Some Factors Affecting Attitude Toward Jews

Abstract

PROBLEM. The problem of this investigation is that of testing the influence of certain factors on the attitude of non-Jewish college students toward Jews in the college situation. The factors selected for test include: (I) sex, (2) age, (3) religious affiliation, (4) course of study, (5) regional residence, (6) size of home community, (7) occupation of parents, (8) income of parents, (g) frequency of contact, and (io) intimacy of contact. In addition to contributing to knowledge regarding a specific attitude in a specific inter-group situation it is hoped that the investigation contributes something to the understanding of inter-group attitudes generally. All of the factors listed above have been tested for their influence on attitude in other inter-group relations (relations between races, nationalities, classes, etc.). Certain hypotheses have been offered as to the influence of such factors as these on inter-group attitudes. The findings herein reported may be compared with those of other investigators and may be taken as representing one more test of the hypotheses formulated up to now. Method. The method followed in this investigation involved: (I) the construction of a test or scale to measure the attitude of non-Jewish college students toward Jews in the college situation; (2) the administration of the test to a number of college subjects varying with respect to the factors under test; (3) the accumulation of information concerning the factors selected for test by means of a personal data schedule; and (4) the employment of certain standard statistical operations on the data thus obtained to determine the degree of association between the selected factors and the attitude of the subjects as measured by the test. The test used in this investigation was of the sort used so successfully by Jones,' Cuber,2 and others. It consisted of twelve stories, brief accounts of real-life3 situations in which some action is taken or some attitude is ex-