An Analytical Study of Self-Reliance

The present study compared the use of hostile verbs by youthful male prisoners with single offenses and those with multiple offenses. Ss chose between using a neutral verb (e. g., “visited”) or a hostile verb (e. g., “killed”) in constructing each of a series of 100 sentences. Ss with multiple offenses used hostile verbs significantly more than Ss with single offenses, and these differences were evident over all blocks of trials. There was a significant linear trend in hostile verb use for both groups. Implications for clinical research were discussed.