ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that it is indeed the case that the concepts of attitude and attitude change, which were the core concepts of the impact-of-college research, have been defined too narrowly to permit an adequate assessment of such effects of university education. The cognitive-developmental approach offers a conceptual and methodological alternative for higher education research. One major focus of research into university socialization deals with its hypothesized democratizing effect, that is, with the democratic personality it is supposed to shape. This includes attributes such as innovative competence, critical judgment ability, moral autonomy, willingness to assume social responsibility, and general liberal attitudes. We are provided with a considerably different use of the term "development" in the work of J. Piaget and L. Kohlberg, which offers an alternative conceptual and methodological framework for the study of socialization processes in the following respects: Individuality, Manifest Judgment Behavior, Affect and Cognition, and Development.
