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Employing the Rokeach Value Survey, the National Opinion Research Center measured the values of an area probability sample of adult Americans over 21 in 1968, & once again in 1971. Most values remained stable but certain values had undergone significant change over this 3-year period. Egalitarian & ecology related values became significantly more important for white Americans & economic security values became significantly less important. No such changes were evident for black Americans. Certain sex related values changed significantly among white American women but not among other segments of American society. Value for peace became more important & values related to education, career, & SS became less important for white American men. Further analysis revealed that most of these significant value changes were related to age, occurring among Americans mainly in their 20's, & to a lesser extent in their 30's. Finally, the underlying factorial structure of values was found to be basically the same in 1968 & in 1971, the major factor accounting for less than 10% of the total variance, & 6 major factors accounting for well under 50% of the total variance. These findings suggest that the list of 36 values measured by the Rokeach Value Survey cannot be reduced to some smaller number. 4 Tables. AA.

It is argued that the central position traditionally accorded the attitude concept in soc psychol & in PO res is conceptually unwarranted, & should be replaced with the value concept. Justification for this view comes from a res program concerned with the org & modification of values, att's, & behavior. Conceptual distinctions are made between att's & values, between instrumental & terminal values, & between values & value systems. This is followed by a theoretical discussion of org & change within value- attitude systems, & how values & value systems are measured. Selected data are presented on the relationship between values & att's, & between values & behavior. Finally, some implications of this work on values for PO res are considered. With the availability of easy-to-admin value scales a more depth-oriented approach to an understanding of the determinants of PO is possible. Focus on values should lead to an elimination of hidden value judgments in PO res, & to a more truly informed PO. AA.

Since an att-object must always be encountered within some situation, about which we also have an att, soc behavior must be a function of at least 2 att's: att-toward-object (Ao) & att-towardsituation (As). Opinion expression & changes in opinion expression are both forms of verbal behavior &, thus, also functions of Ao & As. When a change of opinion is empirically found it may arise from a change in Ao, or As, or both, or neither. The classical paradigm of attitude change studies-pre-test, treatment, posttest-cannot ascertain which of these 4 possibilities produced the opinion change & must therefore be discarded. 3 new methods are then proposed for determining whether opinion change does or does not represent an attitude change: test for opinion change in at least 2 diff post-test situations; test for diff'ial change in several opinions in one post-test situation; test for behavioral changes accompanying opinion change. Illustrative res findings are cited. AA.