A SOCIAL VALUE IS DEFINED AS 'THAT CHARACTERISTIC OF A GIVEN CULTURE WHICH A MAJORITY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CULTURE ACCEPT AS BEING CORRECT, RIGHT, AND DESIRABLE.' WHETHER THE SOCIAL VALUES OF THE NORMATIVE CULTURE CAN BE TAUGHT TO PERSONS ALIENATED FROM THAT CULTURE AND WHO HAVE A HISTORY OF BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES THAT THREATEN NORMATIVE SOCIAL VALUES IS CONSIDERED. THIS ISSUE IS EXAMINED BY MARK SILBER AT THE OHIO PENITENTIARY. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS SOUGHT: THE BEST TEACHING METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING SOCIAL VALUES; ATTITUDE CHANGES OF INMATES TAUGHT SOCIAL VALUES; AND IDENTIFICATION OF FACTORS WHICH DIFFERENTIATED THE INDIVIDUALS AMENABLE TO CHANGE. THE BASIC TEXT IN THE PROGRAM WAS COMPOSED IN COOPERATION WITH INMATE WRITERS AND INCLUDED ESSAYS ON THE MATURE PERSON, THE MEANING OF GROUP MEMBERSHIP, THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE INDIVIDUAL TO SOCIETY, AND THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE EMPLOYEE TO THE EMPLOYER. INMATE SUBJECTS IN VARIOUS ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY GRADES WERE EXPOSED TO 5 EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS: (1) A GROUP OF 11 INMATE SCHOOL TEACHERS WERE TAUGHT BY SILBER IN A 2-HOUR LECTURE FOLLOWED BY A 2-HOUR DISCUSSION PERIOD ON ANOTHER DAY FOR A PERIOD, OF 32 SESSIONS; (2) A GROUP OF 38 INMATE STUDENTS WERE TAUGHT BY THE INMATE TEACHERS AS THE TEACHERS HAD BEEN TAUGHT BY SILBER; (3) A GROUP OF 38 STUDENTS WERE TAUGHT THE SAME MATERIAL BY INMATE TEACHERS USING LECTURE WITHOUT DISCUSSION; (4) A GROUP OF 38 INMATES WERE TAUGHT HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY EXCLUSIVELY; AND (5) A CONTROL GROUP OF 38 RANDOMLY CHOSEN INMATES WERE EXPOSED ONLY TO THE PRETEST AND POSTTEST. PRETESTING AND POSTTESTING OF ALL SUBJECTS WAS DONE WITH THE GORDEN PERSONAL PROFILE, THE GUILFORD ZIMMERMAN TEMPERAMENT SURVEY, A MORAL SCALE OF VALUES, AN OBJECTIVE TEST OF SOCIAL VALUE INFORMATION, AND A BACKGROUND QUESTIONNAIRE. THE GREATEST POSITIVE CHANGE WAS SHOWN TO OCCUR IN SOCIAL VALUES INFORMATION, WITH THE INMATE TEACHER GROUP, THE GROUP TAUGHT BY INMATE TEACHERS WITH DISCUSSION, THE GROUP TAUGHT WITH LECTURE, THE HISTORY-GEOGRAPHY GROUP, AND THE CONTROL GROUP RANKED RESPECTIVELY BY DEGREE OF CHANGE. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT SOCIAL VALUES INFORMATION CAN BE IMPLANTED, BUT THE EXTENT TO WHICH THIS LEADS TO PERMANENT CHANGE IN ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR IS STILL OPEN TO QUESTION. (RCB)