Political Socialization

Factors• Family Events• School and Peers Ideology• Mass Media• Religion• Race/Ethnicity• Gender• Age• Region

Family• Influence is based on 2 factors

– Communication– Receptivity

• Learn parent’s political values at a young age

• 10 - 11 yrs. Children become more selective in their perceptions of the president– Dem. Households - critical of Rep president and visa versa.

School and Peers

• School teacher’s respect for nation & symbols helps build patriotism at a young age

• “Weekly Reader” for elementary students fosters political awareness and civic duty

• Peers have largest impact from middle school to high school

• College has a liberalizing effect because students are called on to question actions and policies

Mass Media• Taking on a growing role• Adult Americans spend 30 hours/week in

front of the TV (children even higher)• 40%+ of those polled got their candidate

info from Leno, Daily Show and Letterman• Choose to Lose & Rock the Vote are

designed to improve voter turnout in youth• 2004 - 50% of voters under 30 reported

the Internet as their major source of campaign info. 2008-55%

Religion• 84% of all Americans over 18 consider

themselves affiliated with a religion• Faith-based political activity occurred on

the left: Civil rights, war on poverty, abolition of death penalty in 1970’s

• On the right: Moral Majority and Christian Coalition played key roles in the election of Reagan

• 2nd largest predictor of the vote behind party identification

Religion continued• 2007: 51% Protest., 24% Cath., 2.7%

other world religions, 2% Jewish, 16% no affiliation

• Jews most liberal– Democrats in 2004 captured 74% of

Jewish vote: 2008 - 78%

• Protestant most conservative– Republicans in 2004 captured 54%

Protest. Vote: 2008 - 54%

• Pew Research Center

Race / Ethnicity• Young black children show positive feelings

about American society, then considerable lessening over time

• Black children hold the president in lower esteem than white children - updated?

• OJ trial (1995) revealed immense racial divide• Hispanic and Native Am. hold similar opinions

– Both have high % poverty rates and targets of discrimination

• Cuban Americans in Florida more likely to be conservative

• Mexican-Americans are more likely to be liberal

Gender• Women hold very different opinions than

men http://www.people-press.org/typology/quiz/?pass

• Unmarried women tend to be liberal• Women hold more negative views on war

– Gap is lessening except for current war in Iraq

• White men are the core of the Republican party

Age• Senior Citizens, due to better health

care, are becoming a political force– AARP– Defeat school tax increases– Pass tax breaks for themselves– Increases in Medical benefits and SS– Some fear & some welcome healthcare

reform• Senior Citizens vote more• As boomers age, this group will

become even larger and more influential

Region

• Immigrant settlements lead to regional influence

• Most dramatic regional difference is between North and South

• City is more liberal, rural more conservative

• Republican: South, West and Midwest• Democrats: Northeast, West Coast

Events• JFK assassination• Challenger explosion• Okalahoma City bombing• Nixon resignation• Fall of the Berlin Wall• 9/11 - War on Terrorism• Iran / Contra• Clinton Impeachment• Leads to faith or distrust in

government

Ideology2004: Most Americans identify

themselves as Moderate – 35% moderate– 30% liberal– 29% conservative

• 2007: Most Americans identify themselves as Conservative– 36% conservative– 35 % moderate– 25% liberal

• Gallup Poll October 2011– 41% identify themselves as

conservative– 36% identify themselves as moderate– 21% identify themselves as liberal

http://www.gallup.com/poll/148745/Political-Ideology-Stable-Conservatives-Leading.aspx

Are we predisposed to Political Beliefs?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=are-we-predisposed-to-political-beliefs&ref=rss