IN a recent study by Solkoff and Todd(3) it was found that frustration significantly Iimpaired the WISC coding performance of boys (M age = 8.17), whereas the performance of the female Ss (M age = 7.96) improved(). Before proceeding to a more thorough investigation of the sex difference, a second study was conducted to test the generality of the findings obtained with the male Ss. That is, an attempt was made to investigate whether the effects observed in a normal group of male children could be extended to two types of institutionalized boys, delinquent and non-delinquent. Obtaining similar findings would provide greater support for the presently employed experimental procedures and criterion measure.It will also be possible, in the present study, to compare the reactions to frustrations, of delinquent and non-delinquent boys, all of whom are institutionalized. On the basis of the assertion that the delinquent's anti-social behaviour is related to a low tolerance for frustration, it might be expected that they will show greater performance impairment subsequent to frustration than will a similar group of institutionalized non-delinquent boys. PROCEDURE Subjects. Two groups of male Ss were employed in this experiment. One group was made up of 24 institutionalized delinquents (M age = 12.88). Ss were defined as delinquent on the basis of their having appeared in court on two or more occasions for such acts as: firesetting, stealing, and actual or threatened injury to another person. The second group consisted of 36 &dquo;neglected&dquo; children (M age = 13.31), who were institutionalized because there was no one to care for them. None of these children had any known history of acting-out anti-social behaviour.Method. Ss were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, a high frustration (HF), low frustration (LF) or no frustration (NF) group, so that there were 8 delinquents and 12 non-delinquents within each group.The apparatus and experimental procedures used to produce frustration were identical to those employed in two previous studies~2~ 3>. Essentially, they involved altering the reward conditions of a marble game. Ss in the HF group were interrupted at the game when they were three marbles short of completing a marble board and therefore could not win a fully visible prize. LF Ss were also interrupted at the marble game, but with no goal specified for them. They merely received four marbles, in the absence of both the prizes and marble board. Finally, the NF Ss were never exposed to the marble game.
