Children living in the deprived environment of Appalachia were studied to determine if they showed a limited verbal response to stimuli in their environment, and if their emotional characteristics differed from those of advantaged children. An earlier study (1957) of American Indian children living on a reservation provided the stimulus for this research. The subjects were 93 white, 6-year-old boys and girls. Of this number, 34 were from a disadvantaged, rural background and 59 from a middle class, urban background. The subjects in both groups were shown five cards with photographs of human figures whose activity and emotion were ambiguous, and the verbal responses of each child were written down as he talked about them. The percentage of the children in the two groups using positive words was relatively similar. However, the percentage of disadvantaged children using negative words such as "fight,""mad,""sad," and "scold," was more than twice as great as the percentage of advantaged children using negative words. The tendency to perceive non-threatening or neutral stimuli as hostile, if persisting to adulthood, may adversely affect both the individual and society, and should be taken into account when planning ameliorative educational programs. (NH)