The influence of the academic culture that academics learn from mentors and senior colleagues is considered, with attention to the socialization process, social learning theory, and the psychology of awareness. The nature of deliberation and decision-making in a typical college or university and the issue of whether the university operates on a rational basis are addressed. The academic culture contains a number of implicit rules that will govern the academic's perception of what is appropriate behavior in an academic setting (academic dogma or theory-in-use). The academic may be unaware of the influence of the culture on his or her behavior. The culture also contains explicitly stated rules open to conscious scrutiny (academic rhetoric or espoused theory), which may or may not coincide with the implicit rules that actually affect behavior. It is suggested that it is an oversimplification to describe the university as a rationally operated institution. Its functional policies have a tendency to be unarticulated and inconsistent, and to be masked by a facade of rhetoric. Much of this conflict arises from the different historical roots of the various elements of the academic dogma. (SW)