIVE VERBAL REINFORCEMENT MAY HAVE A MORE POTENT EFFECT ON THE BEHAVIOR OF PSYCHOPATHS THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. IT WAS FURTHER CONCLUDED THAT TASK DIFFICULTY MUST BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN ASSESSING THE BEHAVIOR OF PSYCHOPATHS UNDER CONDITIONS OF NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT.