Notes On Social Pressure And Cognition

I have not had much interest in politics until recently. Before last year, I did not care for anything related to politics; I thought that it was all boring and had little to no affect on me on a personal level. I am more interested in politics nowadays. I know better now that it does affect me and I should care about it. I had learned about the concepts of political socialization, party identification, political tolerance, political trust, political efficacy in government class and how they affect my political beliefs. My personal political belief has been shaped into what it is today and is still being shaped because of those six concepts.

In social psychology, social influence is a process where someone’s beliefs, thoughts and behaviour change by being exposed to beliefs, thoughts and opinions of others. It manifests in several forms, such as obedience, compliance and conformity. All these types of social influence have been studied by numerous researchers who investigated the reasons why people conform to social norms and obey to authorities, such as Milgram’s classic studies on obedience. His experiments support the popular idea of ‘banality of evil’ –Hannah Arendt (1963)’s famous phrase referring to the capability to accomplish dreadful things out of banal reasons–, revealing that people conform submissively and thoughtlessly to the orders that authorities deliver, no

After learning about the different sides and actually understanding their views I can see more clearly now how I seem to identify with both parties. When we took the quiz in the beginning of the unit, I had really no idea about the difference between a Republican and Democrat besides that one was more conservative and other was more liberal not even knowing the differences between the political ideologies and the political parties. When I talk about politics with people, I feel that knowing where I stand on the political spectrum will be helpful to me because I will be able to make more educated statements and viewpoints to others within this

When I was in my Government class in high school, I took a test in class to see where in the political spectrum I was in. When I counted all my answers, I came to the bar and saw that I was in the middle but learning to the left. That was when I officially identified myself as a liberal. Before then politics were a boring stuff that adults fuss and quarrel about. After getting that title, I started looking things differently, every time I observe a political issue I would just see which side a liberal is supposed to be at and say I support it. Since I believed myself to be on the left. I never for one second thought, a sane person could be on the right. They are all crazy old white racist men was what I was told. It was not until I took a GOV

Then my junior year of high school is when my beliefs and opinions started to take shape. I became extremely fascinated with politics and landed my first internship with republican State Senator Guy Reschenthaler. I have realized that younger generations follow in the footsteps of their parents in political views but I was different, my parents are both democrats and I am a republican.

Although I was not old enough to vote in this past election, I still have found ways to be active in ways other than voting. Over the summer, I represented the Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperation, my electricity provider, in Washington D.C. In order to qualify for the trip I wrote a letter regarding a current issue in electricity, the federal regulation of our electricity. On this tour I met other students from within the cooperation district and from other districts from across the United States. More importantly, I met the officials, who we elected to represent us in the House of Representatives. In this meeting with our representative, Glenn Thompson, we covered issues such as creating jobs, the upcoming election, the Supreme Court justice vacancy and other controversial topics that dominate every news channel. While we toured other major points within the District of Columbia, the national mall, the capital building, the House of Representative and the Senate House, and many others, our district’s representatives showed true citizenship for our area. We learned of many political policies and stories of our great nation, a necessity for an exemplary citizen.

Just as parents influence their children to learn a second language, I was raised to learn the language of politics. I soon became intrigued about our democracy and learned about our political system on the media, in school, and from my parents. After learning both sides of politics and obviously being influenced by my parents, I choose to be associated with the political right’s beliefs. To this day, I have strong opinions on immigration policies, the second amendment, healthcare, foreign policy, and many other issues. On the other hand, there is one issue that makes

I fell in love with politics at the age of 10, the year was 2004, and I liked John Kerry because he shared my name. I also supported him because my father, at the time, was supporting George W. Bush and I was a rather antagonistic child. Over time I’ve certainly become more nuanced in the candidates I support, but that year began a lifetime journey into a field that is ever changing, ever competitive, and that impacts so many lives.

Today, I look back to everything that has happened and how did I come to the thoughts and opinions I have about politics. Family was a primary influence in the development of my political orientation, mainly due to constant relationship between my parents and I. Schools became a source to enforce what I been hearing at home. Then Mass Media took over and tried to paint a picture of functions as a political information-giver to adolescents and young children. With placing political figures in everyday life and association with political parties, I can only imagine what their goal was. The earliest

My personal development in the realm of politics is a constantly evolving part of me. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by individuals holding a multiplicity of personal views from all ends of the ideological spectrum. I am thankful,

As I have grown up, I have tried to be as perceptive of my environment as I can. One of the things I have picked up on is that people are quick to complain about any and all of their elected officials, but never attempt to become more involved or even vote out the parties that offended them so. It is because of instances such as these that I feel compelled to take a more active role in my government. I started the college search process a little less than a year ago, and in doing so had to refine my aspirations so that I could find a place that could help me accomplish my dreams. I, at first, was entirely unsure about what I wanted to do in life. Yet, in considering how much I believe in political activism and being responsible in civic duty, I realized that perhaps the only path for me is politics. To be successful in the political world, nothing is more helpful than a law degree. It was the same mentality laid out in this clause that led me to the decision to pursue law and

Besides my involvement with High School Democrats, I have been involved in civic activism. I am currently an intern for the National Organization for Women, and we have been trying to pass bills in the Michigan

Everyday people use social cognition as a tool to help them thrive in social world. There are many important aspects of social cognition that are helpful to us in making decisions and help us to interpret the world around us. An important aspect that is linked to social cognition is that of thought suppression. Thought suppression is when a person tries to force particular thoughts, memories or feelings out of their minds that may be unpleasant or may cause a great deal of stress for the individual. Many people are unaware how often we use thought suppression in our daily lives, but the truth is we use it in almost every aspect of our day.

Growing up in a very conservative household within an increasingly liberal society, I've had difficulty identifying my own political beliefs. I’ve been taught to pick a side: the left or right. That mindset has always left me torn and confused, but I have discovered that I don’t want to choose. I am a moderate. For me, politics is about my own values and my own ideologies, not whether my values are specifically conservative or liberal. I have a more liberal view on issues such as same-sex marriage, the death penalty, and abortion. And I have more conservative views on taxes, the free market system, and welfare. What I believe should not be swayed by trying to affiliate myself with a particular political party. I don’t fit perfectly into the

My first experience with politics was during the 2008 Presidential election. At that time I felt very strongly for Mitt Romney and was deeply saddened by his defeat. Because of this loss, I vowed to take the powers vested in me by the Constitution to make sure the US does not elect Obama, making the same mistake. He is a mistake because I consider him a failure. He has decreased the value of life for many citizens and ruined America’s healthcare system. I have become educated about current events as well as followed the political campaigns, to which I hope will be evident in the next section.