Introduction
In politics, there are many factors that contribute to what issues an individual favors or dislikes and what an individual will use to pick their political candidates during election times. But a specifically interesting thing that one decides on is their party identification. The question on what exactly influences an individual’s party identification is a question that many scholars and researchers ponder. Literature on this topic suggests that an individual’s party identification is determined or influenced by four predominant and different factors. Some scholars believe that parental socialization is the deciding factor on how an individual will identify.
Others see factors such as issue and policy preference or, media/elite opinion as how a person identifies. While some scholars argue that it is the genes or genetics of a person that will determine how they politically identify; it is just the way that they were born. Regardless of the different schools of thought, researchers continue to wonder and conduct studies to determine exactly what influences one’ party identification. Through analyzing literature on these four schools of thought (parental socialization, issue and policy preference, media and elite opinion, and genes) I believe I will be able to shed light on the question of what influences an individual’s party identification.
Parental Socialization
The first school of thought that one must explore is party identification’s relationship to parental socialization. Essentially, this means that when an individual is born, they are most likely born into a household that has political opinions and a certain party identification. Through maturation in these households, individuals are directly affected and...
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...in four different schools suggest explanations to the phenomenon that decides elections and helps fuel political debate daily. Whether it be parental socialization, policy and issue preference, media influence, or genes, the list of explanations is endless. Moving forward, one must ask, are there more feasible influences on party identification? Additionally, are there certain factors that are known to make and individual question their party identification so strongly that they fully change which party they affiliate with? I believe after reviewing the literature in ten different sources that parental socialization is the most influential factor of an individual’s party identification, but further research may suggest another factor being more influential. With further research, the true factor of what influences a person’s party identification may be pinpointed.
Furthermore, he introduces the idea that popular polarization is different from partisan polarization and that sorting has occurred within the parties. Meaning that “those who affiliate with a party… are more likely to affiliate with the ideologically ‘correct’ party than they were [before]” (Fiorina et al. 61). To illustrate the concept of polarization he uses a figure with marble filled urns. These urns depict red blue and gray marbles with r for republican d for democrat and i for independent. When polarization, all gray independent marbles disappear becoming either red or blue.
When it comes to my political beliefs, I am indecisive between being a Republican or a Democrat. The reason for this, is because I never really showed enough interest into learning more about politics. As for my politically ideology, I feel that I am more liberal than I am conservative. In theory, ideology is defined in two ways, “(1) Organized set of political attitudes based on underlying principles”, and “(2) a cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about the role of government” (McAtee). An Individual’s political ideology can be formed from public opinions and agents of socializations (McAtee). According to the quiz I took on “Politopia.com”, the results showed that I was “Centerville”, which means that I am in between of being a Democrat or a Republican, or that I support both sides and yet oppose to both sides.
In Sinclair’s analysis, voters, political activists, and politicians all play significant roles in creating and enforcing the ideological gap between the two major parties in Congress. This trend of polarization is rooted in the electorate
Millions of citizens around the United States, at some point in their lifetime, obtain a political ideology. Typically, their political values are influenced by their parents. Political scientists have identified that around age eleven, children begin to develop political opinion. According to Wilson’s, American Government: Institutions and Policies, 91% of a high school senior class indentified with the same party as their parents (American Government 158). I can attest to this since I in fact have the same party association as my parents. Ever since I was young, I categorized myself as a Democrat due to the fact that my elders were. However, as I have matured I am able to recognize the beliefs and ideologies that followers of certain parties possess. Since I have been more exposed to the political arena I am able analyze the issues more critically and hence I continuously question whether I should classify myself as a Democrat or Republican.
Singh, S., & Judd, T. (2013). Compulsory Voting and the Dynamics of Partisan Identification. European Journal of Political research, 52(2), 188-211. Retrieved from http://journals1.scholarsportal.info.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/details.xqy?uri=/03044130/v52i0002/188_cvatdopi.xml
Cleavages existing in society are divisions such as religion, gender, race, and most importantly socioeconomic status. Political parties form around these divisions in society and in America’s society; money has proven to be the major factor. The major parties in American politics are Democrat and Republican, and the political preference of each member of these parties’ deals greatly with the amount of income they receive.
