College courses and changes in dogmatism

To observe the impact of an experimental human relations course and to compare changes occurring in students in this course with changes in students having other University experiences, most University of Minnesota entering freshmen were asked to complete the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale before the beginning of the school year in 1970, and selected groups were retested at the end of the first quarter. Mean dogmatism scores for all groups, including the experimental group, declined. In terms of dogmatism, the results did not suggest that the experimental course had a unique effect on students. Students selecting varying college experiences differed extensively at both times of testing and retesting.The author expresses his appreciation to James Rounds, who assumed much responsibility for the collection and analysis of the data.