EDUCATION, SOCIAL LIBERALISM, AND ECONOMIC CONSERVATISM - ATTITUDES TOWARD HOMELESS PEOPLE

Numerous studies link education to liberal attitudes, such as tolerance and support for civil liberties, yet explanations for this association remain controversial. Three models have been proposed: Liberal attitudes result from cognitive and personality development, from direct socialization, or from ''ideological refinement.'' Tests of these models predicting social attitudes have failed to resolve the controversy. We argue that the mechanism by which education influences attitudes can be clarified by considering economic attitudes as well as social attitudes. We focus on attitudes toward homeless people, an issue with both social and economic components. Using a nationwide survey, we find that education is associated with greater tolerance for homeless people but less support for economic aid to the homeless. These data support the socialization model, and we conclude that education socializes students to the ''official culture,'' which in the United States includes values of equal opportunity and equal respect-but not equal outcomes.