Political ideology holds an important place when determining what to consider yourself as. The Republican Party holds a vision that is established on American traditions of family, community, and
Powerful. Representative. Influential. These are some of the various words that are utilized to describe how political parties have been and continue to be a dominating force in American politics. Political parties have established organization throughout society by creating a two party system, the Democrats and the Republicans, within institutions as well as the general public. Over the years, political parties have been an essential aspect of American politics and have given American citizens an opportunity to express their opinions. Political parties provide all eligible citizens the opportunity to participate in politics by selecting a party that best defines and implements their views. In addition, political parties play an important role in educating American citizens and encouraging them to vote. Political parties also allow America to sustain a democratic form of government, in which the people have a voice that matters. The formation of political parties has contributed to America becoming a democracy and has helped to ensure that America does not develop into a dictatorship. Therefore, political parties are beneficial for American politics and have a positive impact on society by uniting and organizing Americans with similar political viewpoints, mobilizing voters, and striving to maintain a democracy to protect America from a dictatorship.
There is much debate in the United States whether or not there is polarization between our two dominate political parties. Presidential election results have shown that there is a division between the states; a battle between the Democratic blue states and the Republican red states. And what is striking is that the “colors” of these states do not change. Red stays red, and blue stays blue. Chapter 11 of Fault Lines gives differing views of polarization. James Wilson, a political science professor at Pepperdine University in California, suggests that polarization is indeed relevant in modern society and that it will eventually cause the downfall of America. On the contrast, Morris Fiorina, a political science professor at Stanford University, argues that polarization is nothing but a myth, something that Americans should not be concerned with. John Judis, a senior editor at The New Republic, gives insight on a driving force of polarization; the Tea Party Movement. Through this paper I will highlight the chief factors given by Wilson and Judis which contribute to polarization in the United States, and will consider what factors Fiorina may agree with.
Party identification is the political party that an individual categorizes them self with. Political parties came about as a way to organize citizens with similar beliefs and attitudes. These parties then attempt to influence the government by electing members into office. Today there are two main parties people can identify: Republican and Democrat. There is also a third choice, being an Independent, but for the purpose of this paper this group will not be recognized as a political party. These reasons will be discussed later. There are many different theories as to why people do or do not identify with a political party, including social psychology, issue related, and psychological attachments. I believe the social psychology theory has the right idea. Sociology is about studying human society and how it develops and functions. So, it makes sense that social factors would have a big impact on whether we identify with a political party or not.
The Political Parties Model in which politicians diverge ideologically to provide a cue of party affiliation, allowing voters to vote rationally using their habit of party identification. The Political Parties Model suggests that party labels clarify the political choices available to voters.
Every 4 years, millions of Americans cast their vote in the presidential race. When it comes down to the presidential vote Americans are largely divided by two political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. Each member of a political party may believe stereotypes about the opposing party’s members. Diana Kendall in Sociology in our times, defines stereotypes as overgeneralization about the appearance, behavior, or other characteristics of members of particular categories.”(Kendall 2010) For instance, some democrats would describe Republicans to be gun loving, big trucking, rednecks. On the other hand, some Republicans might hold the idea that Democrats are pot smoking, tree hugging liberals. An ideology that falsely represents a certain
Choosing a political party is an important decision to make in today’s American society. The options for the political parties are Democrat, Republican, and Independent. Picking a political party can happen for some people at a young age. I chose my political party when I was 16 years old. I chose Independent. My parents are Democrats themselves. It makes for an interesting discussion at the dinner table when talking about politics. Some people will choose their political party for a few different reasons. Some people will choose their political party just to be the same thing as their parents, because they really believe in what either party is saying, and sometimes people feel pressured to do so.
Over the years, when examining my own ideology, I found that I could not determine whether or not I am a liberal or conservative person. I had often found myself relating to the beliefs similar to those of the Liberal side of the political spectrum. Yet despite this familiarity, I also hold myself steadfast to some conservative values. Recently, I perceived that my opinions on both the social and economic policy, as it pertains to liberals and conservatives, varies on many matters. Upon reflection, I concluded that perhaps, as of yet, the best interpretation of my current ideology would be more inclined to liberal perspectives.
As progressively more accepted interdisciplinary and multi-method approach, which has now become a need of time, for interpreting in detail political phenomena at individual-level, the rapidly growing field of political psychology has made significant strides in illuminating the processes that are hidden behind the political affiliations, attitudes, feelings, decision making, behavior and above all in the interaction among the individual and group. For this reason, it is in a exceptional position to perk up the explanatory power of research in both psychology and political science that surrounds the national and international relations that either directly or indirectly deals with the individual psychology.