The study developed a method for scoring identification with a film character. The respondent was asked about his favorite film and to recall the plot in his own words. The transcript of the plot recall was analyzed by researchers to identify the most frequently described character, dubbed "the hero." Statements by the interviewee that attributed motives to the hero scored as identifications; recall of actions without reference to mental states counted zero, and attributions of a mental state to anyone other than the hero were scored as disidentifications. Comments by the interviewee critical of the hero were scored as reducing the identification. Interviews were conducted with men on probation as a result of offenses against the person. Reports of trials and the analysis of the small number of probationers the researchers were able to interview suggest that long-term humiliation or abuse as a child or adult places a person at risk of imitating or being significantly influenced by media violence, particularly dramatized portrayals of violence committed to "right" a "wrong."