Abstract
Five identical surveys were carried out in 1952, 1968–1969, 1974, 1979, and 1984 among undergraduate men at Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan to measure value trends. In most value domains the trends are U-shaped, showing that the trends from the fifties to the sixties and seventies have reversed, and attitudes in 1984 were either similar to the fifties or moving in that direction. The domains include traditional religion, career choice, faith in government and the military, advocacy of social constraints on deviant social groups, attitudes about free enterprise, government and economics, sexual morality, marijuana use, and personal moral obligations. Two attitude areas do not show a return of the fifties: (1) other-direction was high in 1952, then dropped to the sixties and did not rise; (2) the level of politicization rose greatly from 1952 to the sixties, then dropped again only slightly.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Astin, Alexander W., Kenneth C. Green, William S. Korn, and Mary Jane Mailer 1985. Los Angeles: UCLA Cooperative Institutional Research Program.
Carter, R. T. andWilliam E. Sedlacek 1983 “Sex differences in student attitudes and behavior toward drugs over a decade.” Research Report #8-83. College Park, MD: University of Maryland Counseling Center.
Cook, A. S., J. B. West, andT. J. Hamner 1982 “Changes in attitudes toward parenting among college women: 1972 and 1979 samples.” Family Relations 31:109–113.
Erikson, Erik H. 1959 “Identity and the life cycle.” Psychological Issues 1:1–171.
Feldman, Kenneth A. andTheodore Newcomb 1969 The Impact of College on Students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Flacks, Richard 1971 Youth and Social Change. Chicago: Markham.
Foster, Julian andDurward Long, eds. 1970 Protest! Student Activism in America. New York: William Morrow.
Goldsen, Rose K., Morris Rosenberg, Robin M. Williams, Jr., andEdward A. Suchman 1960 What College Students Think. Princeton: Van Nostrand.
Hartle, Terry W. andJohn Taylor 1985 “What's big on campus”. Public Opinion 8:49–53.
Hastings, Philip K. andDean R. Hoge 1986 “Religious and moral attitude trends among college students, 1948–84.” Social Forces 65:370–377.
Hildebrand, M. andS. Abramowitz 1984 “Sexuality on campus: Changes in attitudes and behavior during the 1970s.” Journal of College Student Personnel 25:534–538.
Hoge, Dean R. 1974 Commitment on Campus: Changes in Religion and Values Over Five Decades. Philadelphia: Westminster.
Hoge, Dean R., Cynthia L. Luna, andDavid K. Miller 1981 “Trends in college students' values between 1952 and 1979: A return of the fifties?” Sociology of Education 54:263–274.
Jacob, Philip E. 1957 Changing Values in College. New York: Harper.
Johnston, Lloyd D., Jerald G. Bachman, andPatrick M. O'Malley 1985 Monitoring the Future 1984. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
Katchadourian, Herant A. andJohn Boli 1985 Careerism and Intellectualism Among College Students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Levine, Arthur 1980 When Dreams and Heroes Died: A Portrait of Today's College Student. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lipset, Seymour Martin 1971 Rebellion in the University. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Manese, Jeanne E. andWilliam E. Sedlacek 1983 “Changes in religious behavior and attitudes of college students by race and sex over a ten year period.” Report #9-83. College Park, MD: University of Maryland Counseling Center.
Martinez, Alyce C. andWilliam E. Sedlacek 1983 “Changes in the social climate of a college campus over a decade.” College and University 58:254–259.
Riesman, David, Nathan Glazer, andReuel Denney 1950 The Lonely Crowd. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Rosenberg, Morris 1957 Occupations and Values. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Srole, Leo 1956 “Social integration and certain correlates: An exploratory study.” American Sociological Review 21:709–716.
Yankelovich, Daniel 1974 The New Morality: A Profile of American Youth in the 70s. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hoge, D.R., Hoge, J.L. & Wittenberg, J. The return of the fifties: Trends in college students' values between 1952 and 1984. Sociol Forum 2, 500–519 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01106623
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01106623