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A study undertaken during the height of the controversy surrounding the loyalty oath requirement at the U of Calif, to determine the reactions of the student body to the crisis situation. It was assumed that a person's stand on the loyalty oath did not change his general political predispositions, signif group affiliations, newspaper reading habits or participation in the U community. From the Registrar's files every 40th S was selected systematically and interviewed concerning opinions about the loyalty and the non-Communist hiring policy. The study indicates anew that opinion formation tends in large part to be a product of the activation of previous experience and attitudes. S's reacted to the crisis situation largely according to their group affiliations and other background characteristics. The deviant cases suggest that deviation in behavior is a result of being exposed to cross pressures. Liberal S's who read pro-oath newspapers were more likely to support the oath requirements than those reading a paper consistent with their basic political attitudes and vice versa. Another effect of S's exposed to conflicting norms was a relatively high level of ignorance regarding the issues and their background, which may have served the function of reducing clarity, and therefore the intensity of the conflict. This may have accounted for greater lack of knowledge among the pro's than among the antiRegents S's. In every category, S's who were against the Regents, but who had characteristics or were exposed to pressures which made for pro-Regents attitudes, were less likely to sign an anti-oath petition than those with homogeneous anti-Regents characteristics. R. Halpern.

Based on a session of the Fifth annual conference on public opinion research, sponsored by the Am. association for public opinion research and the World association for public opinion research, Lake Forest, Ill., June 15-20, 1950.

'Pluralistic ignorance' appears to mean that members of a group can estimate the distribution of opinions in the group on an issue, but the estimate may be wrong, & wrong in the direction of tradition rather than change. These propositions were tested through 2 surveys in New Orleans, one using a church as the group & the other sampling the entire city. The issue studied was desegregation. S's were asked their own opinions, then their estimate of the views of others in the group. The existence of pluralistic ignorance was demonstrated. When R's guessed that others' opinions might be diff from their own, their guess almost always went in the traditional (ie, pro-segregation) direction. Pro-segregationists showed great inability to believe that others could be anything but pro-segregation; those favoring change were better predictors. 2 discrepant findings appeared: the church, the smaller & more homogeneous group of the 2, showed more pluralistic ignorance than the city; & educated persons in the city sample did no better in assessing opinion than the less-educated. Suggested as a variable to explain these findings is 'level of crystallization' - the city being more crystallized than the church, which was still struggling to define its own position. It is suggested that the existence of pluralistic ignorance may be a factor in prolonging resistance to desegregation in the Deep South, but mostly in uncrystallized situations. This probably means situations where new alternatives are emerging, eg, token segregation as against closed Sch's. AA.

International audience ; In this paper, we deal with a kinetic model to describe the evolution of the opinion in a closed group with respect to a choice between multiple options, e.g. political parties, which takes into account two main mechanisms of opinion formation, namely the interaction between individuals and the effect of the mass media. We provide an existence and uniqueness result for the model, and then we numerically test it in some relevant cases.

International audience ; In this paper, we deal with a kinetic model to describe the evolution of the opinion in a closed group with respect to a choice between multiple options, e.g. political parties, which takes into account two main mechanisms of opinion formation, namely the interaction between individuals and the effect of the mass media. We provide an existence and uniqueness result for the model, and then we numerically test it in some relevant cases.

International audience ; In this paper, we deal with a kinetic model to describe the evolution of the opinion in a closed group with respect to a choice between multiple options, e.g. political parties, which takes into account two main mechanisms of opinion formation, namely the interaction between individuals and the effect of the mass media. We provide an existence and uniqueness result for the model, and then we numerically test it in some relevant cases.

A study of the role of influentials (INF's) in 4 Swedish communities - the industrial communities of Vasteras & Kolsva, the city of Malmo, & the Ru community of Bralanda - to discover to what extent the 2-step hypothesis of COMM is applicable in Sweden, & to examine the soc characteristics of Swedish opinion leaders. The communities, & the nature of the INF's therein, are described & the results of 112 personal interviews with INF's are presented. The general hypothesis is upheld, though 'INF' has been used in this case to designate a group which influence; PO in communities, whereas in many US studies it refers to a group which influences policy decisions. 'One feature which seems to distinguish Swedish communities from US communities is the prominent role played by leaders of the labor org's in the power & influence groups.' This reflects a basic diff between Swedish & US pol'al life. I. Taviss.