... on survey data assembled by the General Social Survey (GSS) project since 1972. This introductory chapter first provides context for these studies, drawing on prior research about change in the U.S. social, political, and economic landscape since the 1970s. Next comes an overview of this book's content...

...This chapter assesses trends in informal social connectedness over a 34-year period beginning in 1974, focusing on four forms of informal socializing measured regularly by the General Social Survey. In recent controversy and debate over this subject, some studies report contraction in social...

...This chapter examines trends in adults' performance on a 10-item vocabulary battery administered within the General Social Survey (GSS). Measured ability remained relatively steady over time. This stability reflects the confluence of two offsetting trends: lower baseline vocabulary knowledge among...

...This chapter examines trends in institutional confidence measured by the General Social Survey between 1973 and 2006. It begins by considering the construct of institutional confidence and describing the items and scales used to measure it. After presenting overall levels of confidence in 13...

...Several previous General Social Survey-based studies have revealed increasing acceptance of nontraditional gender roles. This chapter builds upon and extends these findings. It shows that adults became less predisposed toward a “separate spheres” conception holding that women should specialize...

...In 1980, Arthur Stinchcombe, Tom Smith, Garth Taylor, and several additional coauthors published Crime and Punishment—Changing Attitudes in America. The book reviewed public opinion data from the first five or six waves of the General Social Survey (GSS), plus a large number of pre...

...This chapter describes eight trends evident in the General Social Survey (GSS) between 1972 and 2008: (i) increased religious diversity; (ii) increased affiliation among Protestants with conservative and evangelical denominations; (iii) softening involvement with congregations; (iv) reduced belief...

...This book assembles a team of leading researchers to provide unparalleled insight into how American social attitudes and behaviors have changed since the 1970s. Drawing on the General Social Survey—a social science project that has tracked demographic and attitudinal trends in the United States...