College students differ from parents and grandparents in the standards on which they base their conduct, in that they prefer the standards of prudence and esthetics to those of right and wrong. The great differences in standards of conduct occur between age groups rather than between sex groups. All groups tend to eschew the standard of public opinion. Since they make prudence and esthetics their chosen standards for rationalizing their conduct, college students probably could be appealed to on the basis of those standards far more effectively than on the standard of right and wrong. Social reactions analysis and key accompany article. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)