Peer Reactions to Teenagers Who Substitute /W/ for /R/

The purpose of this study was to determine how high-school sophomores are likely to react to a peer who substitutes /w/ for /r/. Twenty-six high-school sophomores rated "A classmate who says /w/ when he means to say /r/" and 22 high-school sophomores rated "A typical classmate" on each of 81 semantic differential scales. Analyses of the ratings indicated that a high-school sophomore who substituted /w/ for /r/ would tend to be reacted to negatively. Clinical implications are discussed.