Communism, Conformity, Cohorts, and Categories: American Tolerance in 1954 and 1972-73

Samuel A. Stouffer's 1954 survey is compared with replication data in the National Opinion Research Center's 1972-73 General Social Surveys to check his Predictions regarding the effects of generation, age, and education on toleranceof Communists and atheists. A flow graph model for difference equations involving categorical variables is used to organize the findings. Major conclusions are these: (1) there has been an average increase of about 23% in tolerant responses; (2) about 4% of this increase is due to cohort effects on educational attainment, as Stouffer predicted; (3) about 5% is due to cohort repalcement per se; (4) about 13% is due to increasing tolerance among all cohort and education groups, the opposite of what Stouffer predicted; and (5) about 1% is due to increased college attainment not accounted for by cohort.