Why do certain people affiliate themselves with certain political parties? What factors influence the way a person casts their vote or the way they self identify themselves? Political scientists will cite multiple factors that influence individual political leanings. Race, education, religion, family, location, economic standing, and media influence are just some of the potential factors that play a determining role in a persons political positions. Over the course of ones lifetime the process of integrating those outside factors into political values is called political socialization. For the millennial voting generation (ages 18-29), their age limits the amount of life experiences they have to draw from. Most of the political socialization …show more content…
Those seven independent variables are; Religion (question Relig_imp, is religion important to the respondent), Education (question dem_edugroup, What is the respondents highest level of education), Social Economic Group (question incom5, what is the respondents income quintile), Race (question demraceeth4, what is the respondents race or ethnic group), Gender (question gender, what is the respondents gender), Parental Views (question dem_parents, political status of parents), and Political Knowledge (question polknowledge, range of respondents political knowledge). It is noted that there are more factors to political socialization then the above listed seven, but said seven are being examined as the factors that weigh most heavily influential in political socialization. Other factors will be identified as possible reasoning for skew and outliers found in the analysis. For the second portion of the paper the independent variable will be drawn from question dem_age3, what is the respondents age group. This question will identify the age groups to be labeled hence forth as; Millennials (18-29), Generation X (30-49), Baby Boomers (50-69), Silent Generation (70-84), and the Greatest Generation (85+) (D. DeSilver, The Politics of American
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.
From all the three distinct characterized political subcultures the moralistic political subculture, individual political subculture and traditionalistic political subculture I believe that Houston is both individualistic and traditionalisticpolitical subculture. There many reasons that pushed me to that conclusion, some of these reasons are crystal clear if you are walking in Houston down town you would see all of things that do not add up together meaning seeing a Latino or Hispanic restaurants next to a complex apartment building by itself or a club next to a complex building, or even a dentist next to a bar therefore Houston in known for its lake of zoning. Also in old neighborhoods many of the residents set up a town meeting to decide
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.
To understand American society fully, one must understand America’s political makeup. In order to do that, it is necessary to understand a person’s political opinions and how they came about. This is done by examining how political ideology and political socialization influence society and individuals within that society. Political ideology is the set of beliefs that shape the way someone views government action; it is the way that they think the government should act and react to certain situations. In the United States, the two main political ideologies are liberal and conservative. How American’s teach the tenets and goals of the political system is known as political socialization. This is typically done through parents, peers, school,
How do demographic factors affect the way people in the United States view political questions? List three factors, and give examples of opinions they might affect.
6. Evaluate the social welfare system in the U.S. In doing so, be sure to discuss the types of programs and principal characteristics of each. What is your overall assessment of the American social welfare system, whether in itself or in comparison with other countries.
The social institution topic that I am going to use for my paper is divorce. I chose to write my paper on divorce because the divorce rate has increased and is a prevalent social institution in our society. Divorce is a common issue that is a controversial topic that has all different opinions about it. Society is influenced by the people around us, that’s why a child with separated parents exhibit a greater chance for psychological struggles because they weren’t able to have both parents around to influence them. Divorce is a component of society that influences the behaviors and choices of the child as well as the parents. Society has an influence on divorce because divorce has become a social norm in our society. Relationships in society now have less commitment than in the past generations. Another
When examining voting behavior over time, there are two areas one must look at to gain a better understanding of the process. The first, is why people vote the way they do, and the second looks at the individuals voting pattern over time. Since 1960, The American Voter, written by Campbell, Converse, Miller & Stokes, is still considered one of the most controversial pieces in the field of public opinion and election studies. Although there are numerous areas of exploration, the main purpose of this book was to further examine the psychological relationship of the voter from pre-adolescence to casting the tangible vote and the effects of parent-child socialization. A crucial argument presented states that party identification is the most important
Such factors are their educational background, socioeconomic status, gender and other demographics. There will be a definite difference between a person who has an excellent academic background and a person who does not have such qualification. In the same way, socioeconomic status of a person also decides how well a person engages politically (Riedel and Sullivan, 2001). For instance, an individual who comes from a very lower class will not pay heed to political system of the country because his basic concern is to feed his children and family. His priorities will be different from a person who has all basic necessities. In the same way a middle aged person who has an adequate knowledge and experience regarding the political system of a country and a young person who is just an amateur will have significant differences of political attitudes and political efficacy. So attitudes and experiences also affect the political efficacy and ultimately the voting behaviors of the individuals (Sheerin and Celia Anne, 2007). Mass Media is one of the tools to build these attitudes and political
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.
The process of political socialization is not merely a quick development of ideologies but an extended network of agents influencing us at every stage of our lives to implore us of good and proper behaviors and thought patterns to abide by. As stated in Texas politics, there is a difference in general socialization and political socialization but both are significantly influential in our critical development patterns (3.1).
The origins of social work in the United States mirror an ongoing growth of ideas put together from many different cultures. While modern social work here in the states were built on Christian idea many of its concepts are in part due to the influence of the Koran and the mutual aid practices of Native Americans, the African-American community, and immigrants from all over the world.
Political socialization begins early on in life and is an ongoing process affecting individuals throughout. It is how people eventually identify personal beliefs and expectations in American politics. These political views can include our level of patriotism, faith in the democratic system, standards by which we hold governing bodies, and opinions regarding public policies. From the playground to the classroom, the office to the dinner table, much of our lives affect our political opinions. The most easily identified agents of this are family, schooling, peers, mass media, political parties and religious influences. Furthermore, these means indoctrinate us in the political society through four basic methods: latent, manifest, affective, and instrumental socialization.
What is socialization? Socialization is the process in which we as people become members of society. As individuals our sense of belonging is shaped through the agents of socialization. The agents of socialization that contribute to the shaping of an individual’s sense of belonging to a group consist of educational institutes, peers, Mass media, family, and religious institutes. The five agents of socialization play a large roles in an individual’s perspective on the way of life, behavior, social interaction and how the communicate with other members of the group. Socialization not only makes us aware of ourselves as being part of a group but also deeply affects ones understanding of norms, beliefs, desires
Socialization is learning what is expected from us by the people we are interacting with. We learn what is considered normal and how to interact with others. Socialization also gives us the ability to learn what is not acceptable behavior and the negative treatment that can come along with behaving outside of the norm (New York University Department of Sociology, 2013). It is beneficial to reflect on educational experience as a site of socialization because for the majority of us, this is our first real, complete, and honest experience of socialization. We may receive leniency or special treatment from our parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles because we are younger and cute. They do not expect the same level of standards for behavior as peers who