A nationwide survey indicates that the American public views the electronic computer and its significance in terms of two independent belief-attitude dimensions. The first views the computer as an instrument of man's purposes-helpful in science, industry, space exploration, etc. The second portrays the machine as a relatively autonomous entity that can perform the functions of human thinking. People tend to react with awe and a sense of inferiority to this latter conception. Individual variations in the strength of these reactions to the computer are related to certain personality factors and life orientations that are highly pervasive in character.