Download File - Juarez AP GOV

PUBLIC OPINION AND
POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
How American
democracy works
depends largely on who
participates and how.
Linkage Institutions
• Linkage institutions are the political
channels through which people’s concerns
become political issues on the policy
agenda.
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Political Parties
Elections
News & Entertainment Media
Interest Groups
Mistrust of Government
• Growing (when did it start?)
• Political Efficacy- citizens capacity to
understand and influence political events
– Internal- ability to understand and take part in
political affairs
– External- belief that the government will
respond to his or her needs or beliefs
POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
• The process in which individuals
acquire the information, beliefs,
attitudes and values that help them
comprehend the workings of a political
system and orient themselves within it.
• Life long process
Common U.S. Ideological Language
One-Dimensional Continuum
Left
↕
Liberals
►►►►►► ►►► Right
↕
►►►►►►►►► Conservative
The One-Dimensional Problem?
Problem #1:
The role of government in policy becomes
inconsistent as we move between issue
areas.
For Example:
Social Issues
v.
Economic Issues
Political Socialization and Other Factors
That Influence Opinion Formation
• Political attitudes are grounded in values. We
learn our values by a process known as political
socialization.
• Many factors influence opinion formation.
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The Family
The Mass Media
School and Peers
The Impact of Events
Geographic region
–Social/economic groups
Religion, Race/ethnicity,
Education, Income,
Gender,
The Role of Family
 While most children tend to adopt the political beliefs of their parents,
they may adjust those beliefs to adapt to a changing world as they
get older.
Schooling
 The most powerful institutional influence on children, outside of the
family, is education.
 Lower education levels- less political information
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Peers
 We all absorb the ideas, especially when we are
young.
 Peer groups affect political attitudes on those
few issues of interest to young people.
Television
 The values conveyed by television become a
part of our culture.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Social Variables That Influence Opinion
Formation
Class
 Our relative standing in society shapes many of our social and
political values.
Income
 Very roughly stated, poor people tend to vote for Democrats (the
more liberal party on economic policy) while richer people tend to
vote Republican.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Race and Ethnicity
 Race and ethnicity influence political attitudes
and behaviors which are clearly evident.
 African Americans, for example, are
generally more alienated from politics than
whites. WHY?
 Hispanics tend to vote Democratic, with
the exception of Cuban-Americans, who
tend to be very conservative. WHY?
 As a general rule, ethnic groups become
conservative as they rise in social status.
WHY?
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Religion
 Religious differences produce serious political conflict in the United
States. -Ex: Catholics and Jews- associate with the Democratic party
 Protestants are more conservative on economic matters than
Catholics and Jews
 Jews tend to be more liberal on both economic and social issues
 Catholics tend to be more liberal on economic issues
 Generally speaking, the more religious one is, the more conservative one
is likely to be.
Region
 Some areas of the United States, such
as the South, are very conservative.
Gender
 Gender shapes our political views as well, with men and women
taking very different views on many of the issues of our day.
 The gender gap reflects the difference in the political opinions of
men and women. Women tend to be more democratic. Exsupport social measures such as gun control
A New Political Typology
 In addition to fighting each other, both Democrats and
Republicans now find their parties internally divided over such
issues as national security, religion, and moral values.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Fear?
Political Topology Worksheet
American Political Culture
Core Values
 There is broad support among Americans for such core values as
liberty, equality, and the ideals of the Constitution.
Americans and Intolerance
 Some claim that tolerance of diverse beliefs and practices is another
core American value.
 Public opinion data suggest that it may be intolerance that has
become a core value.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Political Ideology
 It provides an overarching frame around which to organize our
political beliefs and attitudes.
 The most common political ideologies among Americans are
liberalism and conservativism.
Culture and Lifestyle
 One’s culture and lifestyle will also influence one’s politics
because such views emerge from specific life experiences.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Social Cleavages
• Definition:
– Pre-defined groups, for or against a certain
issue
• Examples:
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Socioeconomic status
Household income
Union Membership
Religion
Gender /Age