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Political Beliefs and Behaviors Political Culture • The characteristic and deep-seated beliefs of a particular people. – – – – – – – – – Liberty Equality Democracy (Rugged) Individualism Rule of Law Nationalism Capitalism The “American Dream” Civic Duty Defining Public Opinion What Is Public Opinion? The distribution of individual preferences for or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population Types of Public Opinion: •Consensus – Large proportion of the American public appears to express the same view on an issue •Divisive – Public has widely different views, polarized •Non-opinion – Lack of an opinion on an issue or policy – No information or not interested enough Defining Public Opinion Defining Public Opinion Defining Public Opinion How Public Opinion Is Formed: Political Socialization We form our attitudes through participation in groups • • • • • Sources of Political Socialization Family Education Peers and Peer Group Media http://pbskids.org/democracy/vote/ How Public Opinion Is Formed: Political Socialization • Family – Most psychologists agree the family is the most powerful socializing agent – Learn attitudes • Ex: political parties, other classes of types of people, particular leaders (esp POTUS), society in general Does the direct influence of parents create the correspondence? Or does living in the same social environment – neighborhood, church, socioeconomic group – influence parents and children? How Public Opinion Is Formed: Political Socialization • Education – A purpose of school is preparing students to be citizens and active participants in governing their communities and the nation • Introduced to national heroes, important events, ideals of US society, Pledge of Allegiance, student government How Public Opinion Is Formed: Political Socialization • Peers and Peer Group – May reinforce or challenge what has been experienced in families – Differing opinions on the effect of social media • More knowledgeable? • More participation? • More empathy? How Public Opinion Is Formed: Political Socialization • Media – Newspapers (school, local, national), Internet, movies, radio, television – Mass media – expose behavior and values of others • Greater influence on attitudes about issues and individual politicians than on underlying values – Selective exposure • Individuals choose to access media with which they agree or avoid media with which they disagree How Public Opinion Is Formed: Political Socialization • Significant other influences – Religion – Workplace Political View Stability • Adults’ views tend to be stable – Esp. if they remain in the same place, same occupation, and in same income group – Harsh experiences tend to be catalysts that changes attitudes and opinions • War, economic depression, terrorist attack – Study shows that post-2001 increase in civic engagement has continued for 18-25 – Attentive public • Citizens who follow politics carefully • 25% http://www.gallup.com/poll/3400/longterm-gallup-poll-trends-portrait-american-publicopinion.aspx Political View Stability