The relative strength of racial and nonracial factors in motivating the public's opinion about busing has both theoretical and policy implications. If nonracial, especially self interest, factors are the strongest motives for opposition, then the success of busing, and of school desegregation in general, will depend upon the ability of the…

Establishes the existence of a contextual effect on attitudes toward busing and proposes a simple model of the interaction process through which the social environment influences individual attitudes. Available from "The Journal of Politics," University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. (Author/IRT)