The Military Socialization of University Students

Abstract

The effects of military training in a university setting on the attitudes of prospective U.S. Army officers are examined with a questionnaire administered to all Army Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets at the University of Oregon and to a comparison sample of male university undergraduates. Although the Army cadets do not differ greatly from the university undergraduates on background variables, there are significant differences in personality traits and attitudes related to the “military mind.” Cadets score higher than the campus average on scales measuring: personality authoritarianism, misanthropy, punitiveness, intolerance, aggressive nationalism, political-economic conservatism, belief in imperialism, and preference for vocational training as opposed to liberal education. They score lower on scales of peace responsibility and political alienation. The Army ROTC selectively recruits students with more militaristic attitudes, and there is some evidence that the Corps serves to insulate the cadets from the liberalizing effects of the university.