Kirkus Reviews QR Code
TREETCORNER RESEARCH by Ralph Schwitzgebel

TREETCORNER RESEARCH

By

Pub Date: Oct. 30th, 1964
Publisher: Harvard Univ. Press

An Experimental Approach to the Juvenile Delinquent"" is the subtitle to this book, and it is certainly justified. Following up a discovery by Dr. Charles Slack of Harvard--that delinquents used as a control in a study of conscientious objectors seemed to benefit from merely being paid a nominal wage to tell their dreams into a tape recorder--the author set up a laboratory in a storefront in Cambridge, Mass. There he worked with 30 boys, paying them to talk about whatever they wanted, observing and encouraging their adjustments. Part I of the book describes the development of the project and the nature of the specific research in adequate detail, while Part II discusses the many theoretical concepts which were derived from the whole experience. The tone throughout is distinctly conservative, consonant with the author's training and natural caution. ""It is still too soon to know whether these procedures will work well under a different set of conditions."" In any case, this is an important book for a professional audience and it offers a great deal of material for thoughtful consideration and further investigation.