Essay On Political Socialization

Most people are exposed to the same principals and agents of political socialization. Families spread values that support political authorities and can heavily contribute to children's initial political ideological views, or party preferences. Families influence political knowledge and identification depending on variables such as family demographics, life cycle, parenting style, parental level of political skepticism and frequency of political discussions. Demographics such as gender and age also attribute to political socialization. School is another agent of political socialization. Spending numerous years in school, children in the United States are taught and reinforced a view of the world that their text books tell them to trust. Through primary, secondary and high schools, students are taught key principles such as individual rights and property, personal responsibility and duty to their nation. Another is mass media. Mass media is not only a source of political information; it is an influence on political values and beliefs. Various media outlets, through news coverage and late-night programs, provide different partisan policy stances that are associated with political participation. Religions, beliefs, and practices play a role in political opinion formation and political participation. The perspective offered by religious institutions shape judgement regarding public policy, and political decision

Most of the people in America identify themselves as moderate or they do not know if they are conservative or liberal (Magleby 103). I would rank myself as a liberal on the seven-point-identification scale because from what I know of conservatives, their beliefs clash with mine. According to the political surveys that we took in government class, I am a strong liberal. I have always been against conservative views for as long as I can remember; my family, especially my very conservative cousin that mentioned earlier, did not like that I did not conform to certain roles and scolded me for it, thus, resulting in my resentment of conservatives and conservative views. As I grew older, I noticed that I had unconsciously leaned more towards conservative views as a child because I wanted to fit in and not be the outlier in my family; now though, I can clearly see the faulty logic that my family holds and that it is alright for me to have my own

Family is not the only place I received my political socialization from, another place where I receive it is from my location in the United States. I am from Massachusetts which is in the North. I believe that people from the South would tend to be more conservative than people being from around here. A good example of this would be that Massachusetts is a state where homosexuals are allowed to get married. This might not be true for a southern state. That is another place where I do receive my political socialization from.

It is very important to be aware of what is going on in the world however sometimes reading can be a better source or information than watching bias television broadcasts. I believe that if children have to develop their own political opinion at a young age then they will attain values and beliefs that are more logical. I had structure growing up as a kid and was directed to what was right and wrong but I was not born into a political dictatorship. My parents were caring people and emphasized that treating others with respect is more important than following some indoctrinated code. I am fortunate to have been given the freedom to develop my own social and political views. Having political guidance from family is important but being told that only one particular political belief system is infallible is not the ideal way to educate. My parents have always preached equality, and that all people should have equal opportunity to pursue their goals despite their religion, race, ethnic background or sexual orientation. At a young age I was taught to recognize that all Americans have an equal opportunity to aspire to an education regardless of their economic condition. My parents were a large influence of how I view freedom of speech. They emphasized that all individuals have the right to express their opinions and advocate their personal beliefs. One of the key political concepts that I was born into was to fight for a clean environment. The environment must be protected and

The main way that people are influenced is by their family. This is the first place that we are introduced to politics. Most kids grow up believing as their parents do as far as political views go. Another place that the public is influenced is through school. Kids learn about the Government and political parties through their history classes. If kids don’t have politically strong parents, then they usually get their ideas for what they want to be from school. Kids are directly influenced by their peer groups. Kids will do anything to be cool, even if that means they go against their beliefs. Friends have strong persuasion over kids. Geographic locations have a strong influence over the way people develop political ideas. For example, if you’re from the south, then you are more likely to be conservative. If you’re from the north, then you are more likely to be Democrat. It isn’t the strongest influence, but it does have some affect over people. Political leaders, for example, also try to convince the public to choose what political party they should side with. Political leaders persuade people to vote for them and their political party and hope they get the vote. Many things affect the way we develop our political views.

Political socialization, in simple terms, is the lifelong process by which people learn political attitudes and behaviors. People begin to form their own ideas about politics and begin to acquire political values. There are four distinct groups that play a role in political socialization, that being; family, peers, educational systems, and the mass media. Being constantly around your family, especially parents, can impact your perception on politics and how you react to the idea of politics. Parents occasionally place a personal belief or comment to their young child while helping them with their homework or having a family discussion at the dinner table. This personal belief or comment being something related to politics. These family discussions

My understanding of politics and government prior to taking American Government came from my family and their beliefs. It was influenced by the schools I attended, which influenced my respect for this country, and my respect for our flag. They ingrained a sense of patriotism with their teachings. Television and newspapers had a big influence on me in my younger

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

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

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

A population’s views on political issues may change as different circumstances occur each day. The environment around us has a powerful influence on the decisions that we produce and the views that we as American citizens choose to hold. After a semester in political science class my views and my political ideology have altered. Today I will explain how political science class has influenced my political ideology.

Everything a child does from birth to around the adolescent age is more than likely taught through family. As a child they tend to look up to who run their household. Certain views, attitudes, and behaviors are mimicked because that is the only platform that is being viewed at the time. Families tend to have an impact on children unintentionally by acting an example for children. It is often that children end up with the same political views as the parents of that household. Parents do not flat out talk to children about politics directly, but the occasional remarks that are made often have serious impact. Family beliefs are a factor in the party identification such as lifelong republican or lifelong democrat. Studies show that children have the same party identification as their parents even if they have different views from them. The family may be losing it accreditation in socialization, but it is still a big factor. By an early age political symbols are understood. By the time a child is five he/she has some understanding about

One aspect of my life that has shaped my political views is my religious background. I grew up in a Baptist family, and used to go to church regularly. As I got older, I started going to church less and less because the things my pastor said made me feel very uncomfortable. At the time, I did not understand why I felt so uncomfortable and it was not until I got older that I realized why I felt the way I did. Majority of the time, my pastor said things that had sexist and homophobic undertones. Despite being in a holy place, I spent the duration of my time as a member of the church feeling disconnected from everything, which eventually led to me breaking ties with the church completely.

Agents of socialization in short are the people, groups, and social institutions, as well as the interactions within these groups that influence a person’s social and self-development. Agents of socialization are believed to provide the critical information needed for children to function successfully as a member of society. Some examples of such agents are family, neighborhood, schools, peers, religion, sports, the workplace, and especially the mass media. Each agent of socialization is linked to another. For example, in the media, symbolic images affect both the individual and the society, making the mass media the most controversial socialization agent. One of the most obvious places agents of socialization lay is in the malls of

The agents of socialization discussed above (family, school, and peer group) are all involved in interactive and personal contact. Mass media on the other had are various impersonal modes of communication intended for large audiences (e.g., radio, television, motion pictures, newspapers). Mass media can have an enormous effect on our attitudes and behavior. The media influence socialization by providing additional and alternative role models as well as social norms and values. It appears that most influential mass medium today is television. A positive view of television is that it provides an excellent medium of instruction and an entertaining way of expanding the horizons of children by exposing them to places and events they may not be able to experience first hand. The negative view of television is that it makes children more passive and less likely to use their imagination; it stresses the unrealistic nature of many