Political Socialization

1
Political Socialization

• The process by which people acquire political
  beliefs and attitudes.

2
Learning

• About politics
• About the rules of the game
• About politicians
• About Issues

3
Socialization comes from
4
Family

• General Atmosphere
• Partisanship

5
Education

• History and Civics Classes
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Obeying Laws
• Education Involvement

6
Peers

• Group Identity
• Opinion Leaders
• Conversation
• Political Involvement

7
Religion

• Churches, Synagogues, and Mosques
• Beliefs

8
Socio-Economic Status

• Economics
• Social Groups

9
Political Events

• Vietnam
• Watergate
• 9/11/01

10
The Media

• Agenda Setting
• Framing

11
Race/Gender

• Gender Gap
• Opinion Gap

12
Results of Socialization
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Attitudes

• Feelings
• Thoughts
• Predispositions
• Public Opinion Polls tap these

14
Ideology

• Organizational Framework
• Consistency

15
Tolerance

• Most People
• Political Sophistication

16
Political Knowledge

• What do we know?
• Depends on who you ask
• Not much
• Enough to get by

17
Participation

• Voting
• Beyond Voting
• Contributions
• Writing letters/calling your member of congress
• Protesting
• Activism

18
Group Questions

• What was the video about?
• What is it trying to tell you about taxes?
• How is this an example of socialization?

19
Public Opinion

• The collective attitudes and beliefs of
  individuals on current public issues.

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• Multiple Publics
• Multiple Opinions

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Why Public Opinion Should Matter

• Government
• Citizenship

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Why Public Opinion DOES Matter

• Politicians
• Candidates
• Elections
• The Media