ALL INMATES HAD SPENT NO MORE THAN 1 WEEK IN A PRISON ENVIRONMENT PRIOR TO THEIR CURRENT INCARCERATION AND ALL WERE SERVING SENTENCES IN EXCESS OF 90 DAYS. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT CHANGES DURING THE FIRST 10 WEEKS IN ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE, ACCEPTANCE OF AUTHORITARIANISM, AND CHANGES IN SOCIAL CONCEPTS WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH PERCEPTIONS OF THE PRISON ENVIRONMENT AT THE END OF 10 WEEKS. DURING INITIAL INTERVIEWS, 21 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AND 12 BACKGROUND VARIABLES WERE ASCERTAINED. INMATES WERE ADMINISTERED THE ATTITUDE TOWARD POLICE SCALE (ATPS) INTERMIXED WITH 27 ITEMS FROM THE CALIFORNIA F SCALE. OSGOOD'S SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL (SD) WAS USED TO MEASURE SEVERAL CONCEPTS RELATED TO IMPRISONMENT AND STREET LIFE. AT THE 10-WEEK TESTING, INMATES WERE ADMINISTERED THE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT SCALE (CIES) IN ADDITION TO THE PREINCARCERATION BATTERY. DEGREE OF ATTITUDE CHANGE WAS DETERMINED BY ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE USING THE 1-WEEK SCORES AS COVARIATES, AND CORRELATING CHANGE SCORES AND FINAL SCORES ON ATTITUDES WITH FACTORS SCORES ON THE CIES. OF THE INITIAL SUBJECTS, 28 WERE AVAILABLE FOR POSTTESTING. INMATES DID NOT CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY IN THEIR OVERALL ATTITUDES DURING THE 10-WEEK INTERVAL EXCEPT FOR A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN ANTI-INTRACEPTION. ON THE SD SCALE, ASSAULT WAS MOST NEGATIVELY RATED AND EMPLOYMENT MOST FAVORABLY. THE CONCEPTS OF 'EMPLOYMENT,' 'FRIEND', AND 'REHABILITATION' CORRELATED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH THE CONCEPT OF 'SELF' AT BOTH TESTINGS, AND 'INMATE' WAS SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO SELF AT POSTTESTING. AUTHORITARIAN ATTITUDES CORRELATED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH SUPPORTIVE AND EXPRESSIVE PERCEPTION OF THE PRISON ENVIRONMENT. A POSITIVE CONCEPT OF SELF CORRELATED WITH LESS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE PRISON ENVIRONMENT. A POSITIVE EMPLOYMENT ATTITUDE WAS RELATED TO PERCEIVED ORDER AND ORGANIZATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND TO SUPPORT OF POLICE. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN ANTI-INTRACEPTION OVER THE 10-WEEK PERIOD REFLECTS A DECREASE IN RESISTANCE TO THE EXAMINATION OF MATTERS IN A PSYCHOLOGICAL OR HUMANISTIC MANNER. THIS PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR THE INCREASED CORRELATION BETWEEN CONCEPTS OF SELF AND REHABILITATION AND INMATE. GREATER INMATE INTROSPECTION RESULTED IN GREATER RECOGNITION OF THEIR INMATE STATUS AND MORE POSITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD SELF AND REHABILITATION. FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT RAPID INTEGRATION INTO TREATMENT MAY BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF INSIGHT AND READINESS TO ACCEPT TREATMENT. ALSO INCLUDED ARE 15 REFERENCES. (JAP)