Liberalism of College Students and General Public on the Thumin Conservatism-Liberalism Scale

Abstract

The Thumin Conservatism-Liberalism Scale was administered to 30 students and to 30 non-students. As in Thumin's original sample, the students obtained a mean score very close to the scale's absolute center. However, the non-student group made significantly more conservative scores. These findings suggest that students are liberal on a relative basis and that identifying the center of the Thumin scale with the middle of the political spectrum may be unjustified.