DOCUMENT RESUME ED 292- 392 HE 021 256 AUTHOR Weidman, John C. TITLE Undergraduate Socialization. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper. PUB DATE Nov 87 NOTE 57p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (Baltimore, MD, November 21-24, 1987). PUB TYPE Viewpoints (120) -- Speeches/Conference Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRYPTORS Aspiration; Higher Education; Outcomes of Education; Parent Student Relationship; Peer Influence: *Socialization; *Student Attitudes; Student Characteristics; *Student College Relationship; *Student Development; Theories; *Undergraduate Students; *Values IDENTIFIERS *ASHE Annual Meeting ABSTRACT The applicability of socialization theory for understanding the processes of college impacts on students is discussed.. The focus is affective dimensions of college impact, particularly influences of college on student's values, personal goals, and aspirations. Conceptual dimensions of the socialization process are considered, with attention to characteristics of individuals and institutions that are likely to enhance the influence of college on students. A conceptual framework for understanding the undergraduate socialization process is presented that incorporates socializing influences experienced by undergraduates from a variety of sources, both within and external to the postsecondary institution. Included in the framework are the socializing impacts of: student background, the normative influences exerted by the academic and social structure of the college through interpersonal and intrapersonal processes, and the mediating impacts of both parental socialization and noncollege reference groups during college. Special emphasis is placed on social structural aspects of socialization, rather than on individual processes dealing with socializing influences. A total of 155 references is included. (SW) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************