Two rural villages with similar characteristics were selected in Punjab (northern India) in order to study attitudes towards planned socio-economic development programs. All household heads (married males) in Bhagpura (123) and Khaira Bet (116) were interviewed; other data were derived separately. Program acceptance (modernism) in both villages correlated very highly with the respondants' psycho-social modernism, mass-media participation, and extra-community contacts. Khaira Bet (more remote in terms of road links and transportation facilities) reflected more conservatism in all areas, particularly formal and family education, civic/political participation, level of living, village leadership status, landowner status, and occupational status. An unanticipated finding was that caste was not a significant predictor of program approval. Age reflected a predictable conservatism and had a negative correlation of -.72 in both villages. Since exposure to mass media and extra-community activities was significant in acceptance of socio-economic development programs, development and extension agencies should find support for rural development programs among villagers who have already been exposed to external ideas and behavioral patterns; agencies should also design extra-community social contacts, formal education, and mass-media and civic/political participation of villagers in order to aid development efforts. (BR)