Political Science ETDs

Publication Date

5-16-1969

Abstract

It was the purpose of this study to investigate the influence of age on foreign policy opinions. In order to do this a hypothesis developed by Kurt W. Back and Kenneth F. Gergen was tested against public opinion on the Vietnam War. Back and Gergen hypothesized that a person's preferences for solutions to local, national, and international problems are related to age. Specifically, the young and aged persons tend to prefer those solutions which would terminate such problems as rapidly as possible. This they attributed to cognitive restriction of the spatial and temporal orientations. Three methods were used to investigate Back and Gergen's hypothesis. First, the national poll data on Vietnam were researched to see if there was any correlation between age and preferences for various types of solutions to the war. Secondly, survey research was conducted in Albuquerque to see if preferences related to the respondent's cognitive processes. Both of these methods produced positive results among four age groups: under 21, 21-29, 30-49, and over 50. The third method, secondary research of studies on personality, public opinion, and foreign policy indicated that policy preferences relate strongly to personality. The analysis of data, supported by secondary sources, revealed that public opinion is ordered by the respondent's effectual relationship to the Vietnam War, the respondent's attitudes on the Vietnam issue, and the respondent's personality traits. The age group most affected by the war indicates very little support for escalation, even by those whose cognitive processes would lead them to prefer this type of solution. When foreign policy attitudes determine the choice made to end the war, these attitudes tend to relate to knowledge and sophistication. Those who chose compromise rather than escalation or immediate withdrawal seem to be more knowledgable and better educated than the others. Finally, when effectual and attitudinal relationships are accounted for, spatial and temporal restriction correlate rather strongly with immediate extreme solutions, and these in turn correlate with age. It was concluded, therefore, that Back and Gergen's hypothesis is probably true and that a more sophisticated study would be worthwhile.

Degree Name

Political Science

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Political Science

First Committee Member (Chair)

Edwin Chase Hoyt

Second Committee Member

William J. Brisk

Third Committee Member

Arthur Monroe Hanhardt, Jr.

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

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