POLITICAL-SOCIALIZATION OF COMMERCE AND SOCIAL-SCIENCE STUDENTS - EPISTEMIC AUTHORITY AND ATTITUDE-CHANGE

A 3-year longitudinal study assessed the effects of studying in the so cial sciences versus commerce on sociopolitical orientation. Results r eveal field-specific changes in attitudes. Commerce students (n = 34) became, over time, more favorable toward ''capitalists,'' less favorab le toward ''unions,'' and less likely to attribute poverty and unemplo yment to systemic factors. In contrast, social science students (n = 5 7) maintained liberal attitudes and became less likely to attribute po verty and unemployment to internal dispositions. Beliefs about interna l and external causes of poverty and unemployment, while unrelated in Ist year, become negatively related in 3rd year but only among social science students. Measures taken in 3rd year to assess the influence o f peers, professors, and courses suggest that peers have a generally c onservative effect, even in the social sciences, while professors and courses have a liberal effect only in the social sciences